The Product Manager Makeover - From Terrible PM to Top Performer!
I used to be a bad product manager (PM). Terrible, even. And I was stuck there for a long time.
I was passed over for promotions. Negative feedback was commonplace. My manager even suggested finding a less technical pod for me. It was the absolute low point of my professional career.
Then, a year and a promotion later, that same manager told me leadership considered me one of the top emerging PMs in the organization.
I'd managed to turn things around. It wasn't easy and took a lot of deliberate and continuous effort.
Over the next 10 posts, I'll share how I transformed from a bad PM to a very good one. I know I have a lot more work to become a great PM, but I'll get there one day.
I'll be sharing all about my almost three-year product journey as a PM at India's largest fintech company, including the numerous lessons I learned along the way. I'll cover the challenges I encountered, the mistakes I made, and most importantly, how I overcame them.
Who is this series, "The PM Makeover," for?
New PMs who are overwhelmed and don't know how to scale.
Aspiring PMs who are trying to gauge their fit for the role.
Who is this series not for?
Experienced PMs with more than five years of experience. I doubt I'll have much to offer that you don't already know.
My previous managers and co-workers. Please don't read this.
Now that we've established my audience, let me start with some background.
No, being a PM wasn't a childhood dream. It wasn't my calling when I graduated engineering or completed my MBA. In fact, I didn't even know what product management was until the late 2010s.
By the end of my first year in engineering, I knew I wouldn't be a successful electronics engineer. I didn't have the aptitude.
So, instead of focusing solely on academics, I immersed myself in debating, Model United Nations (MUNs), and case study competitions, even traveling to Harvard to participate in one. Consulting seemed like a natural choice. As a starry-eyed teenager, the allure of fancy hotels and business-class flights didn't hurt either! That's what I pursued.
Finding My Path in Product Management
In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, after two and a half years in consulting (not the MBB kind - my grades didn't even get me shortlisted), I was disillusioned and demotivated. I needed a change.
Three things were clear to me:
I loved problem-solving.
I loved building things and getting my hands dirty.
I loved working with people.
Was there a role that intersected these skills and preferences? The answer came in the form of product management.
The more PMs I spoke with and the more I researched, the more convinced I became that I had to give it a shot. Maybe this was my ikigai.
But no one wanted me. Hundreds of applications yielded not a single interview call. No one wanted an inexperienced PM.
Then, PhonePe came along with its Associate Product Manager (APM) program, specifically seeking candidates with little to no PM experience. After three rounds, I had an offer. Two months later, I packed my bags and moved to Bangalore.
Day 1 at PhonePe…
After hours of mind-numbing HR procedures, I had my first one-on-one with my manager. He laid out a very elaborate development plan for me, detailing important services and so on. Halfway through the meeting, I politely interrupted and said, "This sounds interesting, but I honestly have no clue what you're talking about." At that moment, he likely realized the significant challenge he had taken on. Unfortunately, it would take me much longer to grasp that myself.
We had work to do. I had a lot of work to do.
Stay tuned for the next part of The Product Manager Makeover, where I discuss the first skill you need to master on your PM journey!
