ON LEADING IN PRODUCT
& CAREER
5 OCT - 16 NOV 2022
MON & WED
5 PM PST / 8 PM EST
Duration:
6 WEEKS
Why choose between PM training or career guidance when you can get them both?
Craft the perfect pitch deck stage-by-stage, plan your career strategy, and so much more.
Netflix Director of Product Management Manish Sirdeshmukh invites you to do it all in just 6 weeks.
YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TEAM.
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YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
This is nobody's ivory tower. Everything you learn here is what top-earning product managers like Manish are out there doing every day.
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CAREER SWITCHERS
Drill down the hard skills of product management with an expert PM. Dive head first into the PM ecosystem and start laying out your path forward!
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CAREER CLIMBERS
Is where you're at now really the top of your game? Master Silicon Valley strategies for delivering products that change the world.
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ASPIRING PRODUCT LEADERS
Not getting the product management experience you need? You can change that before this quarter is over, right here.
Craft a product pitch deck you can't wait to show off.
Uncover the elements of winning product pitches with a pro. Create and workshop your own deck over 6 weeks, in a small group of rising product leaders.
You'll deepen your familiarity with each product stage, digging into success measurements, MVP, delivery techniques, and more!
Join a dynamic PM community.
Jump into a diverse circle of professionals as you take on challenges like design thinking and SWOT analysis together. Bring new perspectives into your work — and build your network at the same time!
Step into the shoes of a seasoned product manager. You'll tackle each stage of the product life cycle and build up a powerful PM toolkit.
Demystify the roles and responsibilities within the field. Identify your strengths, refine your long-term vision, and chart a course to get there.
PRACTICE
Prepare for the Product Case Study and other interview challenges with advice from product leaders on the other side of the table.
+ Q&A
Get real with the senior PMs behind the products you already love. Build your network while you're at it.
SIRDESHMUKH LinkedIn Profile
- Director of Product Management, TV Platform at Netflix
- Delivers the robust Netflix Ready Device Platform to 100s of millions of TV devices globally
- Draws on 20+ years of engineering and business experience to deeply understand the cross-functional product life cycle
- Delivers products on the leading edge of technology, with past projects including augmented reality and 3D
- Champions product adoption via strategic partnerships with Apple, Microsoft, Google, Unity, Facebook, Intel, and dozens more
- Leads product on the weekdays and a percussion band on the weekends
COURSE INTRODUCTION
What is product management, and what defines a great PM? Manish offers his perspective and invites you to look at some of tech's most impactful products through the lens of product management.
- What does it take to be a great product manager?
- The PM role in different industries and companies
- Mindset of a product manager
- Case study: When product drives industry revolutions
Assignment #01: You will be working in groups throughout the course to develop a pitch deck for a new product or feature of your choosing. Assume you and your group members are working as peer product managers there.
Choose one of the provided product concepts or brainstorm your own. What do you like about that product idea? Who are your customers? Why would they want your product? How is this product different from other similar products?
Oftentimes, the biggest mistake for organizations is misunderstanding their customer. Manish will teach you his go-to strategies for segmenting and understanding the customer(s), using examples from some real B2C, B2B, and platform companies.
- Who is your real customer?
- Customer profile, behavior, needs
- Customer Segmentation Models
- The customer interview
- Case studies: B2C vs. B2B vs. B2B2C
Assignment #02: Work with your group members to determine the real customer for your company/product. Document observations about your customer along with their needs and behavior.
Learn how to find new product opportunities using proven techniques for out-of-the-box thinking. Manish grounds this exploration in the real world by workshopping some best-loved product companies that have grown their core product by strategically thinking about opportunities.
- Ideating opportunities
- Creative thinking tools and techniques
- Why to collaborate early with stakeholders
- Internal factors: Data-driven opportunities for existing products
- Identifying market/industry trends and gaps
Assignment #03: As a group, ideate at least 10 new product opportunities for your virtual company.
Which opportunities are the right ones for your company to pursue? You will interrogate your product ideations from the previous class, using new techniques to frame your analysis.
- Importance of Critical thinking and Decision making as a PM
- Analyzing product opportunities
- 5C analysis
- SWOT analysis
- Assumptions and hypotheses
- Validation through customer feedback
Assignment #04: Using tools and strategies learned in the class, complete strategic analysis and narrow down to a single most probable product opportunity as a group.
Now that you have the right opportunity to pursue, you will focus on how to incorporate design thinking to determine Minimum Viable Product. Manish will give you a framework for prioritizing your resources to build cross-functional short-term and long-term roadmaps.
