Breaking into Product Management by Amazon Sr PM, Balaji Ananthanpillai
What, exactly is a Product Manager?
In his book Inspired, Marty Cagan describes Product Manager as:
What does a Product Manager exactly do?
1. Set the vision for the product
Market Research
Customer Feedback
Qantitative Data
2. Evangelize the vision, spread the word
Meet with different teams
Talk to them about the vision and your journey that got you there
3. Actionize to execute that vision
Translate the vision into a roadmap
Make
Show
Learn & Iterate
Myths of a Product Manager
Product Managers are mini-CEOs of their product
Product Managers need a computer science background
Product Management is same at every company.
Core Competencies of a Product Manager
Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
|---|---|
Product Strategy | Communication |
User Research/User Experience | Curiosity, Empathetic, Courageous |
Analytics | Time & Stakeholder Management |
*Technical | Networking |
Design | Leadership |
Product Development Process | Ownership |
How to break into Product Management?
Internal transition within your company
Finding a junior PM role in a larger company
Joining a startup that has a pressing need
Starting your own company.
Additional Resources
Some good blogs to read on how to break into product management:
https://blog.tryexponent.com/break-into-product-management/ by Sachin Rekhi, Notejoy CEO.
https://ecmpodcast.com/episode-05-diego-granados by Diego Granados, Microsoft Product Manager.
https://www.pmdiego.com/ Diego Granados website that has tons of resources for folks trying to break into Product Management.
https://debliu.substack.com/p/pm-your-career-like-you-pm-your-product: PM your career like you PM your product by Deb Liu, Ancentry.com CEO.
Balaji Ananthanpillai, Amazon Sr PM