My Ignite talk on how to develop your career when you are a Product Developer or Manager. Like a Terry Gilliam movie, it starts slowly and then ends in a blinding paroxysm of violence, except for the violence.

1. Career Development in Product
Ty Ahmad-Taylor

2. Product
Essentials
Let’s take it as a
given that product
exists as the fulcrum/
linchpin between
business goals and
engineering. This
lumps UX and
creative into
‘engineering’ for
reasons of
expediency.
Business
Engineering
Product

3. The
Product
Process
This may be received
wisdom, but it bears
establishing what I
am talking about,
when we describe
what product people
actually do. This is
the overall product
process, and it
includes the entire
company.
Problem
Market
Market size
Thesis
MVP
Validation
Rinse/repeat

4. Whence product
The sports model, or . . .
Coach QB Linemen
WR
RB
GM Product Engineering
UX/Design
Business
development
and sales
. . . The Ty-Maslow model
GM
Product
Engineering
UX/Design Business
This model has business leading the effort, and product as the
“QB.” It is one way to think about you role in your business.
This is my preferred lens, where product sits at the
middle of three legs of a slightly unbalanced stool.

5. Product
Developers
Problem
Market
Market size
Thesis
MVP
Validation
Rinse/repeat
Product developers should own
this.

6. Product
Managers
Problem
Market
Market size
Thesis
MVP
Validation
Rinse/repeat
Product managers should own
this.

7. Product Leaders
Do all of the above as well as drive the business goals/define the business goals.
They are super-efficient but also are people-people.
They are responsible for the customer experience and programming the
customer experience.

8. Product Strategists
These people think of pretty lights.
I am not sure what they do.
There is no product without actually rolling up one’s sleeves.

9. Managing or not
‣ If you view management as a chore, you
shouldn’t manage
‣ The best product people are the best
managers in addition to knowing product
because product is multidisciplinary
‣ If you don’t want to manage, you could be a
product architect
‣ Management should be about clearing a path
for your staff to be successful, presuming that
they are good and work hard
‣ Management is not just other product people,
but engineers and UX
‣ You are the lynchpin for the customer
experience.

10. Hope is not a plan
‣ Coined by Anderson
Cooper
‣ We can’t hope that our
careers will work out
‣ It takes active planning
‣ I have told my mentees
that this means: plant
seeds where you want
trees to grow
‣ You can’t be upset with
your office for not
planning your future; that
is your responsibility

11. Getting a plan
‣ Network
‣ Advice on your options
‣ A sponsor
‣ A mentor (or two)
‣ If Product people can’t
create a career plan,
then shame on us

12. 1
Mentors
‣ They can make
introductions
‣ Lay out career options
‣ Help with salary
negotiations
‣ Assistance managing up
and down

13. 2 Sponsors
‣ Usually have a
direct connection
to your workplace
‣ Put you up for
jobs you don’t
even know about
‣ Keep an eye out
for you in a
different group or
division
‣ Also known as
your rabbi
Consigliere
Clue needer

14. 3 Reading
‣ Get a feed reader,
or use Twitter
‣ You should know
more about your
market than
anyone else.
‣ If you don’t, you
should be in
another market

15. 4
Learning
‣ Go to
conferences in
your field

16. 5
Networking
‣ Go out, see what
others are doing,
volunteer.
‣ Product, by
definition, is about
the user
experience, writ
large.
‣ Don’t wear your
“party shirt”

17. 6 Informational meetings
‣ Take people for
coffee.
‣ It is low cost and
high value
‣ If they don’t like
coffee, meet them
for breakfast

18. The Netflix model?
‣ Interview with another
company once a year
‣ Unclear if this yields
great results
‣ A lot of effort with
unclear benefit
‣ Could tarnish your
reputation

19. The overall mix for your Plan
1. Mentors
2. Sponsors
3. Networking
4. Informational
interviews
5. Reading
6. Learning

20. Your goal for
your 40s
Like a boss, you want to . . .
1. Name your company
2. Name your position
3. Name your city
4. Name your salary

21. My contribution, to this jam
‣ Career development is your responsibility
‣ Product is new, and thus the efforts to
grow your career are new
‣ Pick your passions
‣ See my other decks
‣ How to Choose a Mentor
‣ How to Choose Your Next Product Job