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Learn Product The Hard Way
A guide to help break into product by '21 in 12 tweets
A guide to help break into product by '21 in 12 tweets
[1/12]
Folks more experienced than me have written so read these first:
1. @lennysan on https://www.lennyrachitsky.com/p/how-to-get-into-product-management
2. @sachinrekhi on https://www.sachinrekhi.com/5-paths-to-your-first-product-manager-role
3. @gibsonbiddle on https://medium.com/@gibsonbiddle/hacking-your-product-management-career-cce227a9c39a
4. @ajwaxman on https://medium.com/@ajwaxman/breaking-into-product-management-starter-pack-c5ed39150cb9
Folks more experienced than me have written so read these first:
1. @lennysan on https://www.lennyrachitsky.com/p/how-to-get-into-product-management
2. @sachinrekhi on https://www.sachinrekhi.com/5-paths-to-your-first-product-manager-role
3. @gibsonbiddle on https://medium.com/@gibsonbiddle/hacking-your-product-management-career-cce227a9c39a
4. @ajwaxman on https://medium.com/@ajwaxman/breaking-into-product-management-starter-pack-c5ed39150cb9
[2/12] It felt some of these didn't apply to ecosystems outside the major startup hubs:
1. fewer opportunities (non-existent APM programs)
2. nascent prod culture (ecosystem still understanding role ie PM is CEO myth
)
Also 2021 is different - it is time to build!
1. fewer opportunities (non-existent APM programs)
2. nascent prod culture (ecosystem still understanding role ie PM is CEO myth
)Also 2021 is different - it is time to build!
[3/12] 2 questions I kept getting from aspiring PM:
1. How to get required product experience for an early role?
2. How to make up for the lack of technical knowledge?
Short answers:
1. You don't need a product role for the experience
2. Not all prod roles need deep tech chops
1. How to get required product experience for an early role?
2. How to make up for the lack of technical knowledge?
Short answers:
1. You don't need a product role for the experience
2. Not all prod roles need deep tech chops
[4/12] Before diving we need to understand the role:
1. @shreyas on https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1055720052064833536
2. @sachinrekhi on https://www.sachinrekhi.com/3-types-of-product-managers-builders-tuners-innovators
3. @far33d on https://www.reforge.com/blog/product-work-beyond-product-market-fit
Also PM is NOT CEO. CEO role is a superset and besides prod also worries about funding, hiring, et al
1. @shreyas on https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1055720052064833536
2. @sachinrekhi on https://www.sachinrekhi.com/3-types-of-product-managers-builders-tuners-innovators
3. @far33d on https://www.reforge.com/blog/product-work-beyond-product-market-fit
Also PM is NOT CEO. CEO role is a superset and besides prod also worries about funding, hiring, et al
[5/12] Now let's talk about getting product experience without that first role. I reccomend two strategies:
1. public product tear downs
2. build something -- I know Lenny said it is hardest path but 2021 is different thanks to rise of NoCode, also focus on PM and not being CEO
1. public product tear downs
2. build something -- I know Lenny said it is hardest path but 2021 is different thanks to rise of NoCode, also focus on PM and not being CEO
[6/12] You can build Product sense without a formal PM role. Start by making a Substack and do full stack teardown of products that interest you much like https://www.useronboard.com/user-onboarding-teardowns/ but include your guesses around:
1. metrics
2. growth loops
3. eng. stack
4. write mock PRD (why not)
1. metrics
2. growth loops
3. eng. stack
4. write mock PRD (why not)
[7/12] Now let's talk about BUILDING. Product building is a hypothesis driven process https://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/articles/how-implement-hypothesis-driven-development
And the right set of operations/hypothesis in the right order is what we call prioritization/roadmapping. It is one of the most essential pm skills
And the right set of operations/hypothesis in the right order is what we call prioritization/roadmapping. It is one of the most essential pm skills
[8/12] https://www.nocode.tech is making all the buzz. If you want to get PM experience it is as easy as building a tiny vision eg New Kitten Parent Community, setting up some success metrics, hypothesis and executing to record learnings. You don't need a role/permission to start
[9/12] Things that you will not want to focus on: raising money, some multi-year strategy to get to $1bn, thinking hiring or org design. You want to focus on the bottom yellow boxes here - https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1264621650663727104?s=20
[10/12] Building using NoCode will also not only make you a valuable PM just like Designers who Code or Coders who Design but also give you first exposure to dev tools, web apps and some initially scary things like API/snippets
[11/12] https://university.segment.com and https://amplitude.com/north-star are great resources when thinking about analytics and metrics
[12/12] SO NOW IS THE TIME TO BUILD and get that product experience. JUST DO IT because you can; without permission.
What about tech chops? Will post sep. thread
What about tech chops? Will post sep. thread
[12+1] @shreyas correctly pointed out that practising to communicate well is key. Here are some resources on this topic:
1/ https://www.julian.com/guide/write/intro
2/ https://www.lennyrachitsky.com/p/my-favorite-templates-issue-37
3/ https://twitter.com/osamakhn/status/1317968591279411200
4/ https://www.sachinrekhi.com/the-art-of-being-compelling-as-a-product-manager
Back to top of thread: https://twitter.com/osamakhn/status/1328413654006435840
1/ https://www.julian.com/guide/write/intro
2/ https://www.lennyrachitsky.com/p/my-favorite-templates-issue-37
3/ https://twitter.com/osamakhn/status/1317968591279411200
4/ https://www.sachinrekhi.com/the-art-of-being-compelling-as-a-product-manager
Back to top of thread: https://twitter.com/osamakhn/status/1328413654006435840
