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How to Lead Decisions By Following Market Problems

Product managers should focus on the problem they are trying to solve, not the technology they are using. Bitcoin is a great example of this, as its original purpose was to be a digital cash currency alternative, but its current valuations and cost to transact make it an expensive technology to use. Product managers should be aware of the market needs and be prepared to make unexpected technology pivots if their product is no longer serving the needs of their users. They should also have a long-term view to keep their head afloat and pointed towards their overall goal.

Finding the Career Path for You

This article discusses the importance of pivoting through different roles in order to achieve personal and professional satisfaction in a product management career path. The author shares their experience of transitioning from a product development and engineering career path to a product management leadership role, only to find that the added responsibilities were not what they had expected. They eventually downsized to an individual contributor role, where they could focus on technology innovation. The article emphasizes the importance of taking risks and measuring success/failures in order to achieve transformative success.

Gaining Experience to Transition Roles

This article outlines the steps taken by an engineer to transition into a product manager role. The author found substitute experiences to reflect their ability to perform in the role, such as making themselves available to help anyone who added value to their team, product, or company. They also pursued an MBA to signal their seriousness to their company, and used their experience with the same product they had been an engineer on for seven years as a translatable piece of credibility. The article concludes with the recommendation to have one translatable piece of credibility when trying to transition internally into a PM position.

How to Successfully Complete A Major Reorganization

This article outlines the steps taken by a leader during a major reorganization of an organization. The leader focused on communicating the changes respectfully, shifting the focus to positive changes, creating vision statements and roadmaps for each team, and meeting with those affected by the changes. The article also highlights the importance of having someone to bounce ideas off of and dedicating time for the personal connection aspect of a reorganization.

The Importance of a Detailed Leveling Guide

This article outlines the steps taken by a company to create a leveling guide for their engineering organization. The author took an assessment of the organization, analyzed employee behavior, and researched other organizations' leveling guides to create a guide that was tailored to the company. The guide was incorporated into the onboarding process and employees were given an understanding of the changes and expectations. The guide provided a roadmap for employees to achieve their goals and chart their career path. The article also provides lessons learned from the experience.

Researching and Learning how to Make Machines Learn

This article is about the author's journey to learn more about machine learning and create his own algorithms. He started with Javascript and a library called brain.js, then moved on to TensorFlow.js. He created an algorithm to predict the survival of passengers on the Titanic and another to make its way through a Frozen Lake maze. He also combined his interest in the NFL with machine learning to achieve an accuracy of 64%. Machine learning is the future of our modern world and lacks transparency, making it difficult to debug when something goes wrong.

Gaining the Technical Confidence to Crush an Interview

This article discusses the difficulties of finding a job in a poor economy and provides advice on how to create a standout resume, prepare for technical interviews, and adjust to a new company culture. It emphasizes the importance of being honest and teachable during interviews, understanding that everyone gets nervous, and not getting hung up on specific companies.

Ethics and Equality in Software Engineering

Before the pandemic, the author was scheduled to deliver a talk about ethics in software engineering. Research revealed that historically marginalized groups faced discrimination in the software industry. To create change, the author recommends unconscious bias and microaggression training, psychological safety for team members to bring up concerns, and listening with respect and empathy. Data is also important to make others aware of the inequalities in software development.

Securing A Fluid Transition to an Established Organization

Transitioning to a well-established organization can be difficult, as the products and processes are more complex than in a startup. To ensure a smooth transition, it is important to create a supportive network by developing rapport with cross-functional teams and communicating openly with managers and peers. Additionally, taking ownership of tasks and reaching out to key stakeholders for subject knowledge can help bridge the knowledge gap.

Succeeding as the First Product Hire in a Startup

This article discusses the experience of the author as the first product manager at a startup. The author had to build a plan from scratch and take on many responsibilities. To do this, the author created a 30/60/90 day plan, asked for resources, and met with the engineering lead to discuss the engineering side of things. The author also created a product vision, strategy, and roadmap, and then executed the MVP as quickly as possible. The author also provides lessons learned from their experience, such as networking, asking for help, and getting informed content.

Focusing on Products Over Services

This article outlines the process of transitioning from a service-based company to a product-based company. The author explains the steps taken to hone in on a specific industry, form teams to create products, and align the product marketing and sales teams. It also discusses the importance of understanding the customer journey and the mindset reset that needs to happen during the transition. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of innovation and how it can empower people.

Selling Technically Complex Products

The author was tasked with increasing sales of a technical product at a call center. To do this, they spent one day a week in the call center, empathizing with the sales team's struggles and providing them with tools to help them understand the product. This human approach resulted in a tripling of revenue without hiring any new members. The author learned that empathizing with the sales team and providing them with the necessary tools to understand the product will increase their confidence and motivation to sell it. Additionally, they must be pitched the product and its benefits in order for them to sell it.

Promoting Change Without Losing Partners

In order to bring innovation to an organization and stay ahead of competitors, it is essential to focus on the end goal, not the change itself. To facilitate change, it is important to understand human interaction and desires, map the team's profile, and replicate good tools and strategies. The principles remain the same no matter what changes the organization is going through, and it is essential to base change upon the profile of the team and customers in order to keep as many partners as possible. Transparency is key to growing the business without losing partners, customers, or employees.

Preparing for Heated Discussions with Major Clients

In a meeting with a major client, I was unprepared and found myself in a heated discussion. To prepare for future meetings, I began to understand my audience and tailor my information to them. I also created a roadmap detailing our top five priorities and who was responsible for them. Through this experience, I learned to understand the history of the client and hold myself accountable for any issues.

