Gibson Biddle discusses the importance of self-reflection in product careers, focusing on skills, progression, and experimentation with side projects. He emphasizes effective positioning, leadership development, and encourages building a supportive community for feedback. The document also outlines methods for evaluating career success and metrics for job satisfaction.

1. Gibson Biddle
Productized
May 27, 2021

2. Prepare yourself
for a little
self-reflection.”
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle

3. A conversation about

4. The most important
product

5. YOU

6. @gibsonbiddle

7. Hypotheses
Experiments
Results
Hack Your
Career
@gibsonbiddle

8. Speaker, Adviser, Teacher (2015-Present)
CPO, Chegg (2010)
VP Product, Netflix (2005)
SVP, Creative Wonders,The Learning
Company, Mattel (1995)
Director, Product, Electronic Arts (1991)
Gibson Biddle
@gibsonbiddle

9. Agenda
@gibsonbiddle
Hacking Your
Product Career
Positioning: Skills & progression
Experiment: Hacking via side projects
Results and feedback: Board of Directors
@gibsonbiddle

10. Agenda
Hacking Your
Product Career
Positioning: Skills & progression
Experiment: Hacking via side projects
Results and feedback: Board of Directors
@gibsonbiddle

11. Positioning yourself:
Skills & progression
@gibsonbiddle

12. What is it?
What are the benefits?
What is its personality?
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Positioning model

13. @gibsonbiddle
Positioning model
Netflix is a TV & movie subscription service
That’s fast, easy, entertaining & a great value, and
Is delivered in a straightforward, friendly way.

14. @gibsonbiddle
Positioning model
Gibson Biddle is a consumer product leader exec
Who help startups with a proof of concept to scale
Through strong strategic thinking, management &
leadership skills
In a genuine, quirky way.

15. How do you
position yourself?
@gibsonbiddle

16. @gibsonbiddle
What are the skills?

17. Join at
slido.com
#2720
What are the skills of a product leader?
@gibsonbiddle

18. Product
Skills
@gibsonbiddle
&
Leadership
Skills

19. Technical
Management
Creative
Business
Marketing
Design
Consumer science
Work effectively with engineers
Light process to deliver results
Generate ideas that matter
Deliver shareholder value
Package & position ideas
Work well with design; value simplicity
Insight via qual, survey, data & A/B tests
Product skills
Photo: Jim Watson / Getty Images
@gibsonbiddle
Aparna Chennapragada, Google

20. Leadership skills
Leadership
Management
Strategic thinking
Results-oriented
Culture
Business maturity
Domain expertise
Inspired communication of a vision
Hiring, firing & developing teams
Delight customers in H-2-C-$ ways
Proactive, do what it takes
Good fit; foundation for light process
Judgement: people, product & business
Experience with category and/or stage
@gibsonbiddle
Jonny Ive, Apple

21. April Underwood
Technical
Management
Creative
Business
Marketing
Design
Consumer science
Leadership
Management
Strategy
Results-oriented
Culture
Business maturity
Domain expertise
Leadership skills
Product skills
@gibsonbiddle
April Underwood, Slack

22. Technical
Management
Creative
Business
Marketing
Design
Consumer science
Leadership
Management
Strategy
Results-oriented
Culture
Business maturity
Domain expertise
Product skills Leadership skills
@gibsonbiddle

23. What are Your Super Powers?
@gibsonbiddle

24. Technical
Management
Creative
Business
Marketing
Design
Consumer science
Leadership
Management
Strategy
Results-oriented
Culture
Business maturity
Domain expertise
Product skills Leadership skills
@gibsonbiddle

25. Join at
slido.com
#2720
What are your top 2-3 product skills
@gibsonbiddle

26. Join at
slido.com
#2720
What are your top 2-3 leadership skills?
@gibsonbiddle

27. @gibsonbiddle

28. Leadership stages
Build an industry
Build a company
Build an organization
Build a hit
Build something
@gibsonbiddle

29. Leadership stages
Build an industry
Build a company
Build an organization
Build a hit
Build something
@gibsonbiddle

30. Leadership stages
Build an industry
Build a company
Build an organization
Build a hit
Build something
@gibsonbiddle

31. Leadership stages
Build an industry
Build a company
Build an organization
Build a hit
Build something
@gibsonbiddle

32. Leadership stages
Build an industry
Build a company
Build an organization
Build a hit
Build something
@gibsonbiddle

33. Leadership stages
Build an industry
Build a company
Build an organization
Build a hit
Build something
@gibsonbiddle

34. Leadership stages
Organization
Hit
Something
Company
Industry
Leadership, strategy, hiring, culture
Marketing & consumer insight
Basic design & management
X-functional leadership, company strategy
Long-term strategy & partnerships
@gibsonbiddle

35. Join at
slido.com
#2720
What career stage are you engaged in today?
@gibsonbiddle

36. Companies have stages, too.
@gibsonbiddle

37. What stage of company is best for you?
Starter:
Builder:
Super-scaler:
@gibsonbiddle
Loves just born startups
Helps startups w/ proof of concept scale
Helps large companies to excel

38. ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
What stage of company is best for you?

