{"id":15129,"date":"2015-11-29T21:04:18","date_gmt":"2015-11-29T21:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/?p=15129"},"modified":"2016-02-18T11:40:03","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T11:40:03","slug":"4-more-things-every-new-product-manager-should-do-in-the-first-30-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/4-more-things-every-new-product-manager-should-do-in-the-first-30-days\/","title":{"rendered":"4 More Things Every New Product Manager Should do in the First 30 Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to understanding what it takes for a Product Manager to be successful, Ken Norton knows what he’s talking about. \u00a0At Yahoo, he was a senior Product Management Director overseeing all sorts of vital products. \u00a0Later, Ken made the trip to Google\u00a0by way of an acquisition, and ultimately ended up serving as product lead for many of the most critical apps that you’ve probably come to rely on. \u00a0Ever pull up Google Maps on your iPhone? \u00a0Schedule a calendar invite? \u00a0Save something to Google Docs? \u00a0Ken was responsible for all of those products, and much more.<\/p>\n

Aside from leading Product at world class firms, Ken has also written some of the best product-focused pieces out there. \u00a0In this post, Ken outlines 12 essential activities that any new Product Manager should take part in within the first 30 days on the job.<\/a>\u00a0 If you haven’t read it, it’s worth heading over to that post right now<\/em> to\u00a0take it all in.<\/p>\n

While Ken’s essay most certainly covers a lot of ground, I’d like to take the liberty of adding four more important actions a new Product Manager should take in\u00a0month #1. \u00a0My resume doesn’t necessarily stack up next to Ken’s. \u00a0However, I have joined two product teams in the past two years as Product Manager. \u00a0I actually wish I had read Ken’s post ahead of both roles, as following his 12 actions would have no-doubt helped. \u00a0Yet, the following four actions did<\/em> help me as I navigated my new product roles, and I believe they’re worth adding to the list:<\/p>\n

\u00a01. \u00a0Get a clear\u00a0understanding of the company’s overall strategy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re responsible for product<\/em> strategy, then it’s critical\u00a0to understand where the company is headed. \u00a0In some places, this might seem obvious — but don’t be quick to make assumptions. \u00a0For instance, if the company is targeting to be acquired, is preparing for an IPO, or is simply doing everything it can to grow — its product initiatives could vary dramatically.<\/p>\n

Of course, it’s important to hear the overall company strategy directly from the CEO, however it’s important to not stop there. \u00a0Talk to the Head of Sales. \u00a0The Head of Marketing. \u00a0Individual Engineers. \u00a0In fact, ask every person you meet with 1:1 during that first month to elaborate on their understanding of the company’s strategy. \u00a0This will allow you to see how strong and consistent the strategic vision has permeated throughout the company, as well as where some gaps may exist.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Infiltrate your company’s customer advisory group.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This, of course, assumes that your company has one. \u00a0But even if it doesn’t, every company typically has a handful of “power customers” that were either early adopters or have otherwise become instrumental voices representing the entire customer base. \u00a0Ken’s post does discuss getting in front of users, but this is more than that. \u00a0This is getting 1:1 time with a key customer in order to ask some candid questions.<\/p>\n

What does the customer wish would change in regards to their role within the product development process? \u00a0What simply hasn’t worked well in the past? \u00a0Why? \u00a0It’s not to say that you should make every wish this customer makes true, but it will give you important perspective within your company’s previous take on product development that you may not have otherwise had.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Understand your key personas completely.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You will ultimately be leading product development and delivery — but for whom? \u00a0You could come guns blazing with ideas on what to do to make changes to the current product set, but are you even your product’s ideal user?<\/p>\n

Sit down with your product and marketing teams and ask questions about key users. \u00a0You may be surprised to find out that there has\u00a0already been significant work done to identify key users. \u00a0You may already have full personas developed, complete with very specific demographic data about your user base. \u00a0Surround your workspace with pictures and briefs about these users. \u00a0If you learn that there isn’t anything like this developed, you’ve at least identified an important gap to fill.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Play the role of QA every day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though you may not be your product’s ideal user (or heck, maybe you are!), it’s still important that you can empathize with the customer. \u00a0The best way to do that is to tear the product to shreds. \u00a0Whether or not it’s a new product or feature launch, practicing\u00a0the activities that your QA associate goes through\u00a0will\u00a0help you learn the current product inside and out. \u00a0It will also help you understand how your company is currently solving problems for your customers and users. \u00a0In some cases, you might end up quickly understanding\u00a0where your product is falling short. \u00a0In other cases, you might realize that a preconceived notion you had about a change to make might not make as much sense as you thought.<\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

The truth is, there are probably dozens of things you can do as a new Product Manager that will set you up well moving forward. \u00a0Ken Norton sure gave us a great start — and I’m hopeful that you’ll find these few additions to be useful. \u00a0If you have ideas for more actions a new Product Manager should make in their first 30 days, comment below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to understanding what it takes for a Product Manager to be successful, Ken Norton knows what he’s talking about. \u00a0At Yahoo, he was a senior Product Management Director overseeing all sorts of vital products. \u00a0Later, Ken made the trip to Google\u00a0by way of an acquisition, and ultimately ended up serving as product […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe First 30 Days: What Every Product Manager Should Do<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ken Norton of Google Ventures wrote a classic post on the actions that every new Product Manager should Take. 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Here are 4 more to add to that list.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/4-more-things-every-new-product-manager-should-do-in-the-first-30-days\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Product Collective | Organizers of INDUSTRY: The Product Conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/productcollective\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-11-29T21:04:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-18T11:40:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/newoffice.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"340\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike Belsito\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mike Belsito\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/4-more-things-every-new-product-manager-should-do-in-the-first-30-days\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/4-more-things-every-new-product-manager-should-do-in-the-first-30-days\/\",\"name\":\"The First 30 Days: What Every Product Manager Should Do\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/4-more-things-every-new-product-manager-should-do-in-the-first-30-days\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/4-more-things-every-new-product-manager-should-do-in-the-first-30-days\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/newoffice.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-11-29T21:04:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-18T11:40:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/productcollective.com\/#\/schema\/person\/24d4c079e1398ba4f15e5f82e613f5ff\"},\"description\":\"Ken Norton of Google Ventures wrote a classic post on the actions that every new Product Manager should Take. 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