The document summarizes the keynote speech of Tarun Gangwani on the five keys to success in a first product management role. The five keys are: 1) Get to know everyone on your team, their teams, partners and other organizations; 2) Know your own product inside and out as well as competitors, adjacent players, toolchain and other products in the company; 3) Study how product is done at your company by observing meetings, documentation, and processes; 4) Harness your past experiences and skills from other roles or industries; 5) Document everything about your process, decisions, and work to build trust and invite collaboration.
12. What your friends think you do What your parents think you do What society thinks you do
What my boss thinks you do What I think you will do What you actually will do
20. 🔑 Get to know everyone
You
teamPM
Their team
Partners,
other orgs
21. 🔑 Get to know everyone
Why does this matter?
● You never know who will be your ally
● You will probably end up working with
everyone at some point
How does this look?
● Set up 30 minute invites
● Conduct a survey of your team
● Sit with someone else at lunch
Interview Tip
Recall times when you
collaborated with people
across multiple timelines,
timezones and commitments.
⏱ 1 month
28. 🔑 Know yours (and others) product(s)
Why does this matter?
● Builds empathy alongside customers
● Understand progress/challenges
● Strengths/limitations
How does this look?
● Competitive analysis
● Journey mapping
● User studies/research
Interview Tip
Describe how a product
works, from end to end, as
detailed as possible. Talk
about data that showed what
you needed to work on.
⏱ 1 month
29. 🔑 Study how they do product
You
teamPM
Their team
30. 🔑 Study how they do product
You
teamPM
Their team
Influencers
Coalitions
Relationships
● Meetings
● Presentations
● Slack/chat/etc
● JIRA
● Wikis/Docs
● Team outings
● Seating
arrangements
31. 🔑 Study how they do product
Why does this matter?
● Improves time estimations
● Uncovers areas you will need support
⏱ 6 months
How does this look?
● Find strong teams in the company
● Study documents, JIRAs, etc.
● Sketch the process
Interview Tip
Describe the tools, processes
and culture around the
products you have worked on.
36. 🔑 Harness the power of your past xp
Why does this matter?
● Brings diversity to product making
● Helps find complementary skill sets
⏱ ongoing
How does this look?
● Conduct design exercises
● Create dashboards, reports for others
● Prototype in code
Interview Tip
Explain why your background
is a great fit for PM by showing
how you have worked with
other product professionals.
38. 🔑 Document everything
Why does this matter?
● Builds trust in your process
● Helps align disparate teams/processes
● Invites collaboration
⏱ ongoing
How does this look?
● Google docs/sheets/slides
● JIRA rigor
● Detailed notes
Interview Tip
Have sample documentation,
processes, pictures ready to
show to your interviewer.
39. 🔑 Build your brand ⏱ ongoing
How will you be
discovered?
40. 🔑 Build your brand
Why does this matter?
● Establishes credibility
● Helps you get your next job
⏱ ongoing
How does this look?
● Giving talks 😀
● Writing
● LinkedIn/Networking
Interview Tip
Include links to press,
samples, and other live
examples of your work for
recruiters.
41. 🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑 = 👩💻 💪 🙌 😄
● Get to know everyone
● Know yours and others
products
● Study how your company
does product
● Harness the power of your
past experience
● Document everything
● Build your brand
43. www.productschool.com
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