Tips for Navigating a Product Management Career

During my first year as Director of Product, I killed the product leader in me to become a business executive. (This is the most unconventional story you'll read today) The story I'm about to share has been the key inflection moment of my product career. I once said NO to a great product feature strategy. The product leader within me was dying to say yes because all relevant evidence backed the strategy. The product thinking was excellent. Then, why did I say no? Because I was in board meetings where we saw: ↳ Our runway was tight ↳ Market dynamics were shifting and the company had to prepare ↳ Some M&A discussions were brewing I realized that at this point, I could not be a PM. I had to be a business executive. It was no longer about building the best product (which every PM wants to do) but about ensuring both the product and the business stand the test of time. Most product leaders struggle to make this transition during key moments. It creates massive friction between teams and within teams. Here are 3 things I recommend doing consistently to succeed as a Product Exec: ✅ Set the new context for your team: - share business constraints openly - explain strategic trade-offs - make P&L discussions normal ✅ Help your product team to level up so they can articulate: - Product Impact ↔ Business Sustainability - Technical Debt ↔ Financial Runway (or ROI) ✅ Build your commercial orientation - Understand long-term financing implications - Learn to read market signals - Create joint metrics with Sales and Marketing - Connect product initiatives with P&L I'm not proposing that you abandon product thinking when you enter product leadership, but instead add business thinking to your roster. ——— 🔔 Follow me, Bosky Mukherjee, for more insights on breaking barriers for women in product and tech leadership. #productmanagement #productgrowth #womeninproduct #leadership

Product Managers often get overwhelmed trying to master every skill at once. The truth is that different career stages demand different priorities. Here's the roadmap that's guided my journey: 𝗣𝗠𝟭: 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 Your superpower is getting things done. Decisions are made upstream, your job is flawless implementation. Focus on building features correctly and on time. This foundation sets you apart early on. 𝗣𝗠𝟮: 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 Now you're making tradeoffs, not just executing them. Learn to read data, separate signal from noise, and make recommendations backed by insights. Your ability to analyze and synthesize information becomes your competitive edge. 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗠: 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 You own outcomes, not just outputs. This is where intuition meets expertise, understanding what makes products successful and what problems truly matter to users. User empathy and domain knowledge become your north star. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗣𝗠+: 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 Your mission shifts to making the product win in the market. This requires deep problem-space understanding, market awareness, and the foresight to anticipate future user needs. Strategy becomes your craft. 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗠 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 Your objective is to make the business successful. Your job is to see the future first, then guide your organization toward it. This means saying no to 98 good ideas to focus on the 2 great ones, taking calculated risks while avoiding blind bets. Each stage builds on the last, but trying to master everything simultaneously leads to mediocrity in all areas. Focus deeply on your current stage while staying curious about what's next. Product management is part art, part science, and entirely a craft. The only way to truly master it is to put in your 10,000 hours.

One of the talks I’ve given to a few teams internally at Microsoft is “PMing your career”. Mid-career is the perfect time to step back, see yourself as a ‘product,’ and start managing your career with intention and strategy. Here are 5 axioms I use as part of the frame: ➡️1. Treat your career as a Product with a strategic fit: Every high-performing professional has a unique value proposition. Regularly assess your Personal Product-Market Fit (PMF) to ensure that your strengths, skills, and how you’re positioning them align with the needs of your industry and your company. Strong careers, like great products, adapt to stay relevant and strategically fit. This helps you identify places you might need to grow too. ➡️2. Your resume is (kind-of) Product Review Document (PRD): Like a PRD highlights a product’s features, your resume should capture your top achievements and core skills. Keep it current and aligned with your goals, showcasing how your career product has evolved. ➡️3. Use feedback as your career “Customer Review”: Just as products thrive on customer feedback, your career benefits from input from mentors, peers, and leaders. Thoughtfully incorporate this feedback to stay aligned with your goals and make strategic improvements. ➡️4. Set a career Roadmap: Map out your career with a focus on strategy and clear goals. These checkpoints – skills to gain, connections to build, and roles to pursue – keep you moving toward your vision of success and position you for future opportunities. Ask others who have already taken the path what the checkpoints are. ➡️5. Embrace phases as part of your strategy: Like product lifecycles, careers have phases. In early roles, focus on mastering foundational skills; as you advance, lean into influence and decision-making; and eventually, hone discernment for opportunities. Each stage strengthens your overall career strategy. Hope this helps you today

