Are you interested in becoming a Product Manager? Learn how from this presentation!

1. www.productschool.com
How to Get into Product Management
by Splunk Director of PM

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7. Narayanan
Krishnamoorthy
TONIGHT’S SPEAKER

8. WhoAmI?
Work:
❖ Product Management (7 years)
➢ Built 4 families of products → 20+ products
➢ Worked on all aspects of Product Management → Concept to Grave
➢ 2 pending patents
❖ Technical Marketing Engineering (~2 years)
❖ QA/Engineering (~2.5 years)
Personal:
❖ Father and Husband
❖ Spartan
Follow me:
LinkedIn:
https://www.link
edin.com/in/nar
ayanankrishna
moorthy/
Twitter:
@kumar2907
Instagram:
kumar2907

9. My journey to Product Management-ville
● Started in QA out of grad school - hands-on, challenging labs, documentation,
beta support
● Didn’t want to invest time and $$ in an MBA
● Joined the TME team ( 300 engg : 1 TME)
● Built a rapport with the PM team and added value to their day to day role
● Transitioned to PM within my group @ Cisco
● Moved to Aerohive as a Sr.PM and eventually led the team responsible for
80% of company revenue
● Moved to Splunk as Engineering for over 2 years out of grad school but
wanted a customer facing role
● Director of Field PM

10. What to expect today?
1. Product Management - Explore, Understand, Decide, Prepare
2. Interviewing for the role
3. Expected Challenges and Mitigation Strategies
4. Early days - Plan your 30-60-90
5. Q&A

11. Evolution of Product Management
Inbound +
Outbound
Few years ago
Field/Strategy
Product Managers
More outbound, lots of
customer, limited product
knowledge, field and
channel interaction,
almost no business
insight/skills
Technical Product
Managers
More inbound and sprint
focussed, Product experts,
some customer
interaction*, almost no
business insight/skills*
Today
* Level of engagement varies from org to org

12. Your journey to Product Management

13. MBA
Engineering
Sales
Technical Sales
Marketing
Education/Training
Technical
Marketing/Solution
Experts
Origin
Destination
Product Manager
Finance/Ops

14. Product Management
- Explore, Understand,
Decide, Prepare

15. Explore, Understand
1. Why?
2. What if?
3. Perspective: Speak to current PMs in your group
4. Introspect : SWOT analysis
5. Understand that a PM role emcompasses everything from product definition
to GTM → vast array of skills

16. Decide and Prepare
1. Decide if PM is for you.
2. Preparation: (length of preparation depends on your current role and available
time for preparation)
a. Know the product
b. Know the customers
c. Know the industry
d. Know the competition
3. Most orgs need prior PM experience. How would you tackle that?
a. Moving to a PM role within your current company is more viable than looking elsewhere
b. Look for intermediate roles which can eventually lead to PM
c. Talk to PMs within your org and find areas where you can contribute

17. Interviews

18. What to Expect?
● Variables:
○ Interviewers’ background and biases
○ Role’s requirement
○ Company culture
○ Appetite for non-PMs
○ Timing
○ Urgency
● Sometimes, all at once

19. Some Potential Landmines and How to Tackle Them
● “You don’t have former PM experience”
○ Focus on elements of your current role that are applicable to the PM role.
● “We need someone to hit the ground running”
○ Get into the details: What are their top priorities? How do they define success?
○ Express your appetite to do more and learn
● “You’re not a PM. What value do you bring to the table?”
○ Focus on key aspects about your current role - Product knowledge, customer knowledge,
competitive, messaging/positioning etc

20. The New PM Gal/Guy
- Expected Challenges

21. First week/month: Questions on your mind
1. What are the team dynamics within the PM team?
2. What is my role?
3. Who are my partners/counterparts?
4. What makes me valuable?
5. How can I add value?
6. Where can I add value?
7. When in doubt, who do I ask ?
8. Do I need additional training to be better at my job?
9. Where can I find supporting resources?
10.What can I tell and not tell customers?

22. Challenges and Possible Mitigations
Challenge: Lack of clarity about the role/ownership
Solution: Meet your manager as soon as you can to understand his/her
expectations of you and document your shared understanding
Challenge: Insufficient knowledge about PM best practices
Solution: PM training should start before you interview. Enroll in formal training.
Read books - interviews, best practices, blogs etc
Challenge: How can I add value?
Solution: Think about your role before PM. Engineers know the
technology/product well. QA are very hands on. Marketing folks are good with
storytelling. Sales are good with customers. Each role brings in value.

23. Challenges and Possible Mitigations….continued
Challenge: Haven’t presented the product/roadmap in front of
customers/audience
Solution: Get access to the relevant decks sooner than later. Prepare your script.
Present it to a trusted friend/manager, join Toastmasters.
Challenge: Haven’t analyzed financial data before
Solution: Review old reports, speak with finance, get access to your ERP system,
speak with PM peers who have do this on a regular basis

24. Questions you shouldn’t be asking
● How do I learn the product?
● How do I sound like a PM?
● Why do I need to know other aspects of PM? I’m really good at ABC aspects
of PM.

25. Your Evolution as a PM

26. Make Yourself Relevant
● Bring your expertise from your old role
● Know the product
● Don’t be afraid to get hands on
● Research your sales trends, customer base, ASP, market segmentation
● Review old PRD/MRD/pricing/positioning decks to acclimatize yourself with
templates
● Find opportunities to contribute early

27. Build your 30-60-90
● Mutually agreed 30-60-90 day plan with your manager
● Set achievable but moderately challenging goals which add value to the org
● Get written agreement from your manager
● Review it every 2 weeks to ensure on track delivery
● Get a mix of technical and business goals
● Use this time to ask questions about doing things differently. Only you have
an outsider’s perspective.

28. In Summary: 10 Things To Remember
1. You can be a Product Manager, regardless of your current role
2. MBA - Investing in an MBA is one path to get into Product Management
3. Catalyst roles - to get to Product Management
4. Preparation - for the interview should start 2-3 months before plans to
interview
5. Know - the product, technology, customers, business, industry and
competition
6. Ask - Don’t be afraid to bring up ideas and seek clarity
7. Storyteller - adept in presenting in front of audiences
8. Customers - Visit key customers/sales at least once a quarter
9. Trust - Build a trust with your counterparts (engg/ops/marketing/sales)
10.Remember to have fun

29. www.productschool.com
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