part0007

“Your first project is to launch our new credit card marketplace. This project should be straightforward because we already defined the product and you just need to get it shipped.”

In early 2019, I joined Credit Karma to grow the credit card business—the largest revenue stream for the company. The team had worked for months on a complete redesign of the cards marketplace for logged out users, and my job was to get it out the door.

I caught up with my teammates who led the redesign. They shared that one of the goals was to make it easier for people to browse cards by category (e.g., travel cards, cash back cards, etc.). The team had conducted user research to identify this customer need, so I didn’t question it. Over the next few weeks, I helped everyone get the new marketplace ready for launch.

Launch day arrived, and we celebrated with cupcakes. We rolled out the new marketplace to 50% of users as a test, and everyone felt confident that it would perform better than the old one.

Unfortunately, the numbers told a different story. As the days passed, a sense of dread crept over me. The new marketplace was performing worse, far worse. A week after launch, revenue was down 10% for the new marketplace compared to the old one.

I started making excuses in my head. “I didn’t define this product, so it’s not my fault.” “I’m new to the team and don’t want to rock the boat.” “Maybe if we wait another week, the numbers will improve.”

But instead of making excuses or blaming others, I knew I had to take ownership. I told my manager, “This is my fault, and I will fix this. We’re looking at the numbers now to understand what went wrong.” Over the next few days, I dove into the data and discussed the problem with my teammates. We realized that most people visited the marketplace after searching for “best cards” on Google. Unlike the people we recruited for user research, our real customers wanted to shop for cards right away. A quick look at our competitors’ websites confirmed our hypothesis: All of them displayed a list of best cards directly on their marketplace.

With this insight, I asked the team to show cards directly on the page and highlight the key benefits of each card. It took a few more tests, but we went from a -10% revenue dip to a +10% revenue lift and were finally able to release the product.

By taking ownership of the initial failure, I built trust with my team and my manager. By being the first to admit my mistake, I encouraged my teammates to take ownership as well.

When your team runs into a problem, it’s easy to blame others or make excuses. Instead, be the first to admit how you contributed to the problem and what you’re doing to address it. When other people see you lead with your mistakes, they’re more likely to share their mistakes and focus on solving the problem as well.

When your team achieves a new milestone, it’s easy to take credit for it. Instead, give as much credit as possible to your team. Build trust with your teammates by recognizing them in public and showing genuine appreciation in 1:1s.

Take ownership of your emotions. It’s natural to get emotional when you’re in a heated debate with a teammate or receiving critical feedback from your manager. But people don’t make good decisions when they’re emotional. Think about it this way: When something goes wrong, would you rather work with someone who is calm or someone who is raising their voice? As a product manager, you must check your ego and control your negative emotions.

Controlling your emotions is easier said than done, so here are a few tips:

Practice these steps all the time. If you can get good at controlling your emotions, it’ll make being a product manager much less stressful .

Take ownership of your relationships. Building relationships is just as important as owning a list of tasks because your hardest tasks require collaboration and alignment with other people.

To build relationships, check your ego, and put yourself in other people’s shoes. Keep them updated on your project’s progress. Listen when they’re speaking, and show empathy for their perspectives. Help them out and expect nothing in return. Product managers that have an attitude of “I did this for you, so you owe me one” don’t go very far.

If you’re humble, collaborative, and genuine, you’ll soon develop great relationships with people who will be eager to work with you.