The Unwritten Job Description of a Product Manager: I used to think Product Management was about building features and owning roadmaps. But the reality? Every day starts with a list of challenges that no single person can solve alone. The answers aren’t sitting in a document or owned by one team—they require navigating ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and communicating effectively. Here are three lessons I keep coming back to: 🔹 Problem-Solving in Uncertainty: PMs don’t get neatly packaged problems. Instead, we get: “This isn’t working, but we don’t know why.” My approach? Break it down. What does success actually look like? What’s the simplest way to test a hypothesis? Who else might have a missing piece of the puzzle? 🔹 Influence Without Authority: Just because something is my top priority doesn’t mean it’s anyone else’s. Getting buy-in across teams means understanding their incentives and framing ideas around what’s in it for them. If a partner team resists, I pause and ask: What would make this a ‘must-do’ for them? Are they blocked on something I can help with first? 🔹 Communication: Right vs. Too Much: People want to feel heard and respected—but they also don’t want to drown in unnecessary meetings/emails/slacks. The balance I aim for: ✅ Quick updates for those who need context, not details. ✅ Deep discussions where alignment is critical. ✅ Over-communicating early, so I don’t have to chase approvals later. At the end of the day, Product Management isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about asking better questions. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned as a PM? Let's share!

The biggest thing that helped me become a better PMM was carving out time for strategic thinking, no matter how busy I was. Why is this important? -> Tactical work alone won’t advance your career. You need to think far with a strategic vision and have the ability to execute. -> Strategic clarity reduces decision fatigue and eliminates random tasks that don’t lead to real outcomes. -> It helps you identify opportunities to innovate and create net new value for the business. -> Teams naturally follow people who think beyond the immediate. Here’s how I do it (and how you can too): 1️⃣ Block time for deep thinking It’s very hard to focus on strategic work if you are always busy in meetings or putting out fires. So the first step is to make TIME. Dedicate 30–60 minutes daily to uninterrupted, quiet thinking even if it means waking up earlier. I also block Wed and Friday mornings for extended work sessions. Find a time that works with your natural productivity. 2️⃣ Prioritize what to focus on (and not focus on) Strategy also means saying no, or not now. Use my Action/Priority Matrix to identify and focus on high-impact tasks, while deferring, delegating or eliminating the rest. Communicate your priorities to your manager for transparency. Remember part of strategy is also saying no. https://lnkd.in/eDd_PvuN 3️⃣ Create project plans Before jumping into a project, no matter how big or small (even if it’s just creating a piece of content), get into the habit of writing out a project plan, including who, how, what, when, why, KPIs, milestones, and key stakeholders. This forces you to think AHEAD, create a repeatable structure, and helps you easily drive alignment with others. 4️⃣ Review long-term goals often Regularly assess how your day-to-day work aligns with your big-picture vision/strategy. Realignment ensures you’re always working toward meaningful outcomes. I suggest doing a monthly review and then communicating what you’d like to start, stop, and continue, with your manager. This also shows you are proactive. 5️⃣ Talk it out with a thought partner or coach Clarity doesn’t always come on your own. Talking through your ideas with someone who can ask the right questions or challenge your assumptions is invaluable. My clients often come to me with a jumble of (great) thoughts, and we untangle them to pull the thread together and uncover the strategy. — Carving out time for strategic thinking isn’t just about blocking time - it’s about making that time effective by doing the right thing and creating the right system. What would you add? #productmarketing #strategy #career #growth #coaching

Principal Product Managers already know this. Every time you say "yes" to a feature, you are saying "no" to a thousand others. But here’s the real problem—most teams don’t realize what they’re saying no to. So they end up: ❌ Saying yes to executive requests instead of customer needs ❌ Filling the roadmap with noise instead of true business impact ❌ Shipping features that check a feature parity box, not create a competitive advantage Saying no isn’t the hard part. Saying no intentionally is. I learned this the hard way. Early in my career, I thought I needed to produce by executing. -> So when an executive requested a feature, I said yes. -> When customers asked for enhancements, I said yes. -> When the roadmap had space, I filled it. And for a while, it felt like we were winning. We were getting things done. But there wasn't impact. ❌ Customers were overwhelmed—the product was getting cluttered. ❌ Engineers were stretched thin—delivering, but not innovating. ❌ Our competitive edge was fading—we were keeping up, not leading. That’s when I realized: Every time you say "yes" to a feature, you're saying "no" to a thousand others. Here's how to avoid my mistake and how to become a better product manager. 🚀 Tie every decision to strategy Every feature request should pass the "Vision Filter": Does this make the product fundamentally stronger? If not, it’s a distraction. A simple way to check: If this didn’t exist, would our core users still love the product? When leadership or customers push for a new feature, ask: -> "How does this align with our strategic goals?" -> "What problem does this solve better than anything else?" -> "Would we prioritize this if a competitor didn’t have it?" 💡 Pro tip: Keep a "Not Now" list—a backlog of good ideas that don’t fit today’s strategy. This keeps discussions productive without derailing focus. ⏳ Measure trade-offs beyond effort A “quick” feature is never quick. And never free—it costs engineering time, product complexity, long-term maintenance debt Instead of asking "How long will this take?", ask: -> "What ELSE could we build with the same resources?" -> "Will this add future maintenance burden?" -> "Will customers even care about this?" 💡 Pro tip: Before greenlighting a feature, ask the team: "If we build this today, what are we committing to maintaining for the next two years?" If that answer makes you hesitate, rethink the priority. 📊 Optimize for Long-Term Impact Not all features are created equal. The best ones don’t just check a box—they create lasting value. Before saying yes, ask: -> "Will this feature still matter in a year?" -> Does it open new revenue opportunities or expand our market? -> Will it strengthen our competitive edge, not just match the market? 💡 Pro tip: The best products prioritize driving customer value over just adding features. --- 👋 I'm Ron Yang, a product leader and advisor. Follow me for insights on product leadership and building better products.

