đ Unlocking the 6 Key PM Skill Areas
TL;DR - I went to LA and have a new website. Map your skill set today to key PM skill areas.
đïž From the Desk of Alex
đ€« Last week, I flew to LA for my first sponsored trip. I canât wait to share the content I helped create. But for now, it has to stay under wraps đą
My website has moved! What I originally thought was going to be a $250 ordeal only cost me $20 đ I got the domain pivotintoproduct.com !!!!
Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Weâre all about pivoting into product in this newsletter - so letâs get back to the basics.
đĄ Anyone Can Become a PM
I believe anyone can become a product manager. But, before we can change our careers and make the pivot, we need to understand our present PM skill set.
Right now, youâre probably thinking, âAlex, I havenât been a product manager yet! I donât have product skills! Youâre supposed to teach me!â
Hereâs the thing - youâve probably done some version of âproduct managingâ in your life.Whether through school, work, or your life, you have skills that will allow you to become a PM.
đ 6 Key PM Skill Areas
If youâve been around my TikTok page for a while, youâve probably heard me talk about the 6 PM skill areas:
Engineering Practices - understand Agile, writing out requirements, how to work with engineering
Customer Obsession - constantly striving to bring value to your customer
Influence without Authority - make a strong argument and persuade others
Cross Collaboration - working between teams, each with different expectations
Data Analysis - Excel, Python, SQL, Data Storytelling
Product Sense - Understand your businessâ / clientâs strategic position in the market
Looking through this list, how many of these skills do you think youâve done?
Letâs walk through a few examples of people wanting to pivot, mapping their current skills to product management.
đșïž Skill Mapping - the Consultant, the Engineer, the Student, and YOU!
The Map
Weâre going to use the map below to assess the skill set of the consultant, the engineer, and the student. The map below consists of three concentric circles â each circle representing expertise in a given skill.
The Consultant
The consultant is great at cross collaboration and data analysis - two skills they use regularly. They are moderate at influencing without authority and their extensive client work makes them skilled at understanding user needs and their clientâs market POV (product sense). They need more engineering practices exposure to ensure theyâre a well rounded PM candidate.
The Engineer
Our engineer is very strong on data analysis and engineering practices. They have moderate expertise in cross collaboration and product sense. They need to work on better understanding how to find customer value and how to influence without authority.
The College Student
Due to many group projects, the (non CS) college student is great at cross collaboration and influencing without authority. They will need to spend time learning about engineering practices, understanding different industries they could be working in (product sense), and how to deliver customer value.
Your Turn!
Screen shot the diagram below and open up your favorite image âMark Upâ tool. Fill in your skill map for today. Self Reflect - What do you need to work on?
Iâd love to see your skill areas! Reply to this email or share your map on social media!
Chat next week!!!
âAlex the PM
