Mis-cocnception:
PMs are the CEO of a product: This is a fallacy because unlike CEOs PMs do not have authority over most of the things needed to make their product successful. Be it user research, design or marketing, sales and support.
Moreover the ambit of PM role varies based on number of factors like size of the company, size, type of product, stage, industry, and even culture of the company etc. So a PM is not the CEO of a product.
Three Main factors to be considered:
- Core Competency: Master the core competencies
- Emotional Intelligence: High EQ
- Company Fit: Work for the right company
Aim is to lead User adoption of a product, drive revenues and if possible disrupt a market. All this while keeping the cadence between Engineering and Design Team.
Core Competencies (should be mastered):
Some basic examples-
- conducting customer interviews and user testing
- running design sprints
- feature prioritization and road map planning
- the art of resource allocation (it is not a science!)
- performing market assessments
- translating business-to-technical requirements, and vice versa
- pricing and revenue modeling
- defining and tracking success metrics
Emotional Intelligence (Higher the better):
- Relationship Management
- Self Awareness
- Self Management
- Social Awareness
Company Fit: Very important to join the right company