If I had to break into Product Management again, these are 5 things I would start doing right away to become a PM in 2024👇 ☕️Networking with the right PMs The goal of networking is to LEARN more about the role [PM] and not to get a referral (right away). Instead of targeting “any” PM and hope to get a reply, I prioritize networking by finding PMs this way - use LinkedIn filters: 1. “How did you switch companies?” - Those who transitioned from my current company to the one I want to join. 2. “How did you switch roles?” - Those who transitioned from my current role into Product Management. Learn about what they did to become PMs. 3. “What was your path after school?” - Alumni tend to be very helpful. Find those that graduated from your same college/grad school and learn about their path into PM. 4. “How did you move to another country?” - if I’m looking to move abroad, I search for those who are from my same country/city 5. “We have a mutual connection” - this is probably the least effective one, but if none of the other ones work, I search for people with whom we have mutual connections. 📖 Learn about the basics of Product Management Many aspiring PMs that I talk to confuse Product, Program and Project management… Read as much as possible about Product Management to understand the role, main skills and what transferable skills I have to become a PM. At the end of this research, you should be able to tell anyone around you what Product Managers do and what skills you have, and which ones you are missing (you’ll work on these). 🔎 Find problems to solve like a PM Getting into Product Management is not about applying to thousands of job, it’s about showing that you can do the job and that you have transferable skills. Look for problems to solve on your job or school and solve them like a Product Manager: - Find a problem - Talk to users - Prototype a solution - Validate your ideas - Create a plan (roadmap) - Solve the problem - Measure the impact you expected Solving problems like a PM will go on your resume and your stories. ⭐️ Find problems on your day to day Problems exist beyond school or work and nothing should stop you from solving problems around you. Technology shouldn’t block you from solving a problem. You need a total of $0 to get started: - Wix or Webflow for websites: $0 - Calendly for appointments: $0 - Canva for designs: $0 - Gumroad for uploading products and payments: $0 - Notion and Trello for organizing: $0 - Zapier for automations: $0 🚫 Avoid Certifications Certifications in Product Management will not help you become a Product Manager. Courses in product management will give you the basics of PM and, possibly, a network of other aspiring PMs. Take a course for the knowledge, not thinking that the certification is what will make you a PM. What other advice do you have for aspiring PMs? 💎 need help breaking into PM? Check my comment below? #productmanagement

