Applying common sense as a product manager

My first lesson as a PM came from this conversation:

Me: “How important is for me to understand the engineering behind our product?”

Her (lead PM): “I don’t understand the details of tech. I’m not an engineer. All I do is apply common sense, and trust those around me won’t fool or trick me.”

Applying common sense is truly your super power as a PM. Applying common sense is thinking through the dynamics of a decision, asking the right questions and guaranteeing the most qualified person gets to make the call, equipped with the answers of your intervention. Statistically, the outcome tends to be the best.

And it’s thanks to 👆that I am 100% sure you don’t need to be an engineer to be a PM. You just need to be good at applying common sense.