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by Seven Peaks on Feb 20, 2025 10:00:00 AM
An outstanding digital product doesn't just happen. The tangible success that is evident to everyone is the result of one person constantly asking critical questions: What are we building, why are we building it, and how will what we build deliver value to the user? That person, of course, is the Product Manager (PM).
One of the most frequently confused roles in the tech industry is this one, especially when people ask about the difference between a project manager and a product owner. This article takes a deep dive into another key role which is Product Manager. We will explore the core of this position to understand what distinctive product manager skills a great PM must possess. We are honored to have May, a Product Manager from Seven Peaks Software, share her fascinating story and experiences throughout her career in this field.
Leading Through Persuasion and Empathy
If we were to define the core of being a Product Manager in a digital agency, we would say that the ability to persuade the team to be fully committed to overcoming every challenge is a crucial skill any leader needs in every situation that arises during work.
That is why persuasion becomes the most important soft skill. Although the PM's job does not come with direct authority to issue commands, because the PM is not the manager of the developers or designers, the PM is a leader who must use communication skills, data, and vision to persuade everyone on the team to share the same picture and be ready to move towards shared business goals.
Focusing on Strategic Value, Not Just Tasks
One of the most common misconceptions is grouping the Product Manager and project manager roles together. Although one person might take on multiple roles during a project, the required skill sets are distinctly different.
- Project Manager Skills focus on execution, time management, and resources.
- Product Manager Skills focus on product value and expertise in market strategy to ensure the product built truly reaches and is desired by the target audience.
The Product Manager uses these skills to communicate with senior executives and all stakeholders through strategic roadmap reviews. They focus on value, ROI, and progress against strategic goals to create a shared understanding and drive continuous support.
Driving Measurable Business Outcomes
The success of a Product Manager is measured by the outcome, not just the volume of output produced. Therefore, the skill of real problem-solving isn't limited to building large and complex features only.
For example, creating a small script for the customer support team can save the team two or three days of work per month. This demonstrates seeing a problem and creating clear, measurable value. Even if it is not a huge feature, it's about driving results by genuinely solving a problem or delivering a real benefit.
Mastering Context and Market Localization
At a company like Seven Peaks, where everyone works with major global clients every day, PMs here must possess another crucial skill, ensuring that global strategies can be perfectly adapted to the local context of companies or people in the region. We might call this person the localization expert.
We often see the risk faced by multinational companies in the APAC and Thai markets when they use a global strategy without adapting the digital product to the local context, culture, and user needs of that specific market. The result is that even the best strategies can fail because they do not align with the market's specific characteristics. Therefore, a vital product manager skill here is the ability to interpret and understand context and culture. This ensures the digital product genuinely meets local needs and is usable in the Thai market, instead of just implementing a global templat
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Developing the Foundational Product Sense
For those interested in this career path, many might think that only a direct degree will work. But inspiration can come from anywhere. My own starting point happened back in 2009 during my second year at the University of Florida. It began with attending a free event (I admit I might have gone because they were giving away free pizza). It turned out to be a demonstration of a music streaming service called Grooveshark, founded by an alumnus of the university.
You have to understand that this was the era when YouTube was just starting, and we still spent half a day downloading music from Torrents. Seeing a platform that allowed real-time, free music streaming was completely new at the time, a true industry revolution. That experience sparked the realization of the power of digital products, or what’s called Product Sense (seeing the product's opportunity and value). It was this experience that later led me into the Product Manager profession, specifically in the music streaming industry at both KKBOX and JOOX, before I eventually came to work at Seven Peaks.
Fostering Full Skill Utilization
Achieving tangible results requires a mutually supportive environment. At Seven Peaks, the policy that offers everyone the opportunity to work at peak efficiency is the open-door policy.
Direct access to executives, without complicated procedures, is crucial. This ensures the team receives clear and timely support from senior management, which eliminates obstacles and delays. This main mechanism rapidly resolves urgent problems, allowing the Product Manager to continuously maintain high performance velocity.
You Might Be the Product Manager We're Looking For
At Seven Peaks Software, we believe that a great Product Manager is a leader who drives results through persuasion, not just by managing tasks every day endlessly. We are currently looking for people who have sharp Product Sense and the skills to see true value to create a measurable impact.
If this is the right working approach for you, and you are ready to be a context translator who can connect global strategies with both domestic and international markets, join our team now. Check out our open positions for Product Manager and other roles here.
Product Manager
May is passionate about developing digital products that deliver impact to users. She currently serves as a Product Manager at Seven Peaks, using her leadership and persuasion skills to drive strategy and deliver a measurable impact for clients. With over 14 years of experience in the technology industry across various sectors, May is specialized in cultural translation and strategic digital product planning for the APAC market.