How Does One Become a Product Manager?

Usually by accident. Seriously.

To the best of my knowledge, which may be limited, there is only one university in the U.S. that provides a Product Management training curriculum resulting in a degree. The rest of us landed those jobs because we:

1) Didn’t know any better
2) Had incriminating photos of hiring managers and extorted our way in
3) Were “drafted” since there were no other eligible i.e., warm, breathing bodies available
4) Sort of knew what was up and decided to do it anyway because hey, it might work out.

I believe I most closely approximated number 4.

Up until about 6 months before I embarked upon my first PM gig, I didn’t even know what a PM was. I’d never heard of one. Didn’t have the foggiest notion of what a PM did and likely confused Product Manager with Project Manager to the same extent everyone else I know does now.

Fortunately, I had luck on my side. I was working as a technical writer which put me in close proximity to some low-level product managers, one of whom left his role to take a flying job. That’s right – he gave up the glory that is product management for hours of unending boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror as a commuter airline pilot. Gotta wonder about that call, right? Anyhow, it worked out well for me. I was able to take my partially baked MBA, along with some previous advertising and sales experience, and train it on the role of product manager… as soon as I figured out what it was.

Other PM’s I’ve had the great good fortune to know have similar stories to tell. They moved into the role from an engineering position or popped onto the PM radar screen from marketing, business development, or operations. What all these folks have had in common is this…. none had any formal training as product managers prior to entering the field. That’s right. People with little idea about what they were doing were given multi-million dollar businesses and told to “go make money with ‘em!”

P.J. O’Rourke, author of “Parliament of Whores” said of politicians that, “Giving them power and money was like giving teenage boys a bottle of whiskey and the keys to the car.”

In many cases, that’s an accurate portrayal of the installation of new PMs. There may be lots of enthusiasm and bravado about their role, but little real knowledge of how to behave with the responsibility given them. It’s little wonder that outstanding PM’s who can truly manage the value chain, drive positive products to their customers, and generate large American dollars for their corporations aren’t more common – at least not early in their career paths.

What’s an aspiring PM to do? Shoot, how is a barely new or even seasoned PM to respond to such an inauspicious start? Hopefully you’ll read on as this blog unfolds. It certainly won’t be a complete owner’s manual to Product Management, but hopefully the mistakes, misfortunes, and successes that have been experienced over the years - by me and others – will enlighten, entertain, and educate all of us in the world of product management in the belief that when one teaches, two learn. Or in this case, many teach, even more learn, and all prosper. Hopefully.