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(18)Whydid/doyouwanttobecomeaproductmanager?Quora

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Whydid/doyouwanttobecomeaproduct
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Latestactivity:26Sep,
2014

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ThereasonforchoosingtobecomeaPMandthenremainaPMforsometime
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IwasadeveloperbeforeIdidmyMBA.WhenKenNortonwrotetheselineshe
wasdescribingwhyIbecameaPM:)

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Ilovedthetechnicalchallengesofengineeringbutdespisedthecoding.I
likedsolvingproblems,butIhatedhavingotherpeopletellmewhattodo.I
wantedtobeapartofthestrategicdecisions,Iwantedtoowntheproduct.
Marketingappealedtomycreativity,butIknewI'ddislikebeingtoofar
awayfromthetechnology.

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(HowtohireaproductmanagerbyKenNorton )
However,lessthanayearintomyfirstPMstintIwasfeelingfrustratedbecause
IrealisedIlackedthemuscleintheorganizationtodoanything.Andifyou
wanttoseesomethingtaketheshapeyouhaveinyourheadyouhavetohave
power.
Lessthanayearoutofbschool,IwaswonderingifIshouldcutmylossesand
dosomethingelse.ButslowlyIstartedrealizingafewthings.

Whydoessomeonewanttobecomea
manager?
HowdoIbecomeaproductmanager?
WhatwouldyousuggesttoaBusiness
studentwhowantstogetintoProduct
Management?
Whatclasseswouldyourecommendfor
aStanfordgraduatestudentwhowants
tobecomeaproductmanageratatech
company?
WhydoEngineersbecomeProduct
Managers?
Whatthingsdoyouneedtobeprepared
withtobecomeaProductManagerifyou
arefromastrongsoftwaretechnical
backgr...(continue)
Howdoyoubecomeasuccessful
ProductManageratGoogle?
HowmuchshouldyouknowaboutCSto
becomeasuccessfulProductManager?
Whatdoesittaketobecomeaproduct
manager?
Howcananoncsguybecomeagreat
productmanager?
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1. Iwasactuallyworkingwithpeople.Forlong,inmyhead,Ihadclassified
myselfasanasocialbeast.But,hey,hereIwasgettingpeoplefrom45
differentteamstoworktowardssomething.
2. Irealisedthatin8monthsIknewmoreaboutlegal,finance,professional
services,sales,customersupport,engineeringthanotherpeopleoutside
thoseteams.Thisinturn,mademerealizethateachofthesefacetscarry
differentrisksfortheproductandIcanbethepersonwhoseesand
mitigatesthoserisks.
3. Truesuccessisbiggerthananyindividual.Yes,youmighthavebeen
overruledinthecolordecisionbutifitmadeitbetter,itwasforgood.
4. Mycolleagues.IworkedinsmallPMteamswithfolkswhowouldjustpush
mythinkingeveryday.Youfeellikeanincrementallysmarterfoolatthe
endofeveryday.

Andpostthefirstyear,thesearethethingsthathavekeptmeinaPMjob.
Written28Oct,2013.1,217views.

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3/29/2015

(18)Whydid/doyouwanttobecomeaproductmanager?Quora

AntonyChacko,UXDesigner,ProductStrategist,SEO
Formeit'sthesheerjoyofshapingaproductandseeitgrowinfrontofme.
Productmanagersarealsocreatorsandifyourcreationsaregoodenoughthen
youcanchangetheworld.Needanexample?Weneedtothankproduct
managersofQuoraforcreatingthisamazingplatformforhavingacreative
discussionlikethis.Irestmycase)
Written21Oct,2013.907views.

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IanWithrow,BeenaPMforawhile
3upvotesbyPhilippM.W.Hoffmann,AZZaidi,andAnjanaRames.

Irememberthisveryclearly,myfirstmentorliterallytalkedmeintoit.
ItwasattheendofmysummernewhiretrainingclassatSprintforfuture
SalesEngineers.Theyhademployeesfromvarious'hiring'departmentscome
andtalkabouttheirjobs.Myfuturementor,MarcLangston,camespokeabout
productmanagement.Heopenedwith"I'mgongtotellyouwhyproduct
managementisthemostimportantjobinthecompany"andthenproceededto
makehiscaseelegantly.
MyreactionwastwofoldA)ThisguyisreallycoolB)That'sthejobforme.As
asweetenerIsoonlearnedhisteamalsohappenedtoworktheclosesttowhere
mythengirlfriend/futurewifelived.(DCversusNYC)
IwasfirstinmytrainingclasssoI'dhavemypickofthepositionsavailableso
itwasasafebetI'dgetthisgig.(Basicallyajuniorproductmanager)WhatI
findinterestingtothisdayisnooneelsereallywantedthisjob.Thereweretwo
openPMpositions(onefornewtechandoneforoldtech)andeveryone
breathedasighofreliefwhenIpickedthenewtechrole.Thesecondposition
waspickedwelldowntherankingandI'mprettysurethatchoicewassolely
motivatedbylocation.
Written17Oct,2013.2,791views.

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KrisZanuldin
Personally,Iwantedtohelpbuildsh*tandIwantedtobeclosetotheproduct
thatcustomersused.MarketingwasalittletoofarremovedandEngineering
wasalittletoocloseandtechnical.Projectmanagementwasclosebutsimilar
toEngineeringitwastoomuchprocessinthedaytodayandyougetlostin
theweeds.Productmanagementwasmorewhereyouendupwhenyoudon't
quitefitinanyofthosebucketsorarelookingtoinfluencethebigpicturewhile
stillbeingclosetotheproductitself.
Atleastthat'smyjourney.
Written16Oct,2013.985views.

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