Ed. 012 What Makes For a Good Product Manager (and Program Manager)

Wasn't this supposed to be for Program Managers? Yes, but you're closer to Product Management than you think

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What Makes For A Good Product Manager (and Program Manager) 💥

Andy Johns goes into detail of the required skills and experiences of the ideal Product Manager. He spent a lot of time at Facebook, Twitter, Quora, and Wealthfront.

Why does this matter? Johns has interesting observations of the required skills and details how Product Managers go from average to great. His emphasis on cross-functional teams is the most relevant and applies to many of the attributes of a good Program Manager.

Power Positions Ted Talk (video) 🦍

The Amy Cuddy’s Power Positions Ted Talk is recommended “viewing” by the Facebook TPM recruiting team and outlines the observations of body language and how it shapes us.

Why does this matter? Presence is a significant skill (resource to some degree) for Program Managers. The observations (though somewhat debated) in this Ted Talk could prove useful when building presence in your role.

5 Ways to Successfully Manage Remote Project Teams

Many of us won’t be going back to the office any time soon. It’s a good idea to adopt some of the best practices of other project managers.

Why does this matter? COVID19 has definitely shaken up the nature of work. Now more than ever, it’s important to set up a cadence and expectations with your remote colleagues.

Tell me about a time you were not able to meet a time commitment (video) ⏱️

Interviewing soon? Dan Croiter’s series of Amazon interview videos are especially useful when answering behavioral interview questions.

Why does this matter? It’s easy to talk about the positive aspects of your accomplishments. It’s significantly harder to talk about the negative experiences and still seem like you came out ahead.

Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles (video) 📼

Straight from the horse’s mouth. Watch Jeff Bezos as he elaborates on the leadership principles of Amazon.

Why does this matter? There are some good takeaways here, many of which I learned during my startup days but have translated well into big corporate orgs. Pay particularly close attention to “Delivering Results.” This is an interesting departure from the classic project manager approach of focusing on deliverables. As a Program Manager your focus is on outcome, not deliverables.

Job Postings and Resources 📝

Take a look at some resources and roles we’ve curated recently.

See you next week 🙏

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