10.19.2020 - By Path2Product
On today's episode, I sat down with Evan Groom, Product Manager at Audio Technica. Throughout this series on why products fail, we've looked through the lens of startup founders and their experiences. Today, Evan shares lessons he's learned in a global company and industry leader. We talk about what pitfalls you might run into in well-established organizations that could inhibit the success of your product launches or kill them altogether. Excited for you to hear what Evan has to say, so let's get started.
Here's what we discussed:
Audio Technica was a great fit for Evan's educational background as an Audio Engineer
How Evan worked his way from packing and shipping to support and then into Product and has been a PM for 4 years now
Why it's beneficial to have relationships with members of other departments as a PM and how his multiple roles with AT helped in his transition to Product
What AT (Audio Technica) looks like from an organizational level, starting with how HQ is based in Japan
How being a global company forces perspective changes due to the organic diversity
There is software involved in AT products, but AT is primarily a hardware company
Why we can never assume we perfectly know the market or the customer when making product decisions
The combination of customer insight and data are key in making product decision
How tools like Qualtrics can help gather quant data to aid in decision making
Why data isn't the end all be all and data is only as the questions you ask and how well the data you're tracking aligns with the questions you're trying to have answered
The importance of being scrappy as a PM to gather the right data
How complex product documentation (PRDs) can inhibit the success of your products
Any documentation needs to be a living and breathing thing versus something that never changes after the initial draft in "idea" phase
Why you need to be willing to "burn the ships"
How important mentorship is for new and aspiring PMs.
Check out AIPMM: AIPMM
Connect with Evan: Evan's LinkedIn
Connect with me: LinkedIn Email
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