tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103867207927470531.post3156531727283997251..comments2023-04-10T05:25:29.753-07:00Comments on It's About Value: Essential SkillsTim Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14555595022933420006noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103867207927470531.post-72648207299893289342012-03-12T13:13:34.936-07:002012-03-12T13:13:34.936-07:00Bertrand,
Thanks for positng and I agree wholehea...Bertrand,<br /><br />Thanks for positng and I agree wholeheartedly. Both positions have a component of selling in them. Selling the Sales team on the messaging, the collateral is right, useful and effective, etc. Selling Engineering on the right set of specs. Selling customers on the roadmap, etc.<br /><br />One way to look at it is getting people who don't work directly for you to work for you. That is leadership, selling and management.Tim Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14555595022933420006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103867207927470531.post-37350968502371600332012-03-09T19:26:41.110-08:002012-03-09T19:26:41.110-08:00Tim,
I would add that you need the ability to pr...Tim, <br /><br />I would add that you need the ability to prioritize and most importantly to get things done. I also agree with April that you need the ability to convince, not just execs but your peers as well. You can't succeed as a PM or PMM on your own. <br /><br />- BertrandBertrand Hazardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06310446175502110034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103867207927470531.post-71280256768846593692012-03-05T13:10:54.576-08:002012-03-05T13:10:54.576-08:00April,
Thanks for the comment. You have an excel...April,<br /><br />Thanks for the comment. You have an excellent point about product manager skill sets. This is where the roles start to specialize into the different disciplines and PM definitely needs some kind of technical chops to maintain checks and balances with Engineering. This is aso where *experience* comes into the mix and I will write more about that next week.<br /><br />I've faced the same challenge in both PM and PMM roles and it certainly helps that in my career I've managed QA, done tech support, know what third normal form database design is (because I've built some), and had more than passing exposure to both ITIL and CISSP training. There's a reason I don't write code for a living - and I'm happy with that. That background (experience) has been invaluable. However, without the above skills I would not have progressed very far.Tim Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14555595022933420006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4103867207927470531.post-39498603684661667242012-03-05T11:58:17.999-08:002012-03-05T11:58:17.999-08:00And yet - almost everyone I know in product manage...And yet - almost everyone I know in product management has a technical background and not, say, a journalism background (which looks like it might be a good fit given the above list). <br />Here is one thing I will add to the list - they need the ability to build credibility with development and senior management. That's a tricky thing for folks with no technology background to do, particularly if the management team skews technical (as it does in most tech companies). <br />AprilApril Dunfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13105702389157069826noreply@blogger.com