My biggest career move was at the very beginning of it. And it impacted how I approached every role since. Here’s how 👇 But first, context: I went from project manager to product in 3 years. It was a big deal at the time -at least 10 years younger than anyone I worked with -no dev background -very technical, tech-led company -I started as a pmo of the smallest product in the portfolio and ended up PMing the flagship product Looking back, here’s what I did (and didn’t do) to make it happen: 1️⃣ Prioritized x-functional relationships Inner-departmental ones are important too, but served different purposes: learning, ideation, mentorship X-functional ones made me trusted and known well beyond the 17-person team I was on. ..and that x-functional influence created more opportunity to mentor inside the team Both matter, but don’t sleep on the opportunity outside your team, even if it’s harder to nurture 2️⃣ Made an effort to understand the product and challenges Yes, I could've done my PMO job knowing close to nothing about the product But my counterparts’ job was 98% that. So I made an effort to keep up This made me seen as a partner, not an order-taker Not just by them: by their bosses, by their peers, and eventually by my bosses 3️⃣ Said yes to things outside my job description “A few customers are here and we’re showing them the new stuff. Wanna sit in?” yes “Dave is going to demo us something in the lab. Do you wanna come?” yes “Our team is going for bbq and karaoke. wanna come?” yes I did it in every role I had. The day my daughter was born I was supposed to be on a lab tour with the CEO. One of my first texts postpartum was to my manager letting him know I wasn’t going to make it after all 😂 4️⃣ Made it easy for dept heads to work with the program Being a project manager can suck because you don’t have ownership, but you are responsible You also rely on other people to do things they mostly dislike -rather than “any update?” > “Would it be helpful if I scheduled us 45 minutes for us to go over it and do it together?” (the next time they did it alone or just have me take a final look) I made “the program” and me one. Is the PM I work with lacking in a specific area? Get on some VP’s nerves regularly? I’ll cover 5️⃣ Held managers accountable Firmly. Just in case they think I “smile too much” (actual feedback I received) I’m mostly laughs and positivity but we also need to GSD. Luckily, this turned out to be a good combo BONUS: Did NOT make the same mistake twice I made a ton of mistakes but as snoop* says, I learn from my mistakes Pay attention to feedback, direct and indirect. Learn to listen and take what serves you These same lessons got me promoted in 7 months from a product marketing manager to a director. Who else is sharing their career growth hacks? *if you do not know Snoop's kid mindfulness channel RUN to Spotify to check it out

How do you level up in product management? I get this question a lot. Before any promotion comes a shift in thinking, followed by actions. Be the role ➡️ do the role ➡️ have the role Here are a few shifts a PM can make today: ➡️ From tactical to strategic Shift from a focus on day-to-day tactical execution to strategic thinking. As a product manager, you need to think beyond individual features and prioritize long-term product vision, market analysis, and competitive positioning. ➡️ From individual contributor to collaborative leader Think beyond yourself to build and lead cross-functional teams, foster effective communication, and influence stakeholders to align on product goals and priorities. ➡️ From requirements-driven to user-centric You need to deeply understand customer needs, conduct user research, and use data to inform product decisions, so your product solves real problems and delivers value. ➡️ From feature-oriented to outcome-oriented Focus on the desired outcomes and impact the product can deliver, rather than simply checking off a list of features. ➡️ From execution-focused to experimentation-focused Embrace learning. Encourage a culture of experimentation, hypothesis testing, and iterative development to drive innovation and continuous improvement. ➡️ From internal-focused to market-driven Understand the market landscape, analyze competition, and identify emerging trends to ensure your product remains competitive. ➡️ From fixed roadmaps to agile iterations Change will happen. Get comfortable with iterating, feedback loops, and prioritization to keep up with evolving customer needs and market shifts. ➡️ From siloed thinking to cross-functional collaboration Work closely with engineering, design, marketing, sales, and other teams to create a holistic approach to product development, launch, and ongoing success. ➡️ From reactive to proactive Learn how to anticipate market changes, identify opportunities, and take proactive steps to drive innovation and stay ahead of the competition. ➡️ From incremental improvements to disruptive innovation Explore new technologies, industry trends, and customer insights to find opportunities for transformative products or features. Think generative AI. Which is your favorite tactic to level up and seize opportunities as a PM? - #mentoring #generativeai #productmanagement #prodmgmt #productleadership

The role of product management, especially for AI-based products, is changing a lot. Interestingly, a significant number of products are becoming "AI-based" products. You'll often see requests for a stronger technical background alongside traditional PM skills. It's not enough to just know the market and users anymore; product managers now need to understand things like algorithms, data pipelines, and machine learning. This isn't a small change; it's a real shift in what's required. It’s not about knowledge of a toll but the technology. I'm seeing this trend firsthand. Look at product manager job descriptions, and "understanding or working knowledge of AI" is becoming standard. We're also seeing more data scientists and AI engineers moving into product management. This isn't just a career switch; it's a sign that technical knowledge is crucial for building good AI products. For people without this background, it's a big challenge, requiring a lot of learning and a willingness to try new things. Being able to explain complex technical ideas in a way that users understand is now a must-have skill. The key to AI product management is balancing big ideas with what's actually possible. Without understanding AI's strengths and limitations, product managers can easily get swayed by marketing hype or struggle to create realistic roadmaps. It's the difference between a dream and a practical vision. Equally important is building strong communication with engineering teams, not just for technical alignment but for building trust. Don't believe the idea that you don't need technical skills in PM. This trend is only going to get stronger. It's better to adapt and learn than to struggle later. #ExperienceFromTheField #WrittenByHuman