First-time Product Management
33 video lectures for practical people seriously interested in product management skillsets
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Interviewing for your first product management job? How often this happened to you? The hiring manager says, "Well, you don't have any product management experience," which makes you think, "How am I going to get that experience if you don't give me a chance to do the job first!"
When product management hiring manager says you don't have experience, what she is really saying is, "I am not seeing the product manager mindset in you." It is a chicken and egg problem, right? How do you get that product manager mindset without actually doing the product manager job?
Don't let that hiring manager's feedback disappoint you. Take it from me, it is very much possible to switch from engineering to product management roles. In fact people with technical background are most suitable for product management roles.
However, there is one big, very big, barrier technical professionals face when they try to get into product management for the first time.
And this barrier is: how you think, how you talk, and what kind of language you use when you talk.
This is that "product manager mindset." It is a barrier because nothing in your engineering, design and development experience taught you that product manager mindset.
Worry no more. You've come to the right place. This course is entirely about managing products the traditional way. In specific, my focus is on day-to-day product management skills for B2B type of companies, where you are making, marketing and selling products to business entities, not end consumers.
I'll cut to the chase. First, watch the intro video in this course, then enroll in this course.
Sit through each video and finish it.
You don't have to take any notes or anything. Just let your mind relax and think about what I am saying in the videos.
Finish the videos.
Finish the videos, that's important.
Then think about what this "PM mindset" is. I guarantee you, you will know a lot more about it after you complete the course videos.
Keep using that mindset to revise your resume, to change the way you talk, to change the way you use the language when you talk to product management hiring managers.
I created this course because I've seen others struggle to become good in product management, and I believe my experience--with the lessons learned over 19 years of Silicon Valley life in technology profession--can offer useful guidance to others looking to shift into product management.
In case I was not clear yet, let me reassure you again: this course is intended for beginners; no prior product management experience is needed. You don't even have to know technology, for that matter. Just bring your passion.
The course is organized primarily into 34 lectures (33 video lectures running over 6 hours.)
I expect to add further material as we go along and I get substantial feedback.
So, please join me as we get started.
Your Instructor
Update, August 2017. I am a Silicon Valley technology business professional with 20 years of experience in the markets of wireless, mobile, semiconductors, software and hardware. Until recently I was at my self-funded venture is Riffiti, a mobile video app for a new way of learning anything. Before that, a brief time doing wireless connectivity product management at Broadcom. Prior to that I was at Legend Silicon, a Beijing and Fremont-based fabless startup. Legend's investors included Intel Capital. I wore two hats, Vice president of Product Management and Chief Operating Officer. Legend Silicon co-invented the China digital terrestrial television standard.
Technology business, especially here in Silicon Valley, is so interesting to me because of one reason: product management. I love it, and thrive in it. It is true what they say, that a product manager is really a mini-CEO.
Frequently Asked Questions
Testimonials from students who completed this course.
"This is the best PM course that I have come across. The concepts are their applications are explained thoroughly with a real-world feel so that we can know how to make use of the knowledge gained. Thanks for putting together such a great compilation."
"Raj is really responsive to questions (typically less than 24 hours). Course is as advertised. A great framework overview of product management. Learned quite a bit. Also helped provide vocabulary and concepts to many things I had already been doing. Would recommend for beginner and as a refresher for practicing professional."
"There are a few useful resources out there on the internet that can give you a bit of insight into the scope of the Product Manager's role. However, there was nothing out there that prepares you to *think* like a Product Manager. There was nothing out there that puts it all together and allows you to see the orientation and relationship between all the product manager tasks and responsibilities. And furthermore, there was nothing out there that allows you to confidently walk into an interview for a product manager role and answer questions as if you already had the experience required. This course gives you all of that. Extremely useful course. Thorough, engaging, and effective. Very well done!"
"Excellent Course with great real life examples. Highly recommend this course and Raj Was engaging."
"This course gives a great overview to help frame your lenses as a PM. He goes on to back up the high level concepts with a lot of specifics to practice this trade."
"The flow of the course about the introduction and expectations from PM goes very gradually and well structured"
"Really easy to follow and straight to the point. It provides a really good overview of the role and good base to start in the role as Junior Product Manager."
* Well Presented, and very easy to understand
* Educator was quick to respond to my questions and in providing additional information/examples.
* Provided clear defined process for gaining approvals for new product developments
* Provided a holistic view of the product managers role
* This course has resulted process improvements being taken within my company
Your testimonial goes here.