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Shreyas @ Monzo: Notes on all things Product Management

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An insightful evening with @shreyas in London, discussing all things Product Management at @monzo.

Here are my notes: 


1) Find your preferred learning style as a PM. A few extra hours a week to support on-the-job learning can have a tangible impact on your career trajectory. 


2) As a manager, one way to support PM growth is by committing to career conversations fully focused on the individual and their learning. Ensure these are genuine career chats, and not ‘promotion convos’ masquerading as ‘learning convos’. Help your team find their superpowers, and support them with useful competency frameworks to find areas for improvement (e.g. Ravi Mehtas framework). (Be mindful of some company specific competency models which can lack real substance). 


3) Find your zone of genius as a PM: what can you be top 1-2% at within the circles you operate in? Use this to guide you and to influence broader career decisions you may make. 


4) Find your PM superpower. Steps: A) reflect (self-introspection) B) assess (what you do best & others) C) check (ask people you trust) Finding your team’s superpowers: If you’ve meaningfully worked with someone, you should know what their super power is. If you don’t: 1) you’ve not worked with them meaningfully enough, or 2) consider this a growth opportunity. Improve your ability to assess what your team do well. 


5) The saying “focus on your strengths, forget about your weaknesses” is good advice, but not for PMs (a generalist role). When assessing what areas of improvement to prioritise, consider: A - what do I need to improve most? B - what does my team need? C - what do I want to do long-term? Be intentional and think about what skills will set the present-you, your team and future-you up for success. 


6) Think critically about what you want as a PM, and don’t get lost in general grandiose statements that detract from what you really want. Focusing on your genuine desires and the things you enjoy will help you make an impact & focusing on making an impact as your primary goal. Focus on you first, the rest will come later. 


7) If you want to work in a new area as a PM (e.g. moving from internal or B2B PM to B2C), there are generally two paths: A) Acquire skills by seeking opportunities within your current company. Let people see your genius. B) Consider seeking opportunities elsewhere, but acknowledge that some trade-offs will be required (either salary, company type or other). Be willing to do what it takes to earn credibility.

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