The document is a summary of a panel discussion on breaking into product management featuring industry leaders sharing their experiences and insights. Key themes include the importance of mindset, understanding product success factors, and essential qualities for product managers. The discussion highlighted pathways to enter the field and emphasized the role's multifaceted nature.

1. BREAK INTO PRODUCT
MGMT:
A PANEL DISCUSSION
GENERAL ASSEMBLY & ROWBEN PRESENT:
TWEET US:
@MelbourneGA
#BreakintoPM
FEATURING:
Laura Cardinal - Xero
Brad Dunn - Nazori
Liz Blink - Product Anon
Adam Fry - Sportsbet + GA
MODERATOR:
Julien Viard - Rowben

2. Hi, I’m Laura
Product Manager, Xero – Australia

3. start
here
My journey.
Barwon Water Carsales
Non Product Roles “Product Manager” roles
City West
Water
RealestateVie
w
Xero

4. Fill your own skills scorecard

5. Beautiful accounting software

6. WHY DOES SOMETHING
REALLY WORK
Brad Dunn
Executive Director, Nazori

7. THE GOOD & THE BAD 3
How can you tell
what’s causing something to succeed?

8. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 3
The fundamental attribution error,
is people’s tendency to place an
undue emphasis on internal
characteristics to explain
someone else’s given situation,
rather than considering external
factors.

9. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT 3
When designing something
you need to know why it works
so you can leverage it or
(if it doesn’t work)
what’s likely to fix it with as little
waste as possible (lean).

10. PROTIPS 3
2 free #protips

11. THE GOOD & THE BAD 3

12. THE GOOD & THE BAD 3
More than product
More than cash
Than timing
Than context
People
Process…

13. 3

14. General Assembly
Break into Product Management:
An Evening with Industry Leaders
22nd January 2015

15. Liz Blink
Co-founder Product Anonymous
Currently: Senior Manager Product Simplification
Sensis
bit.ly/productanon

16. –William Hsu
“Regardless of your motivation or your
background, someone without The Product
Mindset will never be a great PM. Part of the
reason why the role is so difficult to define is that
it consists of many, smaller roles, where the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts. But
when someone has the right mindset, the
definition doesn’t really matter. They intuitively
know what to do, and that gets reflected
throughout the organisation.”

17. a Venn diagram to explain
everything
Company Team
You

18. WHAT WOULD A
PRODUCT
MANAGER DO?
Adam Fry, Lead Product Manager Sportsbet

19. AGENDA
PRODUCT MANAGER ≈ PRODUCT MANAGER

20. AGENDAEXPERT
EVANGELIST
…MINI CEO

21. SOME
FUNDAMENTAL
QUALITIES
WHAT WOULD A PRODUCT MANAGER DO?

22. HELLO!
‣ Diplomat & Collaborator
‣ Communicator & Translator
‣ Lead through influence

23. HELLO!
‣ Curious & Analytical
‣ Solve problems & recognise opportunities
‣ Super sleuth

24. AGENDA
NAME
‣ Tenacious & Resilient
‣ Decisive & able to prioritise
‣ Able to say NO

25. AGENDA
NAME
‣ Empathetic
‣ Open minded
‣ Good listener

26. PATHWAYS
WHAT WOULD A PRODUCT MANAGER DO?

27. AGENDA‣ Network
‣ Get to know your product team
‣ Side-step to a company with a great product team
‣ Listen, understand, develop insights
‣ Product-manage your career

29. THANK YOU!If you’d like some more information about our upcoming courses please contact Laura Gibby:
laura.gibby@ga.co