Creating New Hiring Methods to Find Qualified Candidates

In order to quickly scale up his team, the author had to find a way to hack the hiring process in the remote world. He used his networks to find trusted candidates and asked his peers to loan him their team members to use as interviewers. He looked for learnability over technical ability during interviews and provided feedback to candidates that were not hired. He also stayed in contact with accepted candidates to keep them engaged and answer any questions they may have.

How To Fast-Track Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder

As an engineering leader, the author faced the challenge of identifying the right people to promote and choose future leaders. To address this, the author implemented a quarterly team-switching program, encouraged coding best practices and documentation, and set goals and career paths for team members. Through these actions, the author was able to motivate team members and create a clear path to leadership.

The Problem-Solving Process: A Modern, Data-Driven Approach for Engineering leaders

A CTO of an engineering organization faced a problem of making decisions based on subjectivity rather than data. To tackle this, they researched and found the DORA metrics from Google, which helped bring data culture to the company. To make data-driven decisions, they launched their own startup, Insightly Analytics, to build real-time dashboards with data from disparate tools. This helped reduce meeting times and allowed managers to have data at their fingertips. The lessons learned from this experience are that data-driven processes bring a universal language, real-time dashboards reduce meeting times, and data availability reduces slack interruptions.

How to Improve Team Communication

When inheriting an enterprise-level program in a medical devices company, I took action to identify the eight workstreams and their activities, as well as the external high-level stakeholders who were not satisfied. To address this, I established a program structure, a roadmap for the senior leadership, and a cadence on reporting. I also identified a point person to play a leadership role and set expectations with respect to cultural issues. Through this process, I learned the importance of research, interviews, and observation, as well as the need to meet and get to know teams, develop a roadmap, identify motivations, and find a middle ground between parties.

Mentoring Freshly Recruited Employees

A company hired an intern from a nationally reputed university, but the intern was not doing well. The selection team devised a plan to investigate and help the intern, which included setting up a meeting with the mentor and mentee, providing resources and support, and setting expectations. Through this process, the intern was able to learn new things, try individual projects, and give a presentation to the VP. The team learned that when hiring a fresh grad, they should provide adequate training and involve them in all aspects of the job, and give team members some personal space to explore their worth.

Leading Change Through Planning and Collaboration

A previous company I worked for had no project or product management system in place. I conducted an audit of the IT portfolio and gathered a team of project leads, finance, compliance, and vendor management teams to analyze the projects and evaluate project management tools. After selecting the most appropriate tool, I implemented a process of project reporting, coached teams throughout the project life cycle, and prioritized and ranked projects. This resulted in a new way of managing the portfolio, transparency and clarity for the organization, and substantial savings on vendor engagements.

How to Lead Decisions By Following Market Problems

Product managers should focus on the problem they are trying to solve, not the technology they are using. Bitcoin is a great example of this, as its original purpose was to be a digital cash currency alternative, but its current valuations and cost to transact make it an expensive technology to use. Product managers should be aware of the market needs and be prepared to make unexpected technology pivots if their product is no longer serving the needs of their users. They should also have a long-term view to keep their head afloat and pointed towards their overall goal.

Finding the Career Path for You

This article discusses the importance of pivoting through different roles in order to achieve personal and professional satisfaction in a product management career path. The author shares their experience of transitioning from a product development and engineering career path to a product management leadership role, only to find that the added responsibilities were not what they had expected. They eventually downsized to an individual contributor role, where they could focus on technology innovation. The article emphasizes the importance of taking risks and measuring success/failures in order to achieve transformative success.

Gaining Experience to Transition Roles

This article outlines the steps taken by an engineer to transition into a product manager role. The author found substitute experiences to reflect their ability to perform in the role, such as making themselves available to help anyone who added value to their team, product, or company. They also pursued an MBA to signal their seriousness to their company, and used their experience with the same product they had been an engineer on for seven years as a translatable piece of credibility. The article concludes with the recommendation to have one translatable piece of credibility when trying to transition internally into a PM position.

How to Successfully Complete A Major Reorganization

This article outlines the steps taken by a leader during a major reorganization of an organization. The leader focused on communicating the changes respectfully, shifting the focus to positive changes, creating vision statements and roadmaps for each team, and meeting with those affected by the changes. The article also highlights the importance of having someone to bounce ideas off of and dedicating time for the personal connection aspect of a reorganization.

The Importance of a Detailed Leveling Guide

This article outlines the steps taken by a company to create a leveling guide for their engineering organization. The author took an assessment of the organization, analyzed employee behavior, and researched other organizations' leveling guides to create a guide that was tailored to the company. The guide was incorporated into the onboarding process and employees were given an understanding of the changes and expectations. The guide provided a roadmap for employees to achieve their goals and chart their career path. The article also provides lessons learned from the experience.

Researching and Learning how to Make Machines Learn

This article is about the author's journey to learn more about machine learning and create his own algorithms. He started with Javascript and a library called brain.js, then moved on to TensorFlow.js. He created an algorithm to predict the survival of passengers on the Titanic and another to make its way through a Frozen Lake maze. He also combined his interest in the NFL with machine learning to achieve an accuracy of 64%. Machine learning is the future of our modern world and lacks transparency, making it difficult to debug when something goes wrong.

