Many product managers struggle to find the mentors they want - but perhaps mentorship isn't the right model for this industry. Let's take a look at personal advisory boards instead.

1. Helping you solve the mentorship problem

2. STATUS
CHECK!
Who considers themselves time-poor?
Worsened through the pandemic?
Worse still with current economic landscape?

4. “Our customers have changed more in the last two years than
they have in the last two decades”
“10 years ago, it was backlogs and roadmaps…
Now it’s user research, competitor benchmarking, support
optimisation, pricing analysis, hiring, culture, vision and
strategy, input to fund raising decks and more!”

6. Survey went out
to a few hundred
product people
1
103 people
wanted to be
mentored
2
Only two were
able to offer up
their time in
return
3

7. STOP
Stop asking for mentors
It’s a broken model
An unwieldy commitment

8.  First 15 years: technology recruitment, building networks and finding people who
didn’t want to be found!
 The last decade: cofounder & CEO Mind The Product
 Events: conferences and meetups (MTPCon, ProductTank)
 Training: in person workshops, corporate sessions, online self-directed learning
 Content: curated newsletters, podcasts, videos, case studies

9. PRODUCT /
RECRUITER
HYBRID!
•It’s likely several different
topics
•Are you clear on them?
What
problem are
you trying
to solve?
•Does the same strategy
suit each platform?
•Who wins on the platforms
that matter to you?
Fish where
the fish are!
•Ask about their stories
•Share their material
•Offer to help
How will
you catch
their
attention?

10. Mentors won’t
come to you
•Listen to their
interviews
•Follow their tweets or
LinkedIn posts
•Engage to stand out.
Think wider than
simply product
•Commercial
•Marketing
•Sales
•Consider new lenses
for the problems you
face
Tell your stories
•Podcasts
•Blogs
•Meetups
•Conferences
•Tweets, Posts, Toots!
Be open to
receiving help
from unexpected
sources

11. PERSONAL
ADVISORY
BOARD
PRODUCT CULTURE
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
DISCOVERY & RESEARCH
PRICING
STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT
COACHING
PRODUCT OPS & TOOLING

12. LinkedIn: James Mayes
Email: James@exolite.co
Twitter @james_mayes
1
Personal Advisory Canvas
2

13. Personal traits
Curiosity
Resilience
Professional competencies
Unafraid to talk to engineers
Passionate about customer problems