Micro-Interview: Lior Haimovich, Director of Product Management | Yotpo
💬 "even the smallest change can make a big difference"
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Lior Haimovich is a Director of Product Management at Yotpo, an eCommerce retention marketing platform with connected solutions that help direct-to-consumer brands maximize their customers' value.
He is based in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In under 500 words, he shares:
How he got into product management…
How he starts his mornings for maximum productivity…
Some of his sources of learning…
And more…
Enjoy!
“How did you get into product management?”
I started as a full-stack developer at Microsoft. I did that for two years, realizing I had more passion for working with people and having a more business-oriented, customer-facing role. Getting the first product role wasn't easy, but I was lucky to meet an old friend who referred me to Yotpo, which allowed me to prove myself.
“How do you start your mornings at work?”
How I start my mornings is very much related to how I finish every day. At the end of each day, I make myself a very short list of highly important tasks or things I want to achieve in the coming days. Every morning, I look at this list and choose the one thing I want done today.
“What do you know about product management now that you wish you’d known when you first started?”
Get people involved as early as possible. In the beginning, I would spend a lot of time on my own trying to crack a solution to a problem before showing it to others. I thought I’d be appreciated more if I were “the guy with the solution”. But in fact, in most cases, the best ideas come from others. Involving other stakeholders early on helps with alignment and team engagement and increases your chances of finding a better solution. It’s also more fun cracking problems as a team :)
“What did your biggest product failure teach you?”
Validate even the smallest changes. A few years back, we were working on a feature, and I decided to make a small tweak to an existing behavior. I didn’t consult with our go-to-market team or any customer. It backfired. We had to revert the change within two days after getting tons of complaints.
The bottom line is that even the smallest change can make a big difference, so having a small focus group where you can run your ideas is key.
“What’s the #1 thing that has helped you shorten your product management learning curve?”
Product management requires a lot of different skills and expertise. What really helped me was the fact that I got to lead various projects, each sharpening a different skill in a short time. From tackling a technical integration to strengthening my relationship with the dev team. Through implementing a customized solution for some of our biggest customers, learning to do customer interviews, and identifying pains. All the way to a new shopper-facing, innovative feature that required usability testing and some marketing spark.
“How do you stay updated on the best practices in product management?”
Two things work for me the most:
Learning from my teammates. Our team is diverse, with many PMs from different backgrounds and experiences. Working on different projects with different individuals gives me a fresh perspective on processes and new problem-solving methods.
Looking at every app or website with a critical product eye. Looking at the most successful apps out there and, while using them, thinking - what makes them fun to use? Then, when I come to build my next feature, I’ll think about how to incorporate some of these concepts in my work.