What accomplishment  in your product management career has brought you the highest level of  satisfaction and joy? Can you narrate why?

1. Making significant impact on the product & business metrics for products handled across different industries - Telecom, Gaming, Food tech, Media & entertainment    -
- Why -> Biggest joy & satisfaction for a PM is when his/her products are used by customers & deliver value to business. So, far I have been lucky enough to work on products & with teams, where I have created significant value for both customers & businesses

2. Opportunity to head challenging functions like product & design without degree from any fancy college like IIMs, ISBs, IITs, etc    
- Why -> Whatever I have seen so far, Its really tough to break in to this league early without a degree from fancy colleges, especially at an HOD level

What aspect of  product management did you struggle the most with? How did you overcome  it?

1. Influencing without authority -> Explain precisely the why’s behind product decisions / bets - data, market validation, hypothesis, etc & calling out risks

2. Managing stakeholders who don’t have too much product context -> Partner with stakeholders with authority to back you up in meetings whenever needed. Also, at times build good personal rapport with those stakeholders & try giving them as much context

3. No dedicated time to think due to packed calendars - Ruthlessly prioritise meetings, delegate & putting focused DND work slot on calendar & comms channel like Slack

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What's one common  myth about product management that you find common among aspiring PMs.

That PMs must have a technical background

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What are some common  pitfalls that product managers must be aware of?

1. PMs are not CEOs of the product. They have to influence without authority.

2. PMs are responsible for getting things done & creating impact with their products. They can't say because design, tech or other XYZ they couldn't deliver these two outcomes.

3. Looking at product metrics in isolation. One feature / product could have an impact on other related product metrics & there by affecting overall platform metrics

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If not product  management, what career would you have picked? Are there any complimentary skillsets that you see between being a PM and your alternate choice?

A customer facing role with an opportunity to serve customers in any industry. Being a generalist problem solver & having customer empathy.

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What is something  about product management that you wish you knew when you started out?

PM courses, Some structured frameworks for problem solving, A bit knowledge about skills & traits of best in class PMs & how to develop those.