What are the secrets of the best product managers?

To succeed, product managers must demonstrate a specific set of core competencies — no matter where they work. But, the role of the product manager is particularly hard to define. They operate with a wide range of responsibilities and huge pressure to deliver results, often without reporting authority.  The future of a product is never predictable. As it meanders — discovering, fine-tuning, and pivoting — product managers shape the way forward, far more so than in a larger organization which have steady-state goals and plenty of minds to guide the way. With never enough resources and always discovering unclear paths, product managers are flying the plane while building it. This brings out either the best or the worst in a person, but the opportunity to drive impact is tremendous. From strategy and positioning to pricing and customer retention, they are challenged to do more with less.