Lots of blog posts purport to have THE SECRET WEAPON ALL PRODUCT MANAGERS MUST HAVE to be successful. These days nearly all these posts likely include the letters AI. It’s understandable. The product management landscape is changing rapidly as the tools we use become more powerful. Still, regardless of tool and technology, if the work you generate is explained poorly you risk doing damage not just to the product but also to your reputation. In this context, storytelling is truly the key differentiation to becoming a successful product manager. 

Everything has a why

Every decision has a root cause. It has a “why.” Many product managers neglect to share that root cause with their teams. It’s rarely deliberate. In fact, often, the “why” is “someone told me to do it.” However, even a direct request from your boss doesn’t exclude you from getting to that root cause and then sharing it with your team. When searching for your initiative’s “why” start with an analysis of the current state:

• What’s happening now? 
• How long has it been happening? 
• What’s the business impact? 
• What are the dependencies that are causing or affected by the current state? 

These are good questions to start with. When you’ve gathered the answers to these questions you’ve got the beginning part of your story or “the situation.” 

The current state inevitably has a problem to solve

If it was easy to fix, improve or capitalize on the current situation it’s likely your company would have done so by now. 

• What’s getting in the way? 
• What makes solving this difficult? 
• Why haven’t we done this already? 
• If we solve it, what may also get impacted? 

With this list of questions, you’re looking for the middle part of your story or “the complication.” 

The future is always amazing

With the situation and complication in hand, your story is only missing one piece – the resolution. The resolution is the future state you’d like to create. If you’d like to take your product, team and organization forward from the current state, where are you leading them?

More specifically, as you consider the desired future state you should be asking:

• What changes will happen with our customers if we reach the future state where the problem is solved?
• How will that impact our business?
• What kind of return on our investment can we expect?
• How will this help us avoid situations like this in the future?

The future state is the goal. As a part of your story this is what you want your teams to get excited about. They likely know the current state is suboptimal. Your job is to help them navigate an uncertain journey from now to the future state. By landing this third piece of your story you create motivation and drive to dive into the product initiative you’re leading. 

Storytelling is a powerful tool to overcoming progress obstacles

Every initiative will face obstacles. They might come from funding challenges, strategic shifts in the company or organizational politics, for example. Your job as a product manager is to make sure everyone understands why the initiative you’re driving is important and should continue. Arming yourself with a compelling story makes sure you’re always grounding your work in objective, factual data connected to the success of the company. You can use a variety of tools to share your story but the ultimate goal is to come prepared to every meeting with a foundational knowledge of the current state, the problem you’re solving and the future state you’d like to achieve. Telling that story in a way that matters to your audience greatly increases the chances of your work continuing on the path to that future state.

Watch me talk about The Power of Storytelling in my TEDx talk.

Want to learn how to tell compelling stories and become a better product manager? Check out our storytelling class or get in touch.