Gaining the Technical Confidence to Crush an Interview

This article discusses the difficulties of finding a job in a poor economy and provides advice on how to create a standout resume, prepare for technical interviews, and adjust to a new company culture. It emphasizes the importance of being honest and teachable during interviews, understanding that everyone gets nervous, and not getting hung up on specific companies.

Ethics and Equality in Software Engineering

Before the pandemic, the author was scheduled to deliver a talk about ethics in software engineering. Research revealed that historically marginalized groups faced discrimination in the software industry. To create change, the author recommends unconscious bias and microaggression training, psychological safety for team members to bring up concerns, and listening with respect and empathy. Data is also important to make others aware of the inequalities in software development.

Securing A Fluid Transition to an Established Organization

Transitioning to a well-established organization can be difficult, as the products and processes are more complex than in a startup. To ensure a smooth transition, it is important to create a supportive network by developing rapport with cross-functional teams and communicating openly with managers and peers. Additionally, taking ownership of tasks and reaching out to key stakeholders for subject knowledge can help bridge the knowledge gap.

Succeeding as the First Product Hire in a Startup

This article discusses the experience of the author as the first product manager at a startup. The author had to build a plan from scratch and take on many responsibilities. To do this, the author created a 30/60/90 day plan, asked for resources, and met with the engineering lead to discuss the engineering side of things. The author also created a product vision, strategy, and roadmap, and then executed the MVP as quickly as possible. The author also provides lessons learned from their experience, such as networking, asking for help, and getting informed content.

Focusing on Products Over Services

This article outlines the process of transitioning from a service-based company to a product-based company. The author explains the steps taken to hone in on a specific industry, form teams to create products, and align the product marketing and sales teams. It also discusses the importance of understanding the customer journey and the mindset reset that needs to happen during the transition. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of innovation and how it can empower people.

Selling Technically Complex Products

The author was tasked with increasing sales of a technical product at a call center. To do this, they spent one day a week in the call center, empathizing with the sales team's struggles and providing them with tools to help them understand the product. This human approach resulted in a tripling of revenue without hiring any new members. The author learned that empathizing with the sales team and providing them with the necessary tools to understand the product will increase their confidence and motivation to sell it. Additionally, they must be pitched the product and its benefits in order for them to sell it.

Promoting Change Without Losing Partners

In order to bring innovation to an organization and stay ahead of competitors, it is essential to focus on the end goal, not the change itself. To facilitate change, it is important to understand human interaction and desires, map the team's profile, and replicate good tools and strategies. The principles remain the same no matter what changes the organization is going through, and it is essential to base change upon the profile of the team and customers in order to keep as many partners as possible. Transparency is key to growing the business without losing partners, customers, or employees.

Preparing for Heated Discussions with Major Clients

In a meeting with a major client, I was unprepared and found myself in a heated discussion. To prepare for future meetings, I began to understand my audience and tailor my information to them. I also created a roadmap detailing our top five priorities and who was responsible for them. Through this experience, I learned to understand the history of the client and hold myself accountable for any issues.

Creating New Hiring Methods to Find Qualified Candidates

In order to quickly scale up his team, the author had to find a way to hack the hiring process in the remote world. He used his networks to find trusted candidates and asked his peers to loan him their team members to use as interviewers. He looked for learnability over technical ability during interviews and provided feedback to candidates that were not hired. He also stayed in contact with accepted candidates to keep them engaged and answer any questions they may have.

How To Fast-Track Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder

As an engineering leader, the author faced the challenge of identifying the right people to promote and choose future leaders. To address this, the author implemented a quarterly team-switching program, encouraged coding best practices and documentation, and set goals and career paths for team members. Through these actions, the author was able to motivate team members and create a clear path to leadership.

The Problem-Solving Process: A Modern, Data-Driven Approach for Engineering leaders

A CTO of an engineering organization faced a problem of making decisions based on subjectivity rather than data. To tackle this, they researched and found the DORA metrics from Google, which helped bring data culture to the company. To make data-driven decisions, they launched their own startup, Insightly Analytics, to build real-time dashboards with data from disparate tools. This helped reduce meeting times and allowed managers to have data at their fingertips. The lessons learned from this experience are that data-driven processes bring a universal language, real-time dashboards reduce meeting times, and data availability reduces slack interruptions.

How to Improve Team Communication

When inheriting an enterprise-level program in a medical devices company, I took action to identify the eight workstreams and their activities, as well as the external high-level stakeholders who were not satisfied. To address this, I established a program structure, a roadmap for the senior leadership, and a cadence on reporting. I also identified a point person to play a leadership role and set expectations with respect to cultural issues. Through this process, I learned the importance of research, interviews, and observation, as well as the need to meet and get to know teams, develop a roadmap, identify motivations, and find a middle ground between parties.

Mentoring Freshly Recruited Employees

A company hired an intern from a nationally reputed university, but the intern was not doing well. The selection team devised a plan to investigate and help the intern, which included setting up a meeting with the mentor and mentee, providing resources and support, and setting expectations. Through this process, the intern was able to learn new things, try individual projects, and give a presentation to the VP. The team learned that when hiring a fresh grad, they should provide adequate training and involve them in all aspects of the job, and give team members some personal space to explore their worth.

Leading Change Through Planning and Collaboration

A previous company I worked for had no project or product management system in place. I conducted an audit of the IT portfolio and gathered a team of project leads, finance, compliance, and vendor management teams to analyze the projects and evaluate project management tools. After selecting the most appropriate tool, I implemented a process of project reporting, coached teams throughout the project life cycle, and prioritized and ranked projects. This resulted in a new way of managing the portfolio, transparency and clarity for the organization, and substantial savings on vendor engagements.

