What should I do if I'm not ready to start the next Google? (PART 2)

"There are 2 types of people who start companies in Silicon Valley: Engineers and Product Managers. That's the problem with hiring a great product manager; you know that long term, they don't want to work for someone else" --Silicon Valley CEO

Having learned that PM may be the right role for me after B-school, I’ve done a lot of research on it. I’ve also bought a book that is supposed to be the “bible” for PMs, called: “The Product Manager’s Handbook” by Linda Gorchels. Here is the meat of the info:


Overview of PM role:
- A product manager, by definition, is a generalist who must rely on numerous functional specialists to get the product or service to the customer.
- A primary goal of product managers is to get all functions to focus on the market – the final customers. Therefore, they must interact with various functions in the organization, including sales, operations, finance, customer service, and top management.
- As difficult as it is, product managers must visualize innovations that anticipate and satisfy unmet needs
- Unless a company makes a deliberate effort to integrate customers into the development process, it is likely to create products that are technologically advanced and offer good value, but fall short with sophisticated customers.
- A PM needs to understand 1) what the product does (performance and technical functions); 2) what the product is (configuration, component technologies); 3) who the product serves (target market); 4) what the product means to customers (character, personality, image).

Skills Required:
- Frequently cited traits include an entrepreneurial attitude, leadership, and self-confidence. Acquired abilities should include organizational, time-management, communication skills. Sales proficiency and technical competence are also important in many industries.

PM Planning process (not a comprehensive list):
1. Where are you now?
- Market analysis, competitive analysis, and trend dynamics
2. Where do you want to go?
- Problems and opportunities, sales goals/forecasts, product objectives, and positioning strategy
3. How can you get there?
- Target market, product strategy, pricing strategy, training requirement, marketing research requirements, financial summary, and schedule

In summary, the takeaway here is that the PM role allows you to get great insight into the different functions of a company (especially in a consumer internet startup). It’s probably a great role where you can meet engineers, marketers, and sales people to help you kick off your own business one day.

Mark Pincus on PM as a stepping-stone to being a CEO:
Want to be a CEO? Try product management first | VentureBeat

I guess the part that’s left is to figure out what companies offer great PM roles. We can refer to PART 1 of the post (where we discussed sales) to understand the headcount criteria that should be applied (basically, a company should have between 3 to 4 layers of management, 6^3 =216 or 6^4 = 1,296). I also heard from a colleague (a former and future PM) that it’s important to identify companies where the PM has the influence within a team, as opposed to the engineers. Lastly, the advice from a Silicon Valley CEO was to “go for companies that are in the middle of their series B round, since they have the money, the urgency to hit targets, and are organized enough to provide you with mentorship”. This all seems like great advice!