After 15 years in product management at different levels (from PM to CPO of a small startup and Senior or Principal PM), i gathered some learnings that are good reminders. I hope you like to read them as much as I regularly do!

• There are only two major points for product success: Solve a user problem well. Help the business grow.
• Focus on the users. User empathy is the no.1 skill you need as a product manager.
• Users will only use the product if it solves problems in their lives, or addresses a desire, better than the alternatives.
• Your team is the most important factor in your success. Not just other PMs, but also engineers, researchers, designers working with you in a cross-functional team. There are ways to learn to motivate and align people. You also need to stand up for your team and empower them.
• Business will move forward if you increase retention, market share, conversion, or build competitive advantage.
• Almost no product can satisfy all kinds of customers. Learn to separate noise from signals during user research and analysis and focus on the outcome to build your priorities.
• A product manager who doesn't talk to their users frequently and understand their problems andneeds, ends up becoming just a feature manager.
• Involve people in your team early and explain WHY we are doing things. It helps motivating the team. Create a culture of fast feedback.
• There is no such thing as over-communicating. Inform your team and management about your goals, vision, roadmap, work in progress, achievements, learnings and failures.
• Always decide your metrics before you start working on a feature. It's easy to fall for this trap but you’ll regret it later.
• Always prioritize and filter before execution. You don’t want to do it all otherwise you’ll loose focus and it will reflect in your product.
• All roadmaps change. Create a vision that will last in time but a roadmap for the next few months. Beyond that, a roadmap is just a crystal ball. Focus on the outcome when building it.
• Execution is an important skill, but shouldn't be the only skill that you have. To grow as a PM, you need to understand customer insights, be able to create a product strategy and influence people. Source
• Asking the right questions is the most important part of product discovery.
• Do not be a slave of tools. Tools change, your expertise improves.
• Test often - MVPs, iterative development and tests instead of going all in can save a lot of wasted efforts.
• Quality of your mental health will reflect in the quality of your product. Working long hours all the time isn't sustainable.