Mathematical Concepts, yes we use them, Differently!

For those not familiar with the #Indian Education system, we have the dreaded Board Examinations in Classes Xth and XIIth. There is a lot of pressure on the students to do well. You have to got to an examination centre , different from your own school, for your final exams. Evaluators are not from your school, results take time to be announced. There is a lot of fanfare around how these exams will shape and make you ready for your future.

Schools and the Education system fail to tell the students how they will use the concepts they are learning in their day to day lives.

Mathematics being one subject, other than the 4 basic operations Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division, you don't really use a lot in your day to day work.

I thought of putting together a few mathematical principles that Product Managers use. Read it with a pinch of salt!

• Differentiation. Probably the most heard about concept out of the others that I will be listing down. Product differentiation strategy helps Product Managers answer these key questions “Why should a targeted customer buy my product?” and “How can I make my product stand out from the rest?” The seemingly easy answer is: because my product is different from the others on the market. Product Managers often shoot for the easiest way to create product differentiation: they add more features. They productize their way into differentiation.

When the generic product is undifferentiated, the offered product makes the difference in getting customers and the delivered product in keeping them.

• Integration. Product integration strategy is developed early in the project, concurrently with product development plans and specifications. In Product Marketing terms, Product Integration involves the actual integration of the product or brand into the script of a television show or movie. For example, product integration could include the storyline of a television episode revolving around a character's use of Speed Stick deodorant. Product integration usually operates on a paid model, where the product or brand gains exposure and popularity through use by characters in the TV show or movie and the production company is compensated accordingly for including the product within its script.

• Curves. The product adoption curve is a standard model that reflects who buys your products and when. Think of it as the big picture view of your product adoption. It takes the product lifecycle and considers what happens at different points.

Also, how can forget about the Bell curve system of performance appraisal , a ranking system used on the employees by the management. 

There are ways in which you can certainly grow to become an Exponential Product Manager using the concepts above.