How to Lead Decisions By Following Market Problems

Product managers should focus on the problem they are trying to solve, not the technology they are using. Bitcoin is a great example of this, as its original purpose was to be a digital cash currency alternative, but its current valuations and cost to transact make it an expensive technology to use. Product managers should be aware of the market needs and be prepared to make unexpected technology pivots if their product is no longer serving the needs of their users. They should also have a long-term view to keep their head afloat and pointed towards their overall goal.

Finding the Career Path for You

This article discusses the importance of pivoting through different roles in order to achieve personal and professional satisfaction in a product management career path. The author shares their experience of transitioning from a product development and engineering career path to a product management leadership role, only to find that the added responsibilities were not what they had expected. They eventually downsized to an individual contributor role, where they could focus on technology innovation. The article emphasizes the importance of taking risks and measuring success/failures in order to achieve transformative success.

Gaining Experience to Transition Roles

This article outlines the steps taken by an engineer to transition into a product manager role. The author found substitute experiences to reflect their ability to perform in the role, such as making themselves available to help anyone who added value to their team, product, or company. They also pursued an MBA to signal their seriousness to their company, and used their experience with the same product they had been an engineer on for seven years as a translatable piece of credibility. The article concludes with the recommendation to have one translatable piece of credibility when trying to transition internally into a PM position.

How to Successfully Complete A Major Reorganization

This article outlines the steps taken by a leader during a major reorganization of an organization. The leader focused on communicating the changes respectfully, shifting the focus to positive changes, creating vision statements and roadmaps for each team, and meeting with those affected by the changes. The article also highlights the importance of having someone to bounce ideas off of and dedicating time for the personal connection aspect of a reorganization.

The Importance of a Detailed Leveling Guide

This article outlines the steps taken by a company to create a leveling guide for their engineering organization. The author took an assessment of the organization, analyzed employee behavior, and researched other organizations' leveling guides to create a guide that was tailored to the company. The guide was incorporated into the onboarding process and employees were given an understanding of the changes and expectations. The guide provided a roadmap for employees to achieve their goals and chart their career path. The article also provides lessons learned from the experience.

Researching and Learning how to Make Machines Learn

This article is about the author's journey to learn more about machine learning and create his own algorithms. He started with Javascript and a library called brain.js, then moved on to TensorFlow.js. He created an algorithm to predict the survival of passengers on the Titanic and another to make its way through a Frozen Lake maze. He also combined his interest in the NFL with machine learning to achieve an accuracy of 64%. Machine learning is the future of our modern world and lacks transparency, making it difficult to debug when something goes wrong.

Gaining the Technical Confidence to Crush an Interview

This article discusses the difficulties of finding a job in a poor economy and provides advice on how to create a standout resume, prepare for technical interviews, and adjust to a new company culture. It emphasizes the importance of being honest and teachable during interviews, understanding that everyone gets nervous, and not getting hung up on specific companies.

Ethics and Equality in Software Engineering

Before the pandemic, the author was scheduled to deliver a talk about ethics in software engineering. Research revealed that historically marginalized groups faced discrimination in the software industry. To create change, the author recommends unconscious bias and microaggression training, psychological safety for team members to bring up concerns, and listening with respect and empathy. Data is also important to make others aware of the inequalities in software development.

Securing A Fluid Transition to an Established Organization

Transitioning to a well-established organization can be difficult, as the products and processes are more complex than in a startup. To ensure a smooth transition, it is important to create a supportive network by developing rapport with cross-functional teams and communicating openly with managers and peers. Additionally, taking ownership of tasks and reaching out to key stakeholders for subject knowledge can help bridge the knowledge gap.

Succeeding as the First Product Hire in a Startup

This article discusses the experience of the author as the first product manager at a startup. The author had to build a plan from scratch and take on many responsibilities. To do this, the author created a 30/60/90 day plan, asked for resources, and met with the engineering lead to discuss the engineering side of things. The author also created a product vision, strategy, and roadmap, and then executed the MVP as quickly as possible. The author also provides lessons learned from their experience, such as networking, asking for help, and getting informed content.

Focusing on Products Over Services

This article outlines the process of transitioning from a service-based company to a product-based company. The author explains the steps taken to hone in on a specific industry, form teams to create products, and align the product marketing and sales teams. It also discusses the importance of understanding the customer journey and the mindset reset that needs to happen during the transition. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of innovation and how it can empower people.

Selling Technically Complex Products

The author was tasked with increasing sales of a technical product at a call center. To do this, they spent one day a week in the call center, empathizing with the sales team's struggles and providing them with tools to help them understand the product. This human approach resulted in a tripling of revenue without hiring any new members. The author learned that empathizing with the sales team and providing them with the necessary tools to understand the product will increase their confidence and motivation to sell it. Additionally, they must be pitched the product and its benefits in order for them to sell it.

Promoting Change Without Losing Partners

In order to bring innovation to an organization and stay ahead of competitors, it is essential to focus on the end goal, not the change itself. To facilitate change, it is important to understand human interaction and desires, map the team's profile, and replicate good tools and strategies. The principles remain the same no matter what changes the organization is going through, and it is essential to base change upon the profile of the team and customers in order to keep as many partners as possible. Transparency is key to growing the business without losing partners, customers, or employees.

