How To Succeed In Product Management | Jeffrey Shulman, Red Russak & Soumeya Benghanem

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Arvind Dutta (Microsoft) to talk about roadmaps and prioritization. A roadmap isn’t simply a to-do list that anyone can change or check off. It is a consolidated plan and execution that helps the product team prioritize and progress through the product development more organized and productive.

Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.

What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 03:05 Why roadmapping and prioritization are important
• 06:23 Who owns the roadmap?
• 09:11 Avoid turning the roadmap into a to-do list
• 16:39 Know the audience the roadmap is aimed at
• 24:09 Question-based approach roadmap
• 33:14 The product team should make the roadmap work for them
• 39:43 Other tools effective in implementing a roadmap
• 42:41 Providing updates to the upper management
• 48:39 Where the real value lies
• 51:02 The ability to prioritize and drive clarity through roadmap

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Ronke Majekodunmi (PayPal) to talk about finding your leadership voice. When you have a voice powerful enough to be a catalyst of change, then you are on your way to becoming an effective leader. Your leadership voice, when used correctly, will greatly benefit your organization and the people you work with.

Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.

What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:52 Why do you need a leadership voice?
• 08:53 You use your leadership voice to make a difference
• 16:35 How do you find your leadership ears?
• 21:38 Four things to focus on when talking about communication
• 28:14 It’s easier for engineers to transition into a PM role
• 31:39 Give as much time as possible in mentoring new PMs
• 34:51 How to settle in a new role/organization
• 38:18 Always try to build something
• 46:02 Follow the social accounts of the top people in the organizations
• 50:53 Get exposed and reach out to the right hiring people
• 53:43 Don’t let fear hold you back
• 56:20 Don’t hesitate to use your leadership voice

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Clarissa Silva (C Silva Solutions LLC), Michele Heyward (PositiveHire), and Jedidiah Jonathan (Amazon) to talk about hiring product managers. The first thing most hiring managers do during the hiring process is to look for skills that match the job description and what the applicant can bring into the company. But, it’s also important to ensure that diversity and inclusion is always taken into consideration.

Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.

What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:38 When it’s time to hire, train, and delegate to other PMs
• 02:57 Myth: All hiring processes are the same
• 07:45 The landscape of what it looks like for executive recruiting
• 12:37 What’s the best approach to gaining the best talents?
• 16:45 Offer expertise to bigger organizations to build partnerships
• 23:48 Dos and Don’ts for a PM hiring another PM
• 29:05 Always keep communication clear
• 31:20 Understand the minimum skills required for the job
• 34:45 A diverse interview panel is important
• 37:43 Flexibility between structured interview and human connection during interviews
• 39:42 Universalizing the outcomes of the methodology in the interview
• 43:25 Start asking good PMs and map those skills down
• 47:44 Inclusivity in companies require more creative approach

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board member Soumeya Benghanem welcome Ron Berman (Marketing Professor at Wharton) to talk about experimentation. Since data is one of the most valuable components to all product development, is it right to say that AB testing is the ultimate go-to experiment method? Or will it depend on the availability of samples and the number of experiments your team is willing to test? Tune in to find out!

Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.

What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 05:06 Is AB Testing the best experimentation process?
• 08:48 Run the test, design two versions, check the conversion rate
• 12:38 If you change something very small, the effect is not very large
• 22:34 We need to think of good things to experiment with
• 30:34 When the result is indisputable and when it becomes inconclusive
• 34:50 Running multiple versions of an experiment
• 42:02 Conducting a test with very small samples
• 46:21 AB test is just one method of quantitative experimentation
• 56:34 Let data drive in making critical decisions

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board members Red Russak and Soumeya Benghanem welcome Sagar Kulkarni (Microsoft) to talk about creating a customer centric vision within any organization. Whether there is misalignment in vision between teams within the same organization or working in opposing workflows, what matters the most is that the product vision aligns with the customer needs.

Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.

What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:29 Creating a customer centric vision
• 06:59 What does vision stand for in product management?
• 11:43 The core of user-centered visions
• 18:02 Customer feedback is a big indicator of your success
• 22:54 Focus on vision around strategic prioritization
• 32:07 The mindset you should have to meet customer requirements
• 41:50 Bridging through misaligned vision but completely aligned with customer needs
• 49:15 Is it possible to keep the same domain and break into product management?
• 50:26 Customer centricity is sometimes taken for granted