One general “Aha” that I learned a long time ago from the best PM’s I’ve worked with. “Aha” mindset needs to be built into the product manager’s DNA. As a product manager you must be in love with continuously learning. So, whilst I could sight a whole range of theoretical learnings, for me the real “Ahas” are more likely to be small evolutionary ones rather some epic eureka moments. I reflected on all the things I’ve read which have really stuck with me (everything from Clayton Christensen’s work on “Jobs To Be Done”, to Don Norman’s “Design of Every Day Things”). “When thinking about my greatest “Aha moments” over the course of 12 years in product management, I started searching my brain for that one incredible epiphany, but I failed to find it. I learned early on to always take donuts to planning sessions and retrospectives.” The way to get things done was to inspire and motivate the engineering team I worked with was to create a compelling vision and value proposition that demonstrated how we were going to help meeting our customer’s needs. “Realizing early on in my career that the product manager is not the ‘mini-CEO’ as some of the product theory books tell you.

We asked our product people: “What was the greatest “Aha moment” during your Product Management career?” Here’s what they say. How does the dictionary define an “Aha moment?” It’s when you suddenly understand something, realize something important, have a good idea, or find the answer to a problem. What matters even more? The way you turn your “Aha moment” into opportunity.

Aha moment stories