An analogy for Product Management.
Ingredients are uniform and exact. No substitutes are allowed. The exact process and timing matter, or else...
Fundamentals still count. Protein has to be cooked through, and it's best to include starch and vegetables. But the rest is up to you. "Occasional stirring", "season to taste", "a handful of..."
The best cooks in the world are not following directions. They're inventing something new. I think the same should be true for Product Managers.
This does not mean that fundamentals are not important.
Every meal should be delicious, filling, and have starch, protein, and vegetables. Every product should be professionally engineered, add value in a novel, delightful way, and thoughtfully enhance a person's task at hand.
After that, it's about creating a product that you and your colleagues have seasoned to taste 🍲
This is my product cookbook, it explains some products I have cooked up. I hope to cook something up with you next!