39. Bringing it all together.
@gibsonbiddle

40. @gibsonbiddle
Positioning model
Gibson Biddle is a consumer product leader exec
Who help startups with a proof of concept to scale
Through strong strategic thinking, management &
leadership skills
In a genuine, quirky way.

41. Experiment via
Career Hacking
@gibsonbiddle

42. @gibsonbiddle

43. @gibsonbiddle

44. @gibsonbiddle

45. My career hypotheses
Marketing v. Product
Starter v. Builder
Consumer v. Enterprise
Entertainment v. Education
@gibsonbiddle

46. @gibsonbiddle

47. @gibsonbiddle

48. @gibsonbiddle

49. @gibsonbiddle

50. @gibsonbiddle

51. @gibsonbiddle

52. @gibsonbiddle

53. @gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle

54. @gibsonbiddle

55. @gibsonbiddle

56. @gibsonbiddle

57. @gibsonbiddle

58. @gibsonbiddle

59. @gibsonbiddle

60. @gibsonbiddle

61. Marketing v. Product
Starter v. Builder
Consumer v. Enterprise
Entertainment v. Education.
Career Hypotheses
@gibsonbiddle

62. Your career
hypotheses?
@gibsonbiddle

63. What are your:
Areas of interest or passion?
Possible forks in the road?
New roles you seek?
(Think long-term.)
@gibsonbiddle

64. The right metric?
@gibsonbiddle

65. Join at
slido.com
#2720
What metrics help you to evaluate career success?
@gibsonbiddle

66. Income?
@gibsonbiddle

67. Job satisfaction?
@gibsonbiddle

68. Good for the world?
@gibsonbiddle

69. Make it an 8
@gibsonbiddle

70. Join at
slido.com
#2720
What is your current job satisfaction?
@gibsonbiddle

71. Join at
slido.com
#2720
What could be better about your job?
@gibsonbiddle

72. What makes your job better?
Community
Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose.
@gibsonbiddle

73. ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
Community: To what degree do you feel connected to your boss, peers,
reports, and customers?

74. ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
Autonomy: To what degree do you feel you have control over the work
you do?

75. ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
Mastery: To what degree do you feel you are learning new skills and
content areas?

76. ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.
Purpose: To what degree you feel the work you do matters?

77. Career hacking
Be bold
Hypotheses>>experiments
2 AM test
Side projects
Passion>>Curiosity>>Grit.
@gibsonbiddle

78. Risk enablers
Education
Small successes
Simple life
Job & career-hunting skills
Take the first step!
@gibsonbiddle

79. Feedback:
Your Board of Directors
@gibsonbiddle

80. @gibsonbiddle

81. Build your
community of
peers.”
Greg Bestick
@gibsonbiddle

82. Can I tell you something
you may not like?
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Irv Grossbeck
Amherst College, ‘57

83. Can I tell you something
you may not like?
You’re too nice to be a
startup CEO.”
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle
Irv Grossbeck
Amherst College, ‘57

84. Just tell people
what you want.”
Patty McCord
@gibsonbiddle

85. For you, Gib, it’s
all about
creative pursuit.”
Kristen Hege
@gibsonbiddle

86. @gibsonbiddle
Your board
Invest in good times
Listen carefully
Refresh often
Every month/quarter/year.

87. @gibsonbiddle
Peers
Similar function, stage & company
Past colleagues
Mutual support.

88. @gibsonbiddle
Mentors
Extraordinary judgment
Broad skills and network
Candid + caring.

89. @gibsonbiddle
Finding mentors
Starts with cold e-mail or LinkedIn message
Better approach: intro from shared connection
Look for ways to be helpful
Intersection of what you need & what they value.

90. Magic decoder

91. Cold LinkedIn/Email inquiry to me
Likelihood of
Response
Will you be my mentor? Very Low
Help me find a job? Very Low
Help me build my talk for Women In Product? Moderate
I have feedback on your recent talk Moderate
Broken link in your Product Strategy series. High
Will you speak at my Women/Black/LatinX event? High
Feedback on your Consumer v. Enterprise tweets Very High
Don’t use “www.” It makes you look old. Very High
@gibsonbiddle

92. @gibsonbiddle
Finding mentors
Strengthen weak link
Personality fit
Pass their tests
Create value.

93. gibsonbiddle.com
Product Leadership Talks & Workshops
Home Watch Talks Workshops Articles Speaker Materials Read Reviews
@gibsonbiddle

94. Conclusions
@gibsonbiddle

95. What would you do
if you weren't afraid?
@gibsonbiddle

96. Take Action
@gibsonbiddle

97. 2) Form hypotheses,
Experiment via side
projects.
3) Get feedback via
your Board of
Directors.
Hacking
Your
Product
Career
1.) Position yourself via
Product & Leadership skills &
Career progression ladder.
@gibsonbiddle

98. Make it an 8
@gibsonbiddle

99. Thank You
@gibsonbiddle