Curious to learn more about the role of a Product Manager? We connected with Jeff Rambharack, a\u00a0Senior Technical Product Manager at Amazon, to discuss the role, what it takes to be successful, and how you can get involved in this growing field.<\/p>\n
I started my career as a Product Manager on the PowerPoint team at Microsoft. There were three incredible things I realize now about that opportunity that I didn\u2019t know at the time:<\/span><\/p>\n The Product Manager job does always change because the market changes, your customers change, and technology changes. There\u2019s no textbook or answers on Stack Exchange on what\u2019s going to make your product great.<\/p>\n We tend to talk a lot about the mechanics of Product Management – writing requirements, prioritizing the backlog – but the hard part is building the relationships and having the conversations that get you the input to make those decisions wisely. The secret sauce is the creative thinking you do when you\u2019re walking to work or listening to your favorite song. I try to protect some time every day to think about what we could do better because if I\u2019m not doing that kind of thinking, I\u2019m not adding any value.<\/p>\n I really believe in adapting your role to solve the biggest problem. Over my career, I\u2019ve written specs, designed UI, come up with the vision, managed projects, been the admin for tools and infrastructure, created sales collateral, done demos, written RFPs, and managed Product Managers as well as other roles. When I start a role now I begin by trying to understand what gaps there are in what customers, the product, and the organization need then I think about what I need to do to push things forward.<\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessary. I do think it can help. Again, products and the role itself vary a lot. I know product managers who work specifically on pricing and need to know way more about P&L modeling than API, and I know some in the reverse situation.<\/span><\/p>\n I think this is an important question for aspiring Product Managers to ask themselves is what problem do you want to solve? Are you more interested in a specific niche or soup to nuts? Then find a Product Manager role that best fits your interest and becomes the expert in your space.<\/p>\n Half Kirk: Creative, charismatic, courageous, pushes his\/herself and those around them, will bend rules in order to win in impossible situations<\/span><\/p>\n Half Spock: Strong logic, cool under pressure<\/span><\/p>\n I think the key to prioritization is to just genuinely do it. If you say you\u2019ve prioritized and you say five things are your top priority, you haven\u2019t prioritized. What\u2019s <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> most important thing? Are you willing to give everything else up to achieve it? Why? What would happen if you didn\u2019t do it? Then what\u2019s the next thing after that? Answering those questions with solid rationale and data is the way to get there. There are frameworks that force those questions but you can\u2019t really avoid them.<\/span><\/p>\n There are some great blogs and books on product management now. There are also a few great courses available now. The resources are much richer now than they used to be. I still think having great mentors is one of the most important things and I encourage aspiring Product Managers to find a few people in the field and talk to them about their experience.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
What does a day in the life look like for you?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
We\u2019ve heard Product Managers have to wear many hats. What does this look like for you?<\/h3>\n
Do you feel it\u2019s necessary for Product Managers working at tech companies to be well-versed in tech?<\/h3>\n
What are some skill sets that are essential to the role of a Product Manager?<\/h3>\n
What is the key (or keys) to achieving prioritization?<\/h3>\n
If someone is looking to dive into Product Management, what are some resources they should become well-versed in to prepare for that interview and get a taste of the field?<\/h3>\n
You teach Product Management at BrainStation. How would you describe the typical student?<\/h3>\n