We’re back! It’s your favorite product email of the week where we cheer on the product managers or entrepreneurs that are grinding daily to build great products that SELL! Let’s dive in!

‍

Grab your tissue box because it’s therapy time. The people part of running a business or building a product can be incredibly challenging. After weeks upon weeks of managing conflict, choosing between competing ideas, and working with a diversity of personality types, you may find yourself going home every night and locking yourself away from the world and watching Briderton with your favorite pint of Ben & Jerrys (mine is half baked).

‍

‍

It takes people to make a product successful, and it takes early adopters to work with you to make the product even better. Managing these relationships is critical. Developers tend to clash when working together. Early adopters tend to get frustrated if you’re not there to support and listen to the feedback. Having strong people skills makes all the difference.

As I go through different growth stages of a product or a company, I approach the team and our early adopters with the mindset that I’m a therapist. Some tips and tricks below to do this well.

1. Listen much more than you speak. Your team and your early adopters need to feel heard.
2. Tensions run high in fast-paced product builds and companies. Create opportunities for your team to communicate with each other so concerns and conflicts can be resolved quickly.
3. Encourage your quietest team members to speak first or at a minimum give them the opportunity to speak. They often times will have the best ideas.
4. Create a culture of kindness and authenticity. This takes time and it starts with you, the entrepreneur and/or product manager setting the bar and leading by example.

In closing, lean into your role as a therapist! And you know, don’t be afraid to get some therapy yourself whether that’s seeing a professional, spending time with other product managers and entrepreneurs, eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, or going axe throwing.

‍

‍

Design Matters

You can stay calm because there is a new meditation app UI for Calm on the design block. Meditation is a delicate area to design for especially because many folks interacting with the design may be on the verge of a mental breakdown (yup I’ve been there)! I love the care the designers put into this as they work to make the app as accessible as possible. Nice work Jeremy Aditya!

‍

Check out the project on Behance!

This Edition Of Product Hacks Is Brought To You By:

Me! No cool sponsors this week for the dozens of readers. So you all get our hero, Mr. Elon Musk, because his products go to space and that’s where our logo is from.

‍

‍

About The Writer:

Ben Sampson is a product nerd and current co-founder at WeHero. He has built 4 companies in the past 10 years, and worked as a consultant for 4 years helping some of the largest companies in the world like Bloomberg, Dun & Bradstreet, etc. make some of the best products in company history.

Yes, I wrote this in 2nd person because it just sounds sooo much cooler! See you all on Twitter or LinkedIn.