What to Expect When Transitioning Into a PM Role by EverTrue PM
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How to switch from engineering to product management job? What are the expectations vs. reality of the transition? What are the biggest challenges in the beginning of your PM career? This and more questions will be answered in this presentation given by Sarah Morgan from Evertrue. Enjoy!
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What to Expect When Transitioning Into a PM Role by EverTrue PM
- 1. Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 1 www.productschool.com What to Expect When Transitioning Into a PM Role by EverTrue PM
- 2. FREE INVITE Join 30,000+ Product Managers on
- 3. Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 3Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 3 COURSES PRODUCT MANAGEMENT LEARN THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO LAND A PRODUCT MANAGER JOB
- 4. Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 4Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 4 COURSES CODING FOR MANAGERS BUILD A WEBSITE AND GAIN THE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE TO LEAD SOFTWARE ENGINEERS
- 5. Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 5Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 5 COURSES DATA ANALYTICS FOR MANAGERS LEARN THE SKILLS TO UNDERSTAND WEB ANALYTICS, SQL AND MACHINE LEARNING CONCEPTS
- 6. Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 6Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 6 COURSES DIGITAL MARKETING FOR MANAGERS LEARN HOW TO ACQUIRE MORE USERS AND CONVERT THEM INTO CLIENTS
- 7. Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 7Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 7 COURSES BLOCKCHAIN FOR MANAGERS LEARN HOW TO TRADE CRYPTOCURRENCIES AND BUILD PRODUCTS USING THE BLOCKCHAIN
- 9. What to Expect When Transitioning Into a PM Role Sarah Morgan, Product Manager @EverTrue
- 10. You can find me at www.evertrue.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahgmorgan/ hello!
- 11. Sarah Who?
- 12. Why do you want to be a product manager? ?
- 13. I want to be the ceo of my product! ⬚ Frustration I don’t understand why we are doing what we are doing. These are “bad” decisions. I’m not happy in my role executing on someone else’s vision. ⬚ Expectation I will make the product decisions and define the direction in which this product is going to grow. I will be universally beloved when my product is successful. I will be the CEO of my product. ⬚ Reality It’s not quite that simple.
- 14. Ask Yourself: How Do I Like To Work? ⬚ Keen interest in strategy ⬚ hands on with customers ⬚ Comfortable in ambiguity ⬚ Interested in being a customer advocate (the voice of the customer) ⬚ Comfortable stepping back from software development ⬚ Enjoys complex problem solving ⬚ Good communicator (especially when it’s bad news) ⬚ Want more visibility or accolades ⬚ Don’t enjoy working with customers ⬚ Skeptical of the value of sales/support/marketing ⬚ Want to be left alone to “get things done” ⬚ Need clearly defined responsibilities ⬚ Wants to make everyone happy ⬚ Rigid about decisions
- 15. Ok, I really want to do this, what now? Be tough and tenacious. Tip If it was easy, everyone would do it. Don’t get discouraged by rejection. I have been rejected from more companies than I can count. I have also turned down some great jobs. Believe in yourself.
- 16. What about formal training? Do I have the right background? It can make your transition faster and easier. Formal product training - like Product School - lets you hit the ground running with basic understanding of what you should be doing. Great foot in the door with alumni resources and coaching. MBA - exposes you to the higher level strategy to run businesses. Can help close knowledge gaps in “business” knowledge. You do not need a certain background, education, or experience to be successful.
- 17. Just a sampling of the previous careers of some of my favorite product managers:
- 18. Where should I go? A few things to think about. ⬚ Culture ⬚ Industry ⬚ Strategy ⬚ Company Size ⬚ Company Stage ⬚ Technical Requirements
- 19. Industry: Do you feel strongly about what your work contributes to the world? (Hint: You should!)
- 20. Strategy: ⬚ Who are your customers? ⬚ Where is the company headed?
- 21. Size and Stage: ⬚ Who does your company answer to? ⬚ What size fish are you? Do you want a big or small pond?
- 22. Technical Requirements: ⬚ Do you feel comfortable with what is required of you technically?
- 23. You Got The Job, Now What? Transition is scary! Tip Listen more than you talk. Always. With everyone.
- 24. You are not the CEO of your product. A good PM will carry the responsibility and share the success. Everyone works WITH you, no one works FOR you. Don’t be an asshole.
- 25. Check your ego and your baggage at the door. You found customer service annoying as an engineer? They are now a voice for your customer. Sales sold stuff that didn’t exist? They are telling you what the market wants and needs. Customers were never satisfied with your products? They’re literally telling you what they want. Marketing is always nagging for updates? They help socialize all the hard work your team is doing to ensure it sees the light of day. The CEO on your case if you'll make the deadline? They are securing funding and partnerships out in the world to be sure you have what you need to build new stuff.