Preparing for Heated Discussions with Major Clients

In a meeting with a major client, I was unprepared and found myself in a heated discussion. To prepare for future meetings, I began to understand my audience and tailor my information to them. I also created a roadmap detailing our top five priorities and who was responsible for them. Through this experience, I learned to understand the history of the client and hold myself accountable for any issues.

Creating New Hiring Methods to Find Qualified Candidates

In order to quickly scale up his team, the author had to find a way to hack the hiring process in the remote world. He used his networks to find trusted candidates and asked his peers to loan him their team members to use as interviewers. He looked for learnability over technical ability during interviews and provided feedback to candidates that were not hired. He also stayed in contact with accepted candidates to keep them engaged and answer any questions they may have.

How To Fast-Track Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder

As an engineering leader, the author faced the challenge of identifying the right people to promote and choose future leaders. To address this, the author implemented a quarterly team-switching program, encouraged coding best practices and documentation, and set goals and career paths for team members. Through these actions, the author was able to motivate team members and create a clear path to leadership.

The Problem-Solving Process: A Modern, Data-Driven Approach for Engineering leaders

A CTO of an engineering organization faced a problem of making decisions based on subjectivity rather than data. To tackle this, they researched and found the DORA metrics from Google, which helped bring data culture to the company. To make data-driven decisions, they launched their own startup, Insightly Analytics, to build real-time dashboards with data from disparate tools. This helped reduce meeting times and allowed managers to have data at their fingertips. The lessons learned from this experience are that data-driven processes bring a universal language, real-time dashboards reduce meeting times, and data availability reduces slack interruptions.

How to Improve Team Communication

When inheriting an enterprise-level program in a medical devices company, I took action to identify the eight workstreams and their activities, as well as the external high-level stakeholders who were not satisfied. To address this, I established a program structure, a roadmap for the senior leadership, and a cadence on reporting. I also identified a point person to play a leadership role and set expectations with respect to cultural issues. Through this process, I learned the importance of research, interviews, and observation, as well as the need to meet and get to know teams, develop a roadmap, identify motivations, and find a middle ground between parties.

Mentoring Freshly Recruited Employees

A company hired an intern from a nationally reputed university, but the intern was not doing well. The selection team devised a plan to investigate and help the intern, which included setting up a meeting with the mentor and mentee, providing resources and support, and setting expectations. Through this process, the intern was able to learn new things, try individual projects, and give a presentation to the VP. The team learned that when hiring a fresh grad, they should provide adequate training and involve them in all aspects of the job, and give team members some personal space to explore their worth.

Leading Change Through Planning and Collaboration

A previous company I worked for had no project or product management system in place. I conducted an audit of the IT portfolio and gathered a team of project leads, finance, compliance, and vendor management teams to analyze the projects and evaluate project management tools. After selecting the most appropriate tool, I implemented a process of project reporting, coached teams throughout the project life cycle, and prioritized and ranked projects. This resulted in a new way of managing the portfolio, transparency and clarity for the organization, and substantial savings on vendor engagements.

How to Lead Decisions By Following Market Problems

Product managers should focus on the problem they are trying to solve, not the technology they are using. Bitcoin is a great example of this, as its original purpose was to be a digital cash currency alternative, but its current valuations and cost to transact make it an expensive technology to use. Product managers should be aware of the market needs and be prepared to make unexpected technology pivots if their product is no longer serving the needs of their users. They should also have a long-term view to keep their head afloat and pointed towards their overall goal.

Finding the Career Path for You

This article discusses the importance of pivoting through different roles in order to achieve personal and professional satisfaction in a product management career path. The author shares their experience of transitioning from a product development and engineering career path to a product management leadership role, only to find that the added responsibilities were not what they had expected. They eventually downsized to an individual contributor role, where they could focus on technology innovation. The article emphasizes the importance of taking risks and measuring success/failures in order to achieve transformative success.

Gaining Experience to Transition Roles

This article outlines the steps taken by an engineer to transition into a product manager role. The author found substitute experiences to reflect their ability to perform in the role, such as making themselves available to help anyone who added value to their team, product, or company. They also pursued an MBA to signal their seriousness to their company, and used their experience with the same product they had been an engineer on for seven years as a translatable piece of credibility. The article concludes with the recommendation to have one translatable piece of credibility when trying to transition internally into a PM position.

How to Successfully Complete A Major Reorganization

This article outlines the steps taken by a leader during a major reorganization of an organization. The leader focused on communicating the changes respectfully, shifting the focus to positive changes, creating vision statements and roadmaps for each team, and meeting with those affected by the changes. The article also highlights the importance of having someone to bounce ideas off of and dedicating time for the personal connection aspect of a reorganization.

The Importance of a Detailed Leveling Guide

This article outlines the steps taken by a company to create a leveling guide for their engineering organization. The author took an assessment of the organization, analyzed employee behavior, and researched other organizations' leveling guides to create a guide that was tailored to the company. The guide was incorporated into the onboarding process and employees were given an understanding of the changes and expectations. The guide provided a roadmap for employees to achieve their goals and chart their career path. The article also provides lessons learned from the experience.

Researching and Learning how to Make Machines Learn

This article is about the author's journey to learn more about machine learning and create his own algorithms. He started with Javascript and a library called brain.js, then moved on to TensorFlow.js. He created an algorithm to predict the survival of passengers on the Titanic and another to make its way through a Frozen Lake maze. He also combined his interest in the NFL with machine learning to achieve an accuracy of 64%. Machine learning is the future of our modern world and lacks transparency, making it difficult to debug when something goes wrong.

