So I want to be a Product Manager, huh?
Below is a bit about this project, why I’m going through the trouble to write it, what I hope to get out of it, and what you all can expect from following along.
1. Why this, why now
Stepping into a new role often comes with a case of imposter syndrome.
I pivoted from a series of agile project management positions to a product management role about eight months ago. I’ve quickly come to realize the many concepts, ideas, tools, and strategies that I’ve not had the opportunity to explore yet so was looking for resources to help fill the void and ease some of the imposter syndrome symptoms. Turns out there are quite a few corners of the internet that offer some pretty high-quality instruction on the subject and seemed like a great way to dive in until I saw the price tag.
Being the stubborn, frugal, and a bit masochistic person that I am, I decided to skip the credit card charge, do a little research, and create a project out of the autodidactic exercise in front of me. This blog is that project.
2. What makes this unique? Why write a blog? Why give myself homework?
There are plenty of blogs and resources out there covering almost everything a person could want to know about Product Management. I follow a handful of extremely seasoned and knowledgeable PMs with decades of industry experience and resumes that are far more impressive than mine. I’m not claiming to know more than these folks, nor do I feel that this exercise is meant to compete with or displace their content or offerings.
The goal of this project is to write from the perspective of the new, unseasoned PM and give other people, who may be in a similar place in their careers, a resource to follow along with, learn the baselines through a bit of anecdotal evidence learned the hard way, and without shelling out thousands of dollars to do so.
3. So what am I learning, specifically?
Turns out that a lot of these courses or certifications post their curriculum online. I spent some time reviewing the published syllabi from a handful of courses and decided to follow along by reading about each topic and writing a blog post combining the findings and my personal experience relating to the subject.
My plan is to work through the course, one topic at a time, write a post for each, and publish them here. Thank you all in advance for being my accountability partners!
Cadence: One post every two weeks
Length: Roughly one page per post
Disclaimer: I reserve the right to miss a deadline every so often in order to prioritize work-life balance and avoid resurfacing the trauma (mostly kidding) that was grad school.
The goal of this project is to learn a core set of competencies around the product management discipline. It should be a fun project and help to further my interest and ability in the subject, not burn me out.
Hopefully, you all find it helpful and enjoyable. I, for one, am looking forward to it.