- MVP
- Design thinking and iterative thinking
- Agile techniques
- The roadmap
- The press release
Assignment #05: Define the MVP for your product idea. Sketch a short and long term roadmap for your idea.
How do you determine if your product is headed in the right direction? You'll learn today’s common product success metrics and how to choose the right one for your product.
- Technique
- Picking the metrics for your product
- Core/North-Star metric
- Tracking
Assignment #06: Determine the right success metrics and criteria for your product idea.
Once you've established product-market fit, your customers still need to be convinced to use your product. What strategies can you employ to launch your product? What are the standard go-to-market strategies pushing products to the top?
- Techniques and tools
- 4P Analysis: Product, Price, Promotion, Place
- AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
- Carrot versus stick approach
- Product messaging
- Roll out, packaging
Assignment #07: As a group, create a go-to-market strategy for your product idea.
Even after launch, your product is never done. When you start to see some surprises, how do you optimize? Manish shares the practices he's relied on throughout his career to deliver beyond launch.
- Product optimization
- Developing your risk management plan
- Regionalization
- Conversion funnels, guest modes, account creation, leaky bucket
- Gamification (not just for games!)
Assignment #08: Working with your group, think about how you would optimize your product further.
Now that you have most content for your product pitch ready, your task at hand is packaging it up with a great story. You'll learn how to bring your own style and story-telling into your project communication.
- Boiling it down: The executive summary
- Hands-on tl;dr's
- Authentic, clear, and powerful
- Manish's personal stories
Assignment #09: See Course Project.
This class is all about launching the next step in your career as a PM. Can you roadmap your career using the same techniques that you learned in this course? What should you expect in the process and how will you overcome challenges as the newest PM on a team?
- Building your career roadmap
- Personal branding and leadership in PM
- Getting hired
- Working with cross-functional teams
- Keeping up with the ever-changing technology field
Assignment #10: Define your long term career goals. What is your MVP? What would be your short and long term roadmap?
Now, it's your turn in the spotlight. You, along with your group members, will deliver your pitch to Manish and the class and get real-time feedback from the room.
Assignment #11: Discuss the feedback you received with your working group. Modify your pitch slides accordingly.
You'll hear from 3 PM executives from Big Tech companies and SMBs on what product management is like in their companies. What do they expect from the new product management hires? What is their key to becoming a successful product manager?
- Meet the panelists
- How do their PM teams work?
- What PM skills or tools can't their teams work without?
- Hiring: What do they look for in a new PM? In product case study responses?
- Open Q&A
Assignment #12: Manish will give you a real-world Product Case Study based on his own experience from both sides of the table. Answer the Case Study questions (individual or group). Make sure to apply all the techniques you've learned in this course that are appropriate for each question.
Over the last several weeks, you've refined your product concept and built out a clear delivery plan. What kind of reaction will you get from decision makers?
This course project asks you to work with your group to crystallize your learnings around PM into a product pitch deck. (Refer to your work from Assignments #1-8 to compile your slides.) Practice making a strong pitch for your product with your group.
What our students say
"Instructor Manish is really hands-on and answers all questions from the team. Guest speakers also brought in interesting insights and really open to answering questions and connecting"
"I like the structure of office hours, lectures, guest speakers and homework with group members."
"It is the best of both worlds. Strong, experienced teacher and opportunities to apply ourselves"
"The first thing that stands out is the insights and knowledge that Manish brings to the course. The second is how Product Mgmt as a profession is as much about being analytical as it is about developing relationships."
"I love the guest speakers and the tips and tricks parts. It's rare to get tips that go with the theory."
"Clear slides and a great instructor. Enjoy the guest speakers"
"Very well organized. The assignments keep us on track"
"Comprehensive content, great teaching methodology by the instructor with real world examples"
"Guest speakers sharing their 'real world' experiences and how they use the tools and methods discussed in the course."
"I like the breadth and depth of expertise that come with Manish's guest speakers; they add a lot to the class and the value! Manish's positive attitude and thoughtfulness is appreciated as well."
"It includes every aspect of Product Management and supports it with real-life examples."
"Knowledgeable Instructor, very informative course & wonderful Guest Speakers"
"Course content and presentation are very engaging and easy to follow. Assignments are a fantastic way to practice what we're learning. I have learned more doing the assignments (and have connected more "dots") than I have with research and reading that I've done on my own time."