With the ZIRP Era behind us and the ChatGPT era in front of us. Here are some skills for aspiring and mid level Product Managers to learn if they don't want to be another number in the future layoffs. 1. Master SQL and Data Analytics: - To truly understand your product's performance, grasp the fundamentals of SQL and data analytics. It's the key to unlocking insights that guide informed decision-making. 2. Embrace Design Basics and Tools: - Don't underestimate the power of design in product management. Learn the basics and get hands-on with tools like Figma and Sketch. This will bridge the gap between your vision and the visual representation of your product. 3. Hone Your Copywriting Skills and Explore Marketing Tools: - Crafting persuasive email copy is an art. As a product manager, you need to communicate effectively. Additionally, delve into marketing tools like Mailchimp to orchestrate impactful campaigns that boost your product's visibility. And if you are an engineering/science team and your PM refuses to skill up, it's time to find a new PM.
You say “with the ChatGPT era ahead of us”, but I feel like you’re missing exactly that; learn to use ChatGPT to your advantage! I wrote the entire outline for a presentation about something I had very limited knowledge about, using ChatGPT. Then I used that outline to dive into those specific subjects, and rewrite the initial suggestions to make it more relevant to our product. Learn to use RAG with LLMs if you want to take it further. Learn to use LLMs to summarize status reports or white papers or YouTube videos. Learn to use LLMs to create initial drafts for scripts for videos you want to create. Learn to use LLMs to create marketing strategies based on your priorities and target market. …. And so much more! You can really 10x yourself by using LLMs to augment your existing skills.
ChatGPT is your friend of course to take on these additional skills which have traditionally been handled by other people.
Genuine question - are these not already considered entry level skills for PMs?
Not to my experience Most project and product managers have zero tech or design skills
I don’t like saying it but being likeable is one of the most important. When I think about coworkers who have made an impression on me, I think about people I actually enjoy speaking to and spending time with. When shit goes sideways you actually want to work with them to diagnose the problems and plan the path ahead. This is just my personal opinion of course. Also when I look back at my 10 year career, the people who I generally disliked are either stuck in their same role, or making lateral jumps from company to company. They were confrontational, defensive, obnoxious, arrogant, etc. It’s really hard to take a step back and think about how you come across to an individual, or what a group people think about something you wrote/said. I think this is even more important in engineering, most of the engineering leads I’ve loved working with are in senior leadership roles now, director, vp, svp, and its no surprise honestly
Being likeable is a great trait but if you are not able to play politics and manage up you are dead.
Thank you 🙏 I was thinking about the exact stuff and here you are. Please can you add some more specific data analytics skills do you mean Python, Tableau
SQL and Tableau should be good enough for now.