Ask HN: I am about to go from SWE to Product Manager, what is your day 1 advice?
Transitioning from software engineering to product management involves significant changes in influence and communication. Success as a product manager relies on understanding organizational decision-making and managing relationships with superiors. It's crucial to be adaptable and prepared for challenges, as the role demands both technical and interpersonal skills.
- ▪Reading about consulting can provide valuable insights for new product managers.
- ▪Understanding how decisions are made in your organization is essential for success.
- ▪Effective product managers must learn to manage up and ensure their contributions are recognized.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
I recommend reading a book about consulting, e.g. in McKinsey's style.Your PM job will be a lot more about influence and communication.Influence is often about getting people to trust you and get the last 10% done. Prepare to spend 3 months on a very technically-difficult project, then have the CEO rip apart your demo because the copy on the first screen isn't what he expects, without every getting deeper in to the product. That's the last 10% and your job is getting your tired team to care about it.The way decisions are made will be significantly different compared to the egalitarianism of engineering. Understanding how your organization makes decisions and adapting to it is key to success as a PM.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Ycombinator.