153: There Are No Rules – On Product Management Gatekeeping

There are no rules that define who will make a great product manager

This episode was inspired by a “rant” (actually, a well-reasoned post) from Graham Reed on LinkedIn, and another post by Greg Prickril. Both were about the ridiculousness of the people posting nonsense and disinformation about product management and what it “really” is and who you have to be to be a successful product manager.

But the reality is that we know great product managers can come from any background – some were great developers, some couldn’t code their way out of a paper bag. Some started as business analysts, some as retail clerks, some as attorneys.

Links

* Graham Reed’s post on elitism in product management.

* Greg Prickril’s post on elitism and disinformation in product management (and his appearance on this podcast)

* My related post on LinkedIn on “What do a retail worker, a chef, and an art history major all have in common?” (Answer: They might all make great product managers.)

* A post from Andy Bowden that inspired the section about job descriptions.

* My episode about some of the characteristics of successful product managers.

My product manager meetup

* If you’d like to get on the notification list for my free weekly product manager meetup, go to https://secretsofpm.com/meetup.

Product Manager Grad School

Product Manager Grad School is a personalized tutorial and coaching program where you will learn and apply the types of power skills I talk about on this podcast – from storytelling and persuasion, to the Minimum Viable Product Knowledge that’s critical for successful go to market, to the specific tools you need to crush your day-to-day challenges.

I am 100% confident that this program will help you become a better, more confident product manager, and transform your career.

Go to pmgradschool.com to sign up for a free consultation call/coaching session.

There are no rules that define who will make a great product manager

This episode was inspired by a “rant” (actually, a well-reasoned post) from Graham Reed on LinkedIn, and another post by Greg Prickril. Both were about the ridiculousness of the people posting nonsense and disinformation about product management and what it “really” is and who you have to be to be a successful product manager.

But the reality is that we know great product managers can come from any background – some were great developers, some couldn’t code their way out of a paper bag. Some started as business analysts, some as retail clerks, some as attorneys.

Links

* Graham Reed’s post on elitism in product management.