What I wish I knew sooner in product: Lessons from the community

And just like that, 2024 is drawing to a close. There’s been high highs and low lows in the product community this year. But what have been some of the biggest lessons learned? We asked some product professionals in the community to hear their thoughts. 

This year has been about remembering the basics. With the amount of discussion around the use of AI in the product space, laser focus on the core capabilities of product management is even more important. Do you understand the problem? Do you understand the customer? Are you prioritising based on evidence? These are things that generative AI might help with some of the legwork on, but they are fundamentals you need to know and practice. By all means, understand and leverage new technology, just don’t forget to hone your product management core skillset as well.    

When I look back, my product management journey has been a series of learning moments. Well, I thought it was all about delivering features and customer support. But the truth is, product management is about intent—knowing why you’re building something and making choices that matter. 

Learning Pricing Early
Pricing is more than numbers, it’s about understanding value. I wish I’d grasped its importance earlier. Pricing reflects how customers perceive your product and what problem it solves for them. Learning to experiment with and refine pricing strategies has been one of the most impactful for me.

Building the Product Muscle
Product management isn’t an innate skill—it’s something you practice and refine over time. For me, the key areas have been communication, negotiation, and prioritization. Learning to communicate simply and effectively, especially with diverse audiences. Negotiation taught me to align conflicting interests without losing sight of the product vision. and prioritization, That’s the heart of it all. Saying no to good ideas so you can say yes to the right ones is a skill every PM must learn.

Looking Back, Moving Forward
The biggest lesson I’ve learned—honing the product craft, mastering pricing, and embracing community—continue to guide me. If I could tell my younger self one thing, it’d be this: Stay curious, be intentional, and lean on the people around you. Product management isn’t just about building products; it’s about building yourself along the way.

This is something I need to remind myself of every year. As a product manager, it can be very tempting to spend your time tackling familiar and tactical problems. It is far too easy to fall into a routine of thinking from week to week and quarter to quarter. Your most important job, because no one else will do it for you, is to think about the big strategic problems, the ones that push you out of your comfort zone, the ones that haven’t been solved before. You need to manage your time wisely and make sure you always carve out enough time to think about these hard problems and don't let them intimidate you.

2024 has been a year of exciting developments. While the world approaches AI adoption with caution, the core principles of product management remain unchanged: a relentless curiosity for what’s possible and a commitment to discover opportunities for value.

Looking ahead, I envision a new generation of product managers well-equipped to tackle complex challenges and push the boundaries through AI. 

As the saying goes, our focus shouldn’t be on the tools themselves, but on the people we aim to impact.

This year I have been incredibly fortunate to have so many brilliant, compassionate, and insightful individuals touch my life. Their influence has shaped and molded me into the product leader I am today.

I’ve learned this year that leadership is about connection, bridging the gap between where we are and where we aspire to be. By uplifting those around us and embracing the transformative power of empathy and innovation, we don’t just build better products; we build a better world. Let this year be a testament to the profound impact we can have, one person, one team, and one vision at a time.

In 2024, the world, especially Product Managers, started fully owning AI and using it as a powerful enabler of transformation - both internally and externally. In the process of seeing organizations thoughtfully integrate AI into the business and its offerings, a few key lessons surfaced:

Equally transformative was the power of product communities in 2024. When change comes at you at lightspeed (such as AI), community support cannot be overstated. It fosters collaboration, accelerates learning and provides a platform for sharing insights and best practices. In the process of being involved in multiple product communities, a few key lessons surfaced:

Together, AI and communities demonstrated the importance of technology and human connection in shaping the future of product management.

This year, I have been incredibly fortunate to learn from incredible leaders and rediscover my user centricity by building a 0 to 1 product in the family wellness space. The guidance and clear thinking of leaders around me has motivated me to moving fast to launch products and pivot where necessary. I have realized that the true meaning of tenacity is assessing when to persevere and when to pivot.

1. Judgment under fire: The strongest leaders have acquired objective and clear judgment with respect to user impact. They are decisive in ceasing investments in features that will not result in impact.

2. Maintain a positive mindset: In building complex products in a competitive marketplace, it is easy to get weighed down by these intricacies. The best leaders spend very little time mourning the past and keep looking forward.

3. The value of analytical thinking: I find myself more and more invested in developing a strong analytical backbone this year. Using data, customer anecdotes, and structured decision making is a powerful way to guide the team towards success and pivot sooner.

2024 has shown me that while AI can revolutionize how we build products, the heart of product management remains deeply human. AI tools can streamline research, refine prioritization and even suggest solutions, but they can’t replace the nuanced skills of a PM, such as spearheading collaboration across teams, communicating with empathy and making strategic decisions rooted in real customer insights.

This year, I learned to leverage AI to amplify my impact, but it also reinforced the importance of staying grounded in the fundamentals: listening to customers, aligning stakeholders, and building a culture of collaboration. The best tools in the world mean little without clear communication, strategic intent and the trust of the people you work with. AI can’t replace the importance of human connection.

While the landscape is changing, one thing always remains true: The importance of curiosity and continuous learning. Considering the changing job market for product managers, building technical or design expertise for example, will be incredibly beneficial to increasing your long-term success.

What else have people learned out there? This Reddit user started a great thread to understand what product people were reflecting on looking back on 2024. We had a read of the thread and summed up some of the highlights: 

What did you learn this year? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or email us at editor@mindtheproduct.com.