The Product Manager's Handbook : The Complete Product Management Resource [Hardcover]

Linda Gorchels (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0658001353 | ISBN-13: 978-0658001352 | Publication Date: June 1, 2000 | Edition: 2

The Product Manager's Handbook is the essential guide to successful product management in today's fast-changing business world. Product and brand managers, as well as upper-level sales, marketing, and branding executives, will find the text thorough and informative as it explains and analyzes the product manager's role in both traditional, hierarchical organizations as well as in newer horizontal, team-driven decision-making structures.

What is a product manager? The overall responsibility of a product manager is to integrate the various segments of a business into a strategically focused whole, maximizing the value of a product by coordinating the production of an offering with an understanding of market needs. A product manager must oversee all aspects of a product or service line in order to create and deliver superior customer satisfaction while simultaneously providing long-term value for the company.

The Product Manager's Handbook covers all of these topics in a convenient, easy-to-follow presentation that includes:

• Hands-on charts for managing every key step, from concept to completion
• Practical checklists for evaluating progress at every critical stage
• Brief profiles in every chapter of specific product management roles, functions, and issues
• Real-world cases illustrating the challenges of product management in action

This thoroughly revised and updated second edition fully integrates the Internet and other digital technologies into the product manager's arsenal of tools. The book includes all new information on what it takes to be a successful product manager. It explains the product manager's role in the planning process (including strategic and operational planning), how to evaluate product portfolios, how to propose and develop successful new products, and more.

The product manager is frequently the source of the entrepreneurial spirit and sense of innovation that drives a successful organization. Learn to make the most of your product management system with this indispensable reference guide.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Product Manager's Handbook is the essential guide to successful product management in today's fast-changing business world. Product and brand managers, as well as upper-level sales, marketing, and branding executives, will find the text thorough and informative as it explains and analyzes the product manager's role in both traditional, hierarchical organizations as well as in newer horizontal, team-driven decision-making structures.

What is a product manager? The overall responsibility of a product manager is to integrate the various segments of a business into a strategically focused whole, maximizing the value of a product by coordinating the production of an offering with an understanding of market needs. A product manager must oversee all aspects of a product or service line in order to create and deliver superior customer satisfaction while simultaneously providing long-term value for the company.

The Product Manager's Handbook covers all of these topics in a convenient, easy-to-follow presentation that includes:

• Hands-on charts for managing every key step, from concept to completion
• Practical checklists for evaluating progress at every critical stage
• Brief profiles in every chapter of specific product management roles, functions, and issues
• Real-world cases illustrating the challenges of product management in action

This thoroughly revised and updated second edition fully integrates the Internet and other digital technologies into the product manager's arsenal of tools. The book includes all new information on what it takes to be a successful product manager. It explains the product manager's role in the planning process (including strategic and operational planning), how to evaluate product portfolios, how to propose and develop successful new products, and more.

The product manager is frequently the source of the entrepreneurial spirit and sense of innovation that drives a successful organization. Learn to make the most of your product management system with this indispensable reference guide.

About the Author

Linda Gorchels is Director of Executive Marketing Programs at the Management Institute of the University of Wisconsin's School of Business. Prior to joining the faculty at University of Wisconsin, Gorchels held product and marketing management positions at VEREX Assurance, Wm. C. Brown Publishers, and Lear-Siegler, Inc. Gorshels regularly conducts on-site instruction for clients such as Motorola and The Miller Group

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 2 edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0658001353
• ISBN-13: 978-0658001352
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Gorchels is the author of several international business books that have changed the way corporations and managers think since 1995. Having taught over 10,000 executives from the United States and globally, Gorchels continually reinvents her approaches by functioning as both student and teacher. From her background in foresight studies, she provides insights into 21st century trends that are important for companies to incorporate into planning and business model renewal.

Linda is a wife and mother of two daughters and an eclectic volunteer helping build Habitat for Humanity homes, devoting time on boards of directors, and participating in Rotary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great overview of product management as a profession, August 1, 2000

By 

Todd Dailey (Santa Clara, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Product Manager's Handbook : The Complete Product Management Resource (Hardcover)

As a new product manager, I found this book quite useful as an overview of what is to be expected of a product manager. The book covers the roles, skills, and expectations of the product manager, covers the different organizational structures that cover product management, and uses detailed examples to show how those functions work in practice.

My only criticism is that it is a broad overview, and as such some of the areas (branding, for example) are covered very briefly. This book probably won't teach anything to the experienced product manager, but it might be useful as a reference to how other companies approach product management.

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for First Venture into Product Management, April 25, 2000

By 

Michael J Webb - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Product Manager's Handbook (NTC Business Books) (Hardcover)

This book is a good first step into product management (even though I tend to be partial to textbooks). It covers a wide spectrum of the topic. Unfortunately, this wide coverage and the book's short length (254 pages) means that at times it tends to be a bit too general. If you are looking for a very specific and comprehensive book then this might not be the one for you.

On the upside, it's packed full with charts, checklists and case studies (invaluable tools in learning), and it's written in a pretty concise fashion.

Overall, I feel that this book is a very good introduction into the area of product management for the beginner and possibly a supplimental text for the seasoned product manager.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

SECTION ONE: The Role and Operation of Product Management. 1. The New Product Management. 2. Introducing Product Management and Managing Product Managers. 3. The Role of Product Managers in the Organization. Case One: Heavyweight Product Managers.

SECTION TWO: Planning Skills for Product Managers. 4. The Product Marketing Planning Process. 5. The Annual Product Plan. Case Two: The Importance of Data.

SECTION THREE: Product Skills. 6. Evaluating the Product Portfolio. 7. Strategic Product Planning. 8. New Products: Proposal, Developmeent, and Lauch. Case Three: The Many Aspects of Product Line Management.

SECTION FOUR: Functional Skills. 9. Pricing Products and Services. 10. The Product Manager as Marketing Manager. 11. Product Management: The Final Frontier? Case Four: The 3M ScotchCartII Cartridge.

Please let me know if this was of help.

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reference book...but perhaps start at Chapter 5, February 1, 2003

By 

Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Product Manager's Handbook : The Complete Product Management Resource (Hardcover)

For product managers and, in fact, *anyone* who contributes the to the making, marketing or selling of products, this is a great reference book to have on your shelves. Linda Gorchels does a masterful job synthesizing all of the issues a product manager must be capable of tackling. She accomplishes this task with clean, well-structured text and examples. The heart of the book is really a series of extended checklists which are comprehensive, well-researched and accesible to the lay reader.

My only complaint is that the book is front-loaded with some some compartively less important stuff, including a chapter entitled "Product Manager.com." I suppose this emphasis is reflective of a book written in 1999 and published in 2000. But as I cast my eye warily at that chapter I was *this close* to just chucking the whole thing.

Just then...bingo. The red meat arrived at Chapter 5 when *finally* the planning skills required to be a PM were introduced. The book from this point (p. 69 in hardcover) on is cram-packed with tremendous information that you'll use again and again.

So, my word of advice when you get this book is either (a) don't give up on it early, or (b) proceed directly to Chapter 5.