- 26. Just Say No. Do not fall into the trap of becoming a feature factory. Saying yes to every request will result in a bad and unwieldy product. Tease out the root of the problem, people request features but there is an underlying problem or need they are trying to fulfill. Say no to the feature, but yes to making your users lives better/easier/more efficient/more enjoyable.
- 27. “ have strong opinions, which are weakly held. -technology forecaster and Stanford University professor Paul Saffo
- 28. Co lab or a tion ⬚ Everyone works WITH you, no one works FOR you ⬚ We win together, we lose together ⬚ The roadmap is an agreement, not marching orders ⬚ Celebrate your wins and bring good news back to the team ⬚ Be available and answer everyone’s questions ⬚ Don’t forget to have fun ⬚ Don’t be a process dictator ⬚ Don’t be an asshole
- 29. Listen to the data, and to your gut. Learn how to understand what your data is telling you, but don’t disregard soft cues Take calculated risks at the right time Stick to your guns, but recognize when to fold Hone your intuition as you learn your users, the product, the strategy
- 30. BHAGS! (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) ⬚ steer your ship towards the BHAG ⬚ break it down into consumable chunks ⬚ Chip away as you move towards your goals
- 31. Any questions? You can find me at: sarah@evertrue.com Thanks!
- 32. Additional resources ⬚ Cracking the PM Interview, Gayle Laakmann McDowell and Jackie Bavaro ⬚ What Customers Want: Using Outcome-Driven Innovation to Create Breakthrough Products and Services, Anthony Ulwick ⬚ Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice, Clayton M. Christensen et al. ⬚ Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal ⬚ Strong Opinions Weakly Held, Ameet Ranadive
- 33. Sanjay Gupta 12/5/18 33 www.productschool.com Part-time Product Management, Coding, Data, Digital Marketing and Blockchain courses in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Austin, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Denver, Orange County, Seattle, Bellevue, Toronto, London and Online
Editor's Notes
- I’m here to give you some things to think about based on my personal experiences and some of the pitfalls I encountered. This is not a comprehensive guide to getting into product management, or the only formula for success but hopefully I can share some insight and help you avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made along the way. I am happy to connect and answer questions, talk about building software or anything else you might want to chat about! You can find me in the Product School Slack, on LinkedIn, or via email.
- This job is hard, good product managers make it look easy. They keep their cool in stressful situations. They gracefully deliver bad news to customers. They listen to EVERYONE who has a product opinion. They work with all stakeholders and manage expectations. They live and breathe their customers needs/pains/wants and understand why they do and why.
- It can be very difficult to get into product management. Network, showcase what makes you a good candidate at your current org. Look for entry level positions. Apply for jobs you don’t think you’re qualified for. Take on responsibilities that will benefit you as a PM while you work on the transition.
- Do you believe in the product? I worked in hedge fund software as an engineer and learned that I didn’t want to work on software that made rich men richer - I feel more fulfilled in education, non-profits, etc.
- B2B vs B2C? Do you want to work with consumers or enterprise? What interests you about the problems you’re trying to solve? Is the product going in a direction that interests you?
- SML? Big fish little pond? Lots of people sharing the work. More broad ownership or more focus on a smaller piece of the puzzle? More resources and money vs a more bootstrap approach? stealth, startup, revenue generating?
- You can learn almost everything you need to know on the job, but some roles have expectations of some prior technical experience. Sometimes these are labeled as “technical product manager” roles, but sometimes not.
- This was the most important thing I learned early on, and I learned the hard way. I said yes to everything and disappointed everyone. Better to manage expectations early and be upfront and honest with stakeholders. They will accept a “no” early on better than they will accept a missed deadline or broken promises later down the line. This means saying no to customers, sales, marketing, management, etc.
- weak opinions are problematic because people aren't inspired to develop the best arguments possible for them, or to put forth the energy required to test them. it was just as important, however, to not be too attached to what you believe because, otherwise, it undermines your ability to "see" and "hear" evidence that clashes with your opinions which leads to the problem of "confirmation bias."To deal with an uncertain future and still move forward, you will have to make decisions without all the information. Come up with a plan and challenge others to change your mind. Don’t be rigid, and consider that there is more than one approach to solving a problem.
- While you are getting familiar with your company, role, product, users it’s better to rely on what data and history is telling you. Are you get more ingrained in your product, start listening to your gut and heart and take calculated risks. Data can’t tell you about the unknown but your intuition can. Test, test, test when you take those risks and don’t be afraid to recognize a missed shot and change direction when needed.
- You have to know where you’re headed, even if you never get there. The envisioned future should be so exciting in its own right that it would continue to keep the organization motivated even if the leaders who set the goal disappeared - your goals should align with your company strategy and can be revenue, qualitative, metrics, or anything that motivates and drives you and your team towards success. Don’t try to do it all at once, but let it be what you are collectively working towards. Be careful to not let it become discouraging, celebrate the milstones and progres you make along the way.