Gaining the Technical Confidence to Crush an Interview

This article discusses the difficulties of finding a job in a poor economy and provides advice on how to create a standout resume, prepare for technical interviews, and adjust to a new company culture. It emphasizes the importance of being honest and teachable during interviews, understanding that everyone gets nervous, and not getting hung up on specific companies.

Ethics and Equality in Software Engineering

Before the pandemic, the author was scheduled to deliver a talk about ethics in software engineering. Research revealed that historically marginalized groups faced discrimination in the software industry. To create change, the author recommends unconscious bias and microaggression training, psychological safety for team members to bring up concerns, and listening with respect and empathy. Data is also important to make others aware of the inequalities in software development.

Securing A Fluid Transition to an Established Organization

Transitioning to a well-established organization can be difficult, as the products and processes are more complex than in a startup. To ensure a smooth transition, it is important to create a supportive network by developing rapport with cross-functional teams and communicating openly with managers and peers. Additionally, taking ownership of tasks and reaching out to key stakeholders for subject knowledge can help bridge the knowledge gap.

Succeeding as the First Product Hire in a Startup

This article discusses the experience of the author as the first product manager at a startup. The author had to build a plan from scratch and take on many responsibilities. To do this, the author created a 30/60/90 day plan, asked for resources, and met with the engineering lead to discuss the engineering side of things. The author also created a product vision, strategy, and roadmap, and then executed the MVP as quickly as possible. The author also provides lessons learned from their experience, such as networking, asking for help, and getting informed content.

Focusing on Products Over Services

This article outlines the process of transitioning from a service-based company to a product-based company. The author explains the steps taken to hone in on a specific industry, form teams to create products, and align the product marketing and sales teams. It also discusses the importance of understanding the customer journey and the mindset reset that needs to happen during the transition. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of innovation and how it can empower people.

Selling Technically Complex Products

The author was tasked with increasing sales of a technical product at a call center. To do this, they spent one day a week in the call center, empathizing with the sales team's struggles and providing them with tools to help them understand the product. This human approach resulted in a tripling of revenue without hiring any new members. The author learned that empathizing with the sales team and providing them with the necessary tools to understand the product will increase their confidence and motivation to sell it. Additionally, they must be pitched the product and its benefits in order for them to sell it.

Promoting Change Without Losing Partners

In order to bring innovation to an organization and stay ahead of competitors, it is essential to focus on the end goal, not the change itself. To facilitate change, it is important to understand human interaction and desires, map the team's profile, and replicate good tools and strategies. The principles remain the same no matter what changes the organization is going through, and it is essential to base change upon the profile of the team and customers in order to keep as many partners as possible. Transparency is key to growing the business without losing partners, customers, or employees.

Preparing for Heated Discussions with Major Clients

In a meeting with a major client, I was unprepared and found myself in a heated discussion. To prepare for future meetings, I began to understand my audience and tailor my information to them. I also created a roadmap detailing our top five priorities and who was responsible for them. Through this experience, I learned to understand the history of the client and hold myself accountable for any issues.

Creating New Hiring Methods to Find Qualified Candidates

In order to quickly scale up his team, the author had to find a way to hack the hiring process in the remote world. He used his networks to find trusted candidates and asked his peers to loan him their team members to use as interviewers. He looked for learnability over technical ability during interviews and provided feedback to candidates that were not hired. He also stayed in contact with accepted candidates to keep them engaged and answer any questions they may have.

How To Fast-Track Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder

As an engineering leader, the author faced the challenge of identifying the right people to promote and choose future leaders. To address this, the author implemented a quarterly team-switching program, encouraged coding best practices and documentation, and set goals and career paths for team members. Through these actions, the author was able to motivate team members and create a clear path to leadership.

The Problem-Solving Process: A Modern, Data-Driven Approach for Engineering leaders

A CTO of an engineering organization faced a problem of making decisions based on subjectivity rather than data. To tackle this, they researched and found the DORA metrics from Google, which helped bring data culture to the company. To make data-driven decisions, they launched their own startup, Insightly Analytics, to build real-time dashboards with data from disparate tools. This helped reduce meeting times and allowed managers to have data at their fingertips. The lessons learned from this experience are that data-driven processes bring a universal language, real-time dashboards reduce meeting times, and data availability reduces slack interruptions.

How to Improve Team Communication

When inheriting an enterprise-level program in a medical devices company, I took action to identify the eight workstreams and their activities, as well as the external high-level stakeholders who were not satisfied. To address this, I established a program structure, a roadmap for the senior leadership, and a cadence on reporting. I also identified a point person to play a leadership role and set expectations with respect to cultural issues. Through this process, I learned the importance of research, interviews, and observation, as well as the need to meet and get to know teams, develop a roadmap, identify motivations, and find a middle ground between parties.

Mentoring Freshly Recruited Employees

A company hired an intern from a nationally reputed university, but the intern was not doing well. The selection team devised a plan to investigate and help the intern, which included setting up a meeting with the mentor and mentee, providing resources and support, and setting expectations. Through this process, the intern was able to learn new things, try individual projects, and give a presentation to the VP. The team learned that when hiring a fresh grad, they should provide adequate training and involve them in all aspects of the job, and give team members some personal space to explore their worth.

Leading Change Through Planning and Collaboration

A previous company I worked for had no project or product management system in place. I conducted an audit of the IT portfolio and gathered a team of project leads, finance, compliance, and vendor management teams to analyze the projects and evaluate project management tools. After selecting the most appropriate tool, I implemented a process of project reporting, coached teams throughout the project life cycle, and prioritized and ranked projects. This resulted in a new way of managing the portfolio, transparency and clarity for the organization, and substantial savings on vendor engagements.

