Who was it that said "It take a village…"? They may not have been talking about being a product manager, but they might as well have been. Life has become so complex that product managers can no longer make their product a success just by their own efforts. Today it takes the help of one or more partners to get your product to where it needs to be. Are you going to be ready to work with those partners?

What You'll Find Inside:

* FORCE MAJEURE: WHAT IS IT AND WHY CARE?

* 4 THINGS PRODUCT MANAGERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUYING ANOTHER COMPANY

* NETFLIX TEACHES PRODUCT MANAGERS A LESSON

* PARTNERSHIPS THAT DON’T WORK OUT FOR PRODUCT MANAGERS

One of the first things that product managers learn about working with partners is that we always need to have a signed contract with them. An often overlooked part of such contracts is the "force majeure" clause – product managers need to know what this really means. Product managers can learn by watching how other firms, such as Netflix, work with partners to become successful.

Product managers need to decide if they are going to be willing to work with other firms. Yes, they will be giving up some control of their product. However, like Taylor Swift and her battles with partners, they may be gaining more control over the product's success in the end.

What product managers need to realize is that not all partnerships will work out. Even at giant companies like Amazon, there will be partnerships that initially appear to be a good idea but which go bad. Learning how to use partners to tap into new markets, like India's Paytm mobile payment system has done, is the key to making your partnerships work out for you.

Blue Elephant Consulting