This was an exclusive, "Ask me Anything" session with Stephanie Leung, Product Manager at Youtube. She talked about the 3 things she wished she knew about product management, breaking into the field, lessons she's learned and her advice to others.

1. "Ask Me Anything"
with YouTube's Product Manager
/Productschool @ProductSchool /ProductmanagementSF

2. About me
Born and raised in the Bay Area
Currently a PM at YouTube
Fun facts!
● I have a golden retriever
● I have a twin sister

3. 3 things I wish I knew about
being a PM

4. #1
The path to PM can
be windy
(...and that's ok!)

5. The start
Studied EE at Berkeley, Stanford
Thought I was going to be a HW
engineer forever
Cracks in the foundation formed
● Loved my psych classes
● Dabbled in marketing
● Worked on and off as a SW
engineer

6. Intel: early lessons
Stints in engineering and
marketing
Ended up an analyst for the CEO’s
chief of staff
Got a crash course in business
and strategy
Loved the birds eye view, but
missed being on the ground floor

7. My first PM gig
Joined a new subsidiary of Intel
called Intel Media
Goal was to disrupt the cable TV
business
Got a crash course in being a PM
● Authority is earned, not
granted
● Make order out of chaos
● Identify and fill in the gaps

8. Continuing the journey
Now at YouTube working on
growth
Realized my hodgepodge
background can be an asset
● SW and circuit design skills
● Psychology
● Marketing
● Data analysis

9. #2
Be an octopus

10. A day in the life
Despite the variety, your role for
most meetings is to:
● Have clear goals and
outcomes in mind for each
meeting
● Be prepared with information
and data
● Drive each meeting to reach
desired goals
● Identify and follow up with
action items

11. #3
It’s easy to be a bad
PM, hard to be a
good one

12. Good PM/Bad PM
A ‘good’ pm will be a function of the
team, company, environment, product
Being a PM is both art and science
All of us can be bad PMs sometimes

13. My take
A good PM...
Does what it takes to deliver
Is self aware, asks for feedback,
and learns fast
Is the voice of the customer
Serves the team
A bad PM...
Thinks they are the boss
Goes where the wind blows
Has a weak grasp of who their
customer is, or should be
Doesn’t have a plan for what their
team could be working on next
month

14. Thanks for listening!

15. www.productschool.com