NAVIGATING YOUR CAREER IN PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
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NAVIGATING YOUR CAREER IN PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Transcript of NAVIGATING YOUR CAREER IN PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
NAVIGATING YOUR CAREER IN PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
1. THE ROLELet’s start with the definition of product manager
PRODUCTMANAGERWhat do we do as a product manager?
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“ The job of a product manager:
“...to discover a product that is valuable, usable and feasible”
-- Marty Cagan
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Let’s visualize the definition:
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UX: UsableTech: FeasibleBusiness: Valuable
Credits to:
Mind The Product
What is it exactly that we do?
6Credits to:
Brainmates
BREAKING IT DOWN...
Composer: PM writes and directs a story that becomes a product vision
Translator: PM translates the stories into languages that can be understood by other business functions
Conductor: PM sets the tempo to deliver the product through the development of a product plan
7Credits to:
Brainmates
2. GETTING INTO THE ROLEHow do we become a product manager?
FocusedStart in product management domain from the beginning
TWO PATHS OF TO BE A PRODUCT MANAGER
DiversifiedTransfer from other roles that have strong correlation with PM domain
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FOCUSED
You start your first job as a junior/associate product manager then expand your role as you grow
▪ Pros:▫ Codified learning and practice in PM domain▫ Faster to gain expertise as specialized PM
▪ Cons:▫ May not have deep enough industry knowledge▫ May have problems collaborating with other verticals
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SHOULD I START FROM APM OR FROM OTHER ROLE?
DEPENDS!
▪ Usually APM seeks for juniors with relevant background. If you have relevant background (e.g. CS, IS, MBA) then it’s worth to try. Note that not all companies have APM.
▪ If you’re from a totally different background (e.g. forestry, nursery) then I believe it’s quite hard to directly navigate to APM directly from the start. Shine on in other more feasible role to enter first to navigate to PM role. 11
DIVERSIFIED
You start in other verticals then transfer to PM role in later stage of career
▪ Pros:▫ Stronger industry knowledge and business practice▫ Faster to gain expertise as domain-expert PM
▪ Cons:▫ Need to catch up with the basics of PM knowledge▫ May have problems collaborating with existing PM
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HOW TO PROPERLY DIVERSIFY
You can’t just get in to PM role out of the blue. There are 3 steps to enter from the outside:▪ Build something: You must know what is it exactly that you
will manage by trying to build it▪ Work with the builders: You must know how it feels to
work together with the builders, get to know their mindset and their way of making decisions
▪ Make internal moves: Stand up for yourself and discuss your willingness to get into PM role
13Credits to:
Hubspot
3. SKILL SET REQUIREDWhat does it takes to be a good product manager?
THE BASICS
PROBLEM SOLVING &
COMMUNICATION...and the rest follows during the journey in the product management domain itself!
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PM’s Bible:
16Credits to:
Roman Pichler
PM ROLE VARIES
17Credits to:
Roman Pichler
THAT’S WHY LEARNING PATH VARIES
18Credits to:
Roman Pichler
HOW TO IMPROVE THE SKILLS
“Although PM role leans toward a more generalist role, PMs need to also focus on what they want to learn!”
▪ Assess yourself as a whole▪ Find your strengths and weaknesses▪ Find the area you want and need to focus on▪ Improve your weaknesses, maximize your strengths▪ Repeat! 19
4. THE CAREER PATHIs it for me? Will I grow as a PM?
PM CAREER PATH VARIES, BUT IN GENERAL IT HAS TWO PATHS: SPECIALIZED & GENERAL
21Credits to:
PM Insider, Adaptive Marketing
SpecializedMastering the craft of product management, become the expert in the domain
CAREER PATH OF PRODUCT MANAGER
GeneralMastering the art to manage people in product management, become the leader of the pack
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Both require domain expertise in product management, however at a certain point, general path will not dive too deep and will broaden up the
area to people management. No thick line, though.
YOU CAN’T COMPARE PMs LIKE APPLE TO APPLE
“Remember that PM role varies and companies also have different standards, so people with same role name may have a totally different work (and quality lol)”
▪ Case 1 -- Previous Job: PM, Current Job: PM, Future Job: PM. No progression?!
▪ Case 2 -- Previous Job: Senior PM, Current Job: PM. Degraded?!
▪ Case 3 -- I am a Lead PM and you’re a PM, therefore I am better than you?! 23
5. STORIES AT LINEA little story from me about my journey at LINE
HOW I GET INTO PM
1. Graduated from Information Systems & Technology -- 20162. Started in Marketing & Business Development -- 2016
a. Market research, content management, digital marketingb. Strategic partnership, B2B sales, O2O
3. Promoted to Strategy & Growth -- 2017a. Research (lots of em), merger & acquisitionb. Growth hacking, incubating growth ideas
4. Pushed through to Product Management -- 2017-now
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REFER BACK TO THIS...
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1.
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DIVERSIFIEDTRACK
AT THE BEGINNING, IT’S LIKE RUNNING BUT BLINDFOLDED
▪ Build product team from scratch -- I was LINE Indonesia’s first PM
▪ There was no such thing as PM in other countries, they call it service planners (???!!!)
▪ I define my own role with the division head (Product & Engineering Head) and push through
▪ We acquired a startup to be a part of our team -- TemanJalan
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THE TEAM STRUCTURE
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countries to get things done
DIVIDING ROLES BASED ON EXPERTISE
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▪ Turns out the 3 PMs have different expertise and areas of interest:▫ Technical PM▫ Market-facing PM▫ Process-oriented PM
▪ However, at some points, we need to learn other domains as well to get things done
THINGS WE DO
▪ Bridging global - local product requirements▪ Build Indonesia-based products:
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CASE STUDY: LINE TODAY APP
▪ Cross-collaboration of LINE Indonesia, LINE Taiwan, and LINE Korea▫ How to manage cross-country development? Communication
and discipline!▫ Sometimes, we need to travel a lot due to this condition (note:
it’s more tiring that fun though lol)▪ The lead PM is the youngest person in the room
▫ Why me? Frankly, we have no other choice (possibly, lol)▫ How to keep being professional despite the age gap? Focus on
improving yourself iteratively instead of stressing on the fact that we may lack experience
▪ Work in agile▫ Do not focus solely on burndown charts, but remember that
users use the result we deliver instead of the diagrams▫ PM facilitates, not dictates -- help others to work better!
▪ Product is now launched after 3 months of working together as a team
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SOME LESSONS I LEARNED DURING THE JOURNEY SO FAR
▪ Age doesn’t matter as a PM, capability does▪ Experience doesn’t matter, valuable experience does▪ PM really, really, need to be very, very, proactive▪ PM should be able to navigate and drive towards the right
direction even if there’s no clear direction▪ PM is not the master of everything, however we facilitate
everyone to make everything works
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6. KEY TAKEAWAYSLet’s review what we have learned so far
LET’S REVIEW SOME CONCEPTS
The RoleProduct manager’s role is to discover product that is usable, valuable, and feasible -- by becoming a composer, translator, and conductor.
Getting InYou can enter the domain by either start your career in PM domain from the beginning or transfer from other roles -- with the pros and cons.
Skill SetThe basic skill set required is problem solving and communication. The rest depends on which domain the PM wants to sharpen deeper.
Career PathPick your path: specialized or general -- remember that you should define your own path!
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