⭐ Getting started into product

Note: This is a longer-term path that requires sustained discipline and not everyone will want to or should pursue what's listed here. This is meant to be an exhuastive set of resources and not targetted to your personal situation which you'll need to evaluate. These resources are not meant for securing a PM role but will improve certain skills which may indirectly help with the mindset.

If you are just getting acquainted with the product domain and have no idea where to begin with, start by getting answers to the following questions

1. What exactly does a Product Manager do?

   A PM job might sound cool on the surface and can be pretty different from what you thought it to be. Start off with the basics of a Product Manager Role from Product school to get a gist. If you are already aware about the basics, skip to this presentation by Sachin Rekhi on the art of Product management which beautifully encapsulates how a PM is responsible for driving the vision, strategy and execution of a product. Also, checkout this link. Some points which are note-worthy here are:

   • The responsibilities for a PM varies to a high extent from company to company
   • Sometimes, it gets confused with Project Management or even Program Management

2. What does it take to be a GREAT PM?

   If you are to take this plunge, you should know what it takes to be in the top 5% of the community. Let’s begin with the skills that a PM should pickup:

Hard Skills

• Technology: knowledge about aspects of system design, APIs; basics of mobile, web and backend workings
• Analytics: ability to crunch numbers by writing basic SQL/R/python code
• Design: Fundamentals of UX and UI
• Business: basics related to the industry domain

Soft Skills:

• Influential Communication
• Story telling
• Negotiation
• Demonstrated Leadership
• Customer Science