One thing that gets clearer with every new discussion I have with a Product Manager is that there may be nothing more important than your soft skills. You may find they’re the only tool you can rely on to create change, improve coordination between Marketing and Engineering, prepare the sales force to effectively sell the product, or speed up the pace of new features and capabilities.

In an earlier topic called “Why is the Soft Stuff So Darn Hard?” I mentioned a concept for approaching teammates with problems and sticky issues in an effective way. I call it practice factuality.

So here’s a little more guidance to help you practice factuality. Use the nine rules below to make critical progress that is so hard to measure but so necessary if you want to reach the goals and aspirations you have for the product.