Gorchels - The Product Managers Handbook 4/E

FOURTH EDITION

LINDA GORCHELS

Copyright 2012 by Linda Gorchels. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-177341-6
MHID: 0-07-177341-X

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This is the fourth edition of this bookand its aimed solidly at practicing product managers. While the first edition started out simply extending the discipline beyond traditional consumer packaged goods (and was primarily definitional), the next two editions began to add more fundamental tips and tools. During that 15-year period, dozens of consultants, trainers, associations, and (since 2002) LinkedIn affinity groups emerged to capitalize on the growth of product management and to expand on the basic principles. Many focus almost exclusively on an industry or niche emphasis.

So it was time for another evolutionfrom presenting product management as a fill-in-the-blank, step-by-step process to one requiring more executive, strategic thinking skills. (Yes, there are still templates and tips, but also substantial emphasis on why these templates are relevant.) Here are a few of the changes.

This edition is organized around upstream and downstream product management responsibilities, as indicated in the books framework. As a result, there is deeper coverage of both new product development (from the perspective of a product manager rather than R&D) and product life cycle management.

The book was cocreated with customers. End-of-chapter interviews were completed by product managers or by executives who oversee or work with product managers. Several chapters contain business briefs written by practicing product managers, demonstrating principles in use. The majority of these individuals had adapted and expanded concepts from prior editions.

Instead of a laundry list of items at the end of chapters, each chapter concludes with a single integrative, high-level, thought-provoking challenge. The more experienced the product manager, the more profound and complex the chapter challenge will be.

Throughout the book, I reference several Web sites that contain videos or other explanatory material to provide greater depth of information on the topic at hand. Some of these external sources are provocative, eye-opening, or surprising, and they enable you to create your own learning package as you advance your career. Even though I have decades of experience working with thousands of product managers, one of my greatest contributions is my ability to direct you to a variety of knowledge sources beyond myself. And thats what I have tried to accomplish with this edition. Contact me (lgorchels@exed.wisc.edu) if you have any other knowledge sources worthy of sharing with product managers. Enjoy!

This book is in many ways a cocreated product based on contributions from many sources. I would specifically like to acknowledge the following. First of all, I want to thank the people who gave thoughtful answers to my interview questions and are featured at the end of each chapter. These include:

Mark Rothwell, Vice President-Marketing Communications, Dean Clinic

Scott Davis, Chief Growth Officer, Prophet

Doug Vaughan, Vice President-Finance, Ingersoll-Rand

Paula Gray, Anthropologist-in-Residence, AIPMM