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Mistakes people make when they join a new company:
1. Not creating a 90 day plan with their manager
2. Not introducing themselves and forming a connection with key stakeholders.
3. Not getting their hands dirty asap.
4. Not taking ownership and waiting for things to come to them.
1. Not creating a 90 day plan with their manager
2. Not introducing themselves and forming a connection with key stakeholders.
3. Not getting their hands dirty asap.
4. Not taking ownership and waiting for things to come to them.
5. Mostly your reputation will be made in the first 90 days. People form opinions quickly. Come to meetings late? People will remember.
6. Don't be invisible. Find the biggest problem (that you can take off people's plate) and fix it.
7. Process work is best.
6. Don't be invisible. Find the biggest problem (that you can take off people's plate) and fix it.
7. Process work is best.
The first PM intern in my team who eventually ended up joining the team created our PM onboarding plan that I still use today to onboard new members.
My first project was to create a bunch of new dashboards to cut down time needed for RCAs.
8. Assume good intentions.
My first project was to create a bunch of new dashboards to cut down time needed for RCAs.
8. Assume good intentions.
People want to help. Make your first move.
9. As part of your 90 day plan clearly define success metrics with your manager.
10. Set up 1-1s with not just your manager but all key stakeholders.
9. As part of your 90 day plan clearly define success metrics with your manager.
10. Set up 1-1s with not just your manager but all key stakeholders.
11. Ask your manager this question: Assume after 6 months I have failed in my role. What could have gone wrong?
12. Understand the culture of the team: Do they prefer email over slack? How do they escalate problems?
12. Understand the culture of the team: Do they prefer email over slack? How do they escalate problems?
13 What are things no one talks about but know because they are implicit? If you form close relationships these will come out.
14. Understand the working style of your manager and other key stakeholders.
15. Understand the key priorities for the company and your team.
14. Understand the working style of your manager and other key stakeholders.
15. Understand the key priorities for the company and your team.
(Okay, I realised that I started with mistakes people make then started giving pointers on things people should do instead. Probably with starting random threads without thinking them through.
Items after the 2nd tweet are things you should do and not mistakes.)
Items after the 2nd tweet are things you should do and not mistakes.)
16. Get your manager to write an intro mail to the company announcing you.
17. Get added to all slack/Google groups.
18. If you are a PM read a lot of existing PRDs, tech and design specs, and charter docs. Understand how people write documentation.
17. Get added to all slack/Google groups.
18. If you are a PM read a lot of existing PRDs, tech and design specs, and charter docs. Understand how people write documentation.
19. Know what are must dos, should dos and nice to dos.
Example. If you are a PM in my team you are supposed to attend all standups and IPMs. They are must dos.
If there is a tech huddle it is a should do.
Attending tech implementation discussions is a nice to do.
Example. If you are a PM in my team you are supposed to attend all standups and IPMs. They are must dos.
If there is a tech huddle it is a should do.
Attending tech implementation discussions is a nice to do.
20. Shadow other PMs (if you are a PM).
If a new PM joins my team, I ask them to join the project channels of other PMs in my team, attend their standups and IPMs. Learning through osmosis is great.
21. Don't try to change culture from Day 1.
If a new PM joins my team, I ask them to join the project channels of other PMs in my team, attend their standups and IPMs. Learning through osmosis is great.
21. Don't try to change culture from Day 1.
I have lost count of the times I said "but we used to do X like Y in my previous company Z," till a dev reminded me that if what I did in my previous companies was perfect and everything was golden then I would not have switched jobs.
Burn.
Burn.
So learn why things are the way they are before you recommend changes.
The way we run standups today is not same as how we did it 2 years back. New people came, brought fresh ideas with them. We tried variations as experiments. Kept the bits we liked.
The way we run standups today is not same as how we did it 2 years back. New people came, brought fresh ideas with them. We tried variations as experiments. Kept the bits we liked.
22. Keep a track of all the parallel tracks of learning.
Here are 6 tracks I am working on with a new PM in my team.
Crossed in 5 = Current project I want her help in
Crossed in 6 = Her team and TL's names.
Here are 6 tracks I am working on with a new PM in my team.
Crossed in 5 = Current project I want her help in
Crossed in 6 = Her team and TL's names.
I think these are roughly the things I remember.
Read: The first 90 days (an amazing book)
I will add more points that I can think of when I turn this into a blogpost.
/end
Read: The first 90 days (an amazing book)
I will add more points that I can think of when I turn this into a blogpost.
/end
