SVPMA Jan 2014 monthly event “Charting a Career Path to Your Dream Product Management Job” with Muffi Ghadiali, VP Product Management, OUYA Inc., Advisor and Lecturer at Stanford CSP Read more: http://svpma.org/2014/01/january-2014/

1. CHARTING A CAREER PATH TO
YOUR DREAM PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT JOB
muffi ghadiali
muffi@ghadiali.com | linkedin.com/in/muffi
1

2. 2
18+ YEARS OF CONSUMER
TECH AND MARKETING
START-UP, MID-SIZE AND
FORTUNE500
CONSUMER TECH -
HARDWARE, SOFTWARE
AND SERVICES
ADVISOR AND LECTURER AT
STANFORD CSP

3. PERSPECTIVES
WHO
WHAT
WHY

4. WHO IS A
PRODUCT
MANAGER
?

5. 5
BUSINESS
CUSTOMERS
PRODUCT
MANAGER

6. 6
BUSINESS
CUSTOMERS
CEO, CTO, FOUNDER,
GM, ENGINEER,
DEVELOPER…

7. 7
A PRODUCT
MANGER
IS AN
ARTIST
SCULPTING A
PRODUCT
THAT…

8. 8
#1
MEETS NEEDS
#2
WORKS
BEAUTIFULLY
#3
MAKES MONEY

9. WHAT IS A
PRODUCT?

10. 10
PHYSICAL
PRODUCT

11. 11
CONTENT
PHYSICAL
PRODUCT

12. 12
CONTENT
PHYSICAL
PRODUCT
SERVICE

13. 13
PHYSICAL
PRODUCT

14. 14
SOFTWARE
PHYSICAL
PRODUCT

15. 15
SOFTWARE
PHYSICAL
PRODUCT
SERVICE

16. WHY DO
PRODUCTS
FAIL?

17. ENOUGH
PROFITABLE
CUSTOMERS
MEETS NEEDS + WORKS + MAKES MONEY

18. Met needs?
Worked?
Made money?
18

19. Met needs?
Worked?
Made money?

20. 20
Met needs?
Worked?
Made money?

21. CAREER SUCCESS

22.
FOUR
ELEMENTS
KEY TRAITS
JOBS &
INTERVIEWS
THE CATCH-22
MENTORSHIP

23. TRAITS

24. FOUR
TRAITS OF
GREAT
PRODUCT
MANAGERS

25. 25
#1
KNOW HOW
KNOW
THE
TECHNOLOGY
AND
HOW
YOUR PRODUCT
WORKS

26. 26
#2
SMARTS
MAKE
SENSIBLE
PRODUCT
TRADE-OFFS

27. 27
#3
EXECUTION
DELIVER
WHILE BALANCING
SCOPE,
SCHEDULE,
RESOURCES
AND
QUALITY

28. 28
#4
PERSUASION
THE ABILITY TO
PERSUADE
YOUR TEAM TO
ALIGN AND
DELIVER

29. PERSUASION

30. YOUR TEAM
marketing
finance
engineers
operations
support
QA
execs
PM

31. YOUR
TEAMS
ARE
YOUR
TOOLS

32. STAND
BESIDE
THE TEAM
NOT
ABOVE

33. 33
GIVE
CHOICES
THERE ARE
ALWAYS
3
CHOICES

34. 34
IF YOU WANT
THEM TO
THINK
OUT OF THE BOX
GET THEM
OUT OF THE BOX

35. FINDING THE
JOB

36. 36
UNKNOWN
KNOWN
MATURE

37. 37
KNOWN
UNKNOWN
STARTUPS

38. 38
KNOWN
KNOWN
WHO ARE OUR CUSTOMERS?
WHAT NEED ARE WE
SERVING?
WHO ARE OUR
COMPETITORS?
HOW WILL WE MAKE
MONEY?
UNKNOWN
UNKNOWN
MATURE BIZ STARTUPS

39. 39
START-UPS
MULTI-
DISCIPLINARY
FLAT TEAMS
ROLES EVOLVE
HUMAN DYNAMICS’
QUICK DECISIONS

40. 40
MATURE BIZ
FOCUSED ROLES
HIERARCHY
THE ‘LIST’
‘MARKETING’ IS A
NECESSITY

41. 41
BEFORE YOU
START
ASK YOURSELF
THE
5 WHYS

42. 42
WHY..
..BE A PRODUCT
MANAGER?
…THIS PRODUCT?
…THIS TEAM?
…THIS JOB?
…THIS COMPANY?

43. ..COMPANY
..TEAM
..PRODUCTS
43
BEFORE THE
INTERVIEW
LEARN
EVERYTHING
YOU CAN ABOUT
THE..

44. ..LINKEDIN
..RECRUITERS
..REVIEWS
44
THREE
GREAT
RESOURCES..

45. THE
INTERVIEW

46. 46
INTERVIEW PROCESS
3
STEPS
PHONE SCREEN
ONSITE
DEBRIEF / OFFER

47. 47
EVERY INTERVIEW
SEEKS TO
ANSWER
3
QUESTIONS
CAN YOU DO
THE JOB?
DO YOU REALLY
WANT TO BE
HERE?
DO WE WANT
YOU HERE?

48. 48
INTERVIEW
QUESTION
KNOW
HOW
Q. TECHNOLOGY
BASICS

49. 49
INTERVIEW
QUESTION
PERSUASION
Q. DEALING WITH
CONFLICT

50. 50
INTERVIEW
QUESTION
SMARTS
Q. PRODUCT
CURIOSITY

51. 51
INTERVIEW
QUESTION
EXECUTION
Q. MOST
CHALLENGING
PRODUCT

52. BREAKING
THE CATCH-22
52

53. 53
DO THE
5 X 5
TALK TO
5
PMs
ASK THEM
5
QUESTIONS

54. 54
BEST
PLACE TO START IS
WHERE YOU ARE
RIGHT
NOW

55. BUILD A
PRODUCT
..BUT HOW?
55

56. 56
#1
DEFINE
THE
PRODUCT

57. 57
#2
BUILD
A
‘TEAM’

58. 58
#3
SHIP
A
PRODUCT

59. MENTORSHIP

60. 60
#1
DON’T
BE
SHY

61. 61
#2
BE
HONEST

62. 62
#3
GIVE
BEFORE YOU
ASK

63. 63
#4
HAVE
CLARITY

64. CLOSING
THOUGHTS

65. THE MAGIC OF SILICON
VALLEY
THE MOST AMAZING
CONFLUENCE OF
INTELLECT,
CAPITAL
AND
RISK TAKING
USE THIS NETWORK TO
YOUR ADVANTAGE!
65

66. DO
OR
DO NOT
THERE IS NO
TRY
66

67. THANK YOU!
muffi ghadiali
muffi@ghadiali.com | linkedin.com/in/muffi