Passion
Someone asked me recently: What's the most important unteachable trait to look for in a product manager? Passion . All the skills can be learned. The procedures taught. Business strategy can be picked up by experience (or maybe even in business school). Agile development can be learned on the job. Even leadership skills and public speaking can be coached. Passion can't be taught. A passionate product manager believes in her products. In fact, it's hard for a passionate PM to work on products that she doesn't believe in. When that happens, she may decide to move on. Matching people to their passions is important in hiring, and in management. It's crucial to recognize that different people are passionate about different things - one person may be excited about digital imaging applications, while another is enthusiastic about eLearning systems. When a PM believes in a product, its success becomes important on a personal level. Failure becomes, as they say, n...