Lessons In Product Management

On today's Lesson in Product Management, this one is for the perfectionists out there.

If you consider yourself a "creative" or an artist, you might be tempted to hide your work until you deem it "perfect" - but that could be hurting you more than you know. On this episode we break down why perfectionism hurts you and those around you and ultimately will set you back in your career and the progress you seek to make for customers.

If you're looking to get into product management but lack the years of experience you need to get in, look no further than Path2Product where we help you bridge the gap in product management experience, build a portfolio to prove your skills and prepare you for interviews and empower you to hit the ground running once you land that first PM job.

It's easy to get overly focused on "doing your job" as a product manager. Unfortunately, we risk taking too narrow of a view of what our job actually is.

When it comes to working with PMMs (product marketing managers), it's no different. And it's about time we start treating them like partners rather than someone we throw releases over the wall to and expect them to make our products sell.

If you're looking to get into product management and want the training and experience you need to get there, join us at Path2Product where we bridge the gap in product management experience for aspiring product managers.

Some of the greatest leaders and leadership authors have given the advice to "Lean into your strengths."

This idea makes sense in some instances. In other cases, it can handicap your career and growth trajectory.

If you want to get into product management and challenge yourself to gain much needed PM experience, join a growing community of 1,000+ aspiring product managers on Path2Product where we bridge the gap of product management experience for aspiring PMs.

On today’s episode, I got to chat with Bob Ainsbury, Chief Product Officer at Granicus. 

Bob is a long-time Product leader who has had a winding journey from engineering to sales and marketing leadership to leading strategy and now in the C-suite as a Product executive. For most of Bob’s career, he’s been in highly regulated spaces like Healthcare and government. 

On today’s episode, we dive into Bob’s experience in leading product in regulated industries and cover a bunch of fun topics such as:

• Privacy and Ethical Considerations in Government Technology
• AI and Machine Learning Trends in Government
• What it’s like Leading Product in Regulated Spaces
• Compliance and Product Ethics
• The Future of AI and ML in Government and so much more

This episode is jam-packed and we cover a lot of ground in 30 minutes, so sit back, relax, and enjoy these lessons in product management. 

What is your relationship like with your stakeholders? If you're not treating them like partners, I can promise you it's not great.

In this episode, we share how to build great relationships with your "stakeholders" and create win/win relationships that stop making stakeholders feel like blockers to your desired progress.

If you're looking to get into product management, join us at ⁠Path2Product⁠ to get the knowledge, experience, and coaching you need to make that transition and accelerate your path to product management!

On today's lesson in product management, John Fontenot shares a recent story about his experience working in a Scrum shop and how the rigid interpretation of Scrum almost killed his ability to ship a critical integration on time.

If you're interested in entering product management and want to gain the hands-on experience you need to make that leap, join us at Path2Product and start earning much-needed experience today.

The difference between regular managers and product managers...

Regular manager: "Don't bring me problems. Bring me solutions!"

Product Manager: "Don't bring me solutions. Bring me problems"

It's our job to care more about the problem driving the request for a solution than the solution itself. But it can be hard navigating those conversations with large customers or senior stakeholders. On this lesson in product management, we discuss this reality and practical tips for dealing with it.

If you enjoy the episode, consider leaving a rating and a review and hit that follow or subscribe button so you never miss an episode.

If you're an aspiring PM looking to break into this challenging job market, Path2Product has you covered. We help you get the hands-on experience, coaching, and interview prep you need to land more interviews and your first role in product management.

Key Takeaways

• Side projects offer valuable experience for aspiring PMs and an outlet for creativity/ownership for employed PMs
• Benefits include mental health, skill development, and potential innovation
• Time management and prioritizing core job responsibilities are crucial when pursuing side projects
• Companies like Google (20% time) demonstrate the value of fostering entrepreneurial creativity in employees

Topics:

1. The Broken Talent Acquisition Process in Product Management
2. Benefits of Side Projects for Aspiring PMs
3. Advantages of side projects for Employed PMs
4. Potential Downsides and Ethical Considerations
5. Company Culture and Innovation

Hello and welcome in to another episode of Lessons in Product Management, I’m your host, John Fontenot, and on today’s episode I have Paul Turaew on to talk about his journey into product management and we riff on a number of topics in research. Paul’s a long-time PM, having held a variety of Sr. IC and Director of Product Management roles in Healthcare. Some of the topics we cover on today’s episode include the tension between research and shipping products, what’s the “MVP” of research, changing the culture and perception of research inside of organizations, and so much more. This episode is longer than normal and entirely worth it, so listen to the end, hit that subscribe or follow button, and enjoy the episode!

If you're looking to accelerate your path into product management, join us on Path2Product to get hands-on experience, build a shareable portfolio project, and network with like-minded professionals.

Outline:

0:00-2:00 - Episode Intro

2:01-5:40 - Paul’s Intro and Journey into Product Management

5:41-13:40 - A big myth about product managers and being technical

13:40-23:35 - The tension between research and shipping products

23:35-27:10 - What should anchor research objectives and activities

27:11-32:20 - The “MVP of Research”

32:21-36:00 - Successfully presenting research findings and insights

36:01-39:00 - Changing the culture and perception of research

39:00-39:29 - Outro