Post on 07-Apr-2017
"Ask Me Anything" with YouTube's Product Manager
/Productschool @ProductSchool /ProductmanagementSF
About me
Born and raised in the Bay Area
Currently a PM at YouTube
Fun facts!
● I have a golden retriever● I have a twin sister
3 things I wish I knew about being a PM
#1The path to PM can be windy
(...and that's ok!)
The start
Studied EE at Berkeley, Stanford
Thought I was going to be a HW engineer forever
Cracks in the foundation formed
● Loved my psych classes● Dabbled in marketing ● Worked on and off as a SW
engineer
Intel: early lessons
Stints in engineering and marketing
Ended up an analyst for the CEO’s chief of staff
Got a crash course in business and strategy
Loved the birds eye view, but missed being on the ground floor
My first PM gig
Joined a new subsidiary of Intel called Intel Media
Goal was to disrupt the cable TV business
Got a crash course in being a PM
● Authority is earned, not granted
● Make order out of chaos● Identify and fill in the gaps
Continuing the journey
Now at YouTube working on growth
Realized my hodgepodge background can be an asset
● SW and circuit design skills ● Psychology ● Marketing● Data analysis
#2Be an octopus
A day in the life
Despite the variety, your role for most meetings is to:
● Have clear goals and outcomes in mind for each meeting
● Be prepared with information and data
● Drive each meeting to reach desired goals
● Identify and follow up with action items
#3It’s easy to be a bad PM, hard to be a good one
Good PM/Bad PM
A ‘good’ pm will be a function of the team, company, environment, product
Being a PM is both art and science
All of us can be bad PMs sometimes
My take
A good PM...
Does what it takes to deliver
Is self aware, asks for feedback, and learns fast
Is the voice of the customer
Serves the team
A bad PM...
Thinks they are the boss
Goes where the wind blows
Has a weak grasp of who their customer is, or should be
Doesn’t have a plan for what their team could be working on next month
Thanks for listening!
www.productschool.com