Zen Product Management

Lisa Crymes

Managing Director, Business Solutions

DST Health Solutions

September 2013

Twitter @lisacrymes

Regardless of how long you have been a product manager –

2 months, 2 years or 20 years - this session is for you.

Product Management is amazing career but it can also be stressful managing multiple people, products, and projects along with balancing the strategic with the day to day.

Workplaces Stress Affects of stress on the Body Techniques for Managing Stress Art of Influence Emotional Intelligence Conflict Management

Lisa Crymes @lisacrymes

69% of employees report that work is a significant source of stress and

41% say they typically feel tense or stressed out during the workday (American Psychological Association, 2009).

51% of employees said they were less productive at work as a result of stress

(American Psychological Association, 2009).

52% of employees report that they have considered or made a decision

about their career such as looking for a new job, declining a promotion or leaving a job based on workplace stress (American Psychological Association, 2007).

http://www.apa.org/practice/programs/workplace/phwp-fact-sheet.pdf

43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.

75% percent to 90% of all doctor's office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.

Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared stress a hazard of the workplace. Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually.

The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic, untreated stress reactions.

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/effects-of-stress-on-your-body

Product Managers serve many masters and have little authority

Often we manage hundreds without direct responsibility

Constantly dealing with political and people problems

It’s not the stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it. Hans Selye

Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.

Hans Selye

“If Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, or Mahatma Gandhi were product managers, they would gain consensus and collaboration using their charm and by setting their own examples. Challenge yourself to be someone worth following instead of leading with a big product management stick.

Alyssa Dyer, CEO, Mint Green Marketing

42 Rules of Product Management

Emotional Intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions.

“We define emotional intelligence as the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.” --From “Emotional Intelligence,” 1990

How do you manage stress?

?

Breathe!

• Take Care of YOU! • Don’t let them suck you dry • Eat well • Exercise • Work smart

Use the Do Not Disturb feature

Take a break from technology

A professor of philosophy stood before his class with some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks about two inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was full. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and watched as the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The professor then asked the students again if the jar was full. They chuckled and agreed that it was indeed full this time.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. The sand filled the remaining open areas of the jar.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar signifies your life. The rocks are the truly important things, such as family, health and relationships.

If all else was lost and only the rocks remained, your life would still be meaningful. The pebbles are the other things that matter in your life, such as work or school. The sand signifies the remaining “small stuff” and material possessions

If you put sand into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks or the pebbles. The same can be applied to your lives. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are truly important.

Pay attention to the things in life that are critical to your happiness and well-being. Take time to get medical check-ups, play with your children, go for a run, write your grandmother a letter. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, or fix the disposal. Take care of the rocks first – things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand.

Zen Product Management

Thank you

Are you breathing?

Lisa Crymes @lisacrymes