How to Lead Decisions By Following Market Problems

Product managers should focus on the problem they are trying to solve, not the technology they are using. Bitcoin is a great example of this, as its original purpose was to be a digital cash currency alternative, but its current valuations and cost to transact make it an expensive technology to use. Product managers should be aware of the market needs and be prepared to make unexpected technology pivots if their product is no longer serving the needs of their users. They should also have a long-term view to keep their head afloat and pointed towards their overall goal.

Finding the Career Path for You

This article discusses the importance of pivoting through different roles in order to achieve personal and professional satisfaction in a product management career path. The author shares their experience of transitioning from a product development and engineering career path to a product management leadership role, only to find that the added responsibilities were not what they had expected. They eventually downsized to an individual contributor role, where they could focus on technology innovation. The article emphasizes the importance of taking risks and measuring success/failures in order to achieve transformative success.

Gaining Experience to Transition Roles

This article outlines the steps taken by an engineer to transition into a product manager role. The author found substitute experiences to reflect their ability to perform in the role, such as making themselves available to help anyone who added value to their team, product, or company. They also pursued an MBA to signal their seriousness to their company, and used their experience with the same product they had been an engineer on for seven years as a translatable piece of credibility. The article concludes with the recommendation to have one translatable piece of credibility when trying to transition internally into a PM position.

How to Successfully Complete A Major Reorganization

This article outlines the steps taken by a leader during a major reorganization of an organization. The leader focused on communicating the changes respectfully, shifting the focus to positive changes, creating vision statements and roadmaps for each team, and meeting with those affected by the changes. The article also highlights the importance of having someone to bounce ideas off of and dedicating time for the personal connection aspect of a reorganization.

The Importance of a Detailed Leveling Guide

This article outlines the steps taken by a company to create a leveling guide for their engineering organization. The author took an assessment of the organization, analyzed employee behavior, and researched other organizations' leveling guides to create a guide that was tailored to the company. The guide was incorporated into the onboarding process and employees were given an understanding of the changes and expectations. The guide provided a roadmap for employees to achieve their goals and chart their career path. The article also provides lessons learned from the experience.

Researching and Learning how to Make Machines Learn

This article is about the author's journey to learn more about machine learning and create his own algorithms. He started with Javascript and a library called brain.js, then moved on to TensorFlow.js. He created an algorithm to predict the survival of passengers on the Titanic and another to make its way through a Frozen Lake maze. He also combined his interest in the NFL with machine learning to achieve an accuracy of 64%. Machine learning is the future of our modern world and lacks transparency, making it difficult to debug when something goes wrong.

Gaining the Technical Confidence to Crush an Interview

This article discusses the difficulties of finding a job in a poor economy and provides advice on how to create a standout resume, prepare for technical interviews, and adjust to a new company culture. It emphasizes the importance of being honest and teachable during interviews, understanding that everyone gets nervous, and not getting hung up on specific companies.

Ethics and Equality in Software Engineering

Before the pandemic, the author was scheduled to deliver a talk about ethics in software engineering. Research revealed that historically marginalized groups faced discrimination in the software industry. To create change, the author recommends unconscious bias and microaggression training, psychological safety for team members to bring up concerns, and listening with respect and empathy. Data is also important to make others aware of the inequalities in software development.

Securing A Fluid Transition to an Established Organization

Transitioning to a well-established organization can be difficult, as the products and processes are more complex than in a startup. To ensure a smooth transition, it is important to create a supportive network by developing rapport with cross-functional teams and communicating openly with managers and peers. Additionally, taking ownership of tasks and reaching out to key stakeholders for subject knowledge can help bridge the knowledge gap.

Succeeding as the First Product Hire in a Startup

This article discusses the experience of the author as the first product manager at a startup. The author had to build a plan from scratch and take on many responsibilities. To do this, the author created a 30/60/90 day plan, asked for resources, and met with the engineering lead to discuss the engineering side of things. The author also created a product vision, strategy, and roadmap, and then executed the MVP as quickly as possible. The author also provides lessons learned from their experience, such as networking, asking for help, and getting informed content.

Focusing on Products Over Services

This article outlines the process of transitioning from a service-based company to a product-based company. The author explains the steps taken to hone in on a specific industry, form teams to create products, and align the product marketing and sales teams. It also discusses the importance of understanding the customer journey and the mindset reset that needs to happen during the transition. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of innovation and how it can empower people.

Selling Technically Complex Products

The author was tasked with increasing sales of a technical product at a call center. To do this, they spent one day a week in the call center, empathizing with the sales team's struggles and providing them with tools to help them understand the product. This human approach resulted in a tripling of revenue without hiring any new members. The author learned that empathizing with the sales team and providing them with the necessary tools to understand the product will increase their confidence and motivation to sell it. Additionally, they must be pitched the product and its benefits in order for them to sell it.

Promoting Change Without Losing Partners

In order to bring innovation to an organization and stay ahead of competitors, it is essential to focus on the end goal, not the change itself. To facilitate change, it is important to understand human interaction and desires, map the team's profile, and replicate good tools and strategies. The principles remain the same no matter what changes the organization is going through, and it is essential to base change upon the profile of the team and customers in order to keep as many partners as possible. Transparency is key to growing the business without losing partners, customers, or employees.

