Product management is about managing the emotions of customers, users, peers and stakeholders through understanding, empathy and emotional awareness.

1. product management
is about
managing emotions
Product person, Entrepreneur, Coffee Hoarder
@NidhiGurnani

2. @NidhiGurnani
Product Experiences are
Emotional Responses

3. @NidhiGurnani
“People don’t buy products;
they buy better versions of
Themselves.”

4. @NidhiGurnani
• Great products invoke strong emotional responses.
• Users remember how a product makes them feel.
• They connect deeply with products associated with
positive memories.

5. @NidhiGurnani
Examples of emotions triggered by popular products:
• Freedom of expression (Posts, Articles, Status)
• Acknowledgment (Recommendations, Verification)
• Privilege & Exclusivity (Waitlists, Referrals)
• Intelligence (Saving time, Saving money)
• Pride & Triumph (Inbox Zero, 10000 steps)

6. @NidhiGurnani
Pain-points are
Emotional Setbacks

7. @NidhiGurnani
• Understanding a customer’s problem requires an
understanding of their story.
• The user’s story consists of highs and lows pertaining
to a specific situation, usually unsatisfactory in some
places.
• These lows in the user’s story are the pain-points.

8. @NidhiGurnani
Pain-points invoke negative emotions such as:
- Irritation
- Annoyance
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Frustration
- Guilt
- Grief
- Worry
- Helplessness

9. @NidhiGurnani
Opportunities are
Emotional Victories

10. @NidhiGurnani
• Identifying these lows leads to bridging the gaps in the
user’s story.
• Building solutions for these gaps leads to new highs in
the story, creating new or expanding existing
opportunities.
• Well-defined opportunities are emotional victories.

11. @NidhiGurnani
Well-served opportunities generate positive emotions:
- Joy
- Optimism
- Excitement
- Accomplishment
- Peace
- Satisfaction
- Delight
- Surprise
- Pride

12. @NidhiGurnani
Facilitating product building
is managing team’s
emotions

13. @NidhiGurnani
“They should be the ultimate facilitator:
pulling the best ideas from their team,
coordinating with cross-functional partners,
and getting executive context.”
Five Dangerous Myths about Product Management by Noah Weiss

14. @NidhiGurnani
• Facilitating creation where others create and you
facilitate relies a lot on people management.
• Influencing without authority is successful when
people respect your point of view and trust your
decisions.
• Great PMs earn their team’s trust and respect through
empathy and emotional awareness.
1 - Five Dangerous Myths about Product Management by Noah Weiss

15. @NidhiGurnani
Great PMs build a rapport with their peers by making
them feel:
heard
involving key
stakeholders at
the right times
respected
sharing business
and product
goals to paint
the big picture
in control
valuing expert
suggestions in
their respective
domains
motivated
convincing
teams that their
goals align

16. @NidhiGurnani
Great PMs earn their stakeholders’ trust by making them
feel:
confident
optimizing for
success via
research,
analysis and
intuition
relieved
taking
ownership of an
area and driving
execution
excited
demonstrating
results, owning
and solving
problems with
creativity
understood
taking strategic
direction into
account, building
both big and
small

17. @NidhiGurnani
• Product experiences are emotional responses.
• Pain-points are emotional setbacks.
• Opportunities are emotional victories.
product management is about
managing emotions

18. @NidhiGurnani
• Making peers feel heard, respected, in control and
motivated.
• Making stakeholders feel confident, relieved, excited
and understood.
product management is about
managing emotions