Preparing for Heated Discussions with Major Clients

In a meeting with a major client, I was unprepared and found myself in a heated discussion. To prepare for future meetings, I began to understand my audience and tailor my information to them. I also created a roadmap detailing our top five priorities and who was responsible for them. Through this experience, I learned to understand the history of the client and hold myself accountable for any issues.

Creating New Hiring Methods to Find Qualified Candidates

In order to quickly scale up his team, the author had to find a way to hack the hiring process in the remote world. He used his networks to find trusted candidates and asked his peers to loan him their team members to use as interviewers. He looked for learnability over technical ability during interviews and provided feedback to candidates that were not hired. He also stayed in contact with accepted candidates to keep them engaged and answer any questions they may have.

How To Fast-Track Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder

As an engineering leader, the author faced the challenge of identifying the right people to promote and choose future leaders. To address this, the author implemented a quarterly team-switching program, encouraged coding best practices and documentation, and set goals and career paths for team members. Through these actions, the author was able to motivate team members and create a clear path to leadership.

The Problem-Solving Process: A Modern, Data-Driven Approach for Engineering leaders

A CTO of an engineering organization faced a problem of making decisions based on subjectivity rather than data. To tackle this, they researched and found the DORA metrics from Google, which helped bring data culture to the company. To make data-driven decisions, they launched their own startup, Insightly Analytics, to build real-time dashboards with data from disparate tools. This helped reduce meeting times and allowed managers to have data at their fingertips. The lessons learned from this experience are that data-driven processes bring a universal language, real-time dashboards reduce meeting times, and data availability reduces slack interruptions.

How to Improve Team Communication

When inheriting an enterprise-level program in a medical devices company, I took action to identify the eight workstreams and their activities, as well as the external high-level stakeholders who were not satisfied. To address this, I established a program structure, a roadmap for the senior leadership, and a cadence on reporting. I also identified a point person to play a leadership role and set expectations with respect to cultural issues. Through this process, I learned the importance of research, interviews, and observation, as well as the need to meet and get to know teams, develop a roadmap, identify motivations, and find a middle ground between parties.

Mentoring Freshly Recruited Employees

A company hired an intern from a nationally reputed university, but the intern was not doing well. The selection team devised a plan to investigate and help the intern, which included setting up a meeting with the mentor and mentee, providing resources and support, and setting expectations. Through this process, the intern was able to learn new things, try individual projects, and give a presentation to the VP. The team learned that when hiring a fresh grad, they should provide adequate training and involve them in all aspects of the job, and give team members some personal space to explore their worth.

Leading Change Through Planning and Collaboration

A previous company I worked for had no project or product management system in place. I conducted an audit of the IT portfolio and gathered a team of project leads, finance, compliance, and vendor management teams to analyze the projects and evaluate project management tools. After selecting the most appropriate tool, I implemented a process of project reporting, coached teams throughout the project life cycle, and prioritized and ranked projects. This resulted in a new way of managing the portfolio, transparency and clarity for the organization, and substantial savings on vendor engagements.

How to Lead Decisions By Following Market Problems

Product managers should focus on the problem they are trying to solve, not the technology they are using. Bitcoin is a great example of this, as its original purpose was to be a digital cash currency alternative, but its current valuations and cost to transact make it an expensive technology to use. Product managers should be aware of the market needs and be prepared to make unexpected technology pivots if their product is no longer serving the needs of their users. They should also have a long-term view to keep their head afloat and pointed towards their overall goal.

Finding the Career Path for You

This article discusses the importance of pivoting through different roles in order to achieve personal and professional satisfaction in a product management career path. The author shares their experience of transitioning from a product development and engineering career path to a product management leadership role, only to find that the added responsibilities were not what they had expected. They eventually downsized to an individual contributor role, where they could focus on technology innovation. The article emphasizes the importance of taking risks and measuring success/failures in order to achieve transformative success.

Gaining Experience to Transition Roles

This article outlines the steps taken by an engineer to transition into a product manager role. The author found substitute experiences to reflect their ability to perform in the role, such as making themselves available to help anyone who added value to their team, product, or company. They also pursued an MBA to signal their seriousness to their company, and used their experience with the same product they had been an engineer on for seven years as a translatable piece of credibility. The article concludes with the recommendation to have one translatable piece of credibility when trying to transition internally into a PM position.

How to Successfully Complete A Major Reorganization

This article outlines the steps taken by a leader during a major reorganization of an organization. The leader focused on communicating the changes respectfully, shifting the focus to positive changes, creating vision statements and roadmaps for each team, and meeting with those affected by the changes. The article also highlights the importance of having someone to bounce ideas off of and dedicating time for the personal connection aspect of a reorganization.

The Importance of a Detailed Leveling Guide

This article outlines the steps taken by a company to create a leveling guide for their engineering organization. The author took an assessment of the organization, analyzed employee behavior, and researched other organizations' leveling guides to create a guide that was tailored to the company. The guide was incorporated into the onboarding process and employees were given an understanding of the changes and expectations. The guide provided a roadmap for employees to achieve their goals and chart their career path. The article also provides lessons learned from the experience.

Researching and Learning how to Make Machines Learn

This article is about the author's journey to learn more about machine learning and create his own algorithms. He started with Javascript and a library called brain.js, then moved on to TensorFlow.js. He created an algorithm to predict the survival of passengers on the Titanic and another to make its way through a Frozen Lake maze. He also combined his interest in the NFL with machine learning to achieve an accuracy of 64%. Machine learning is the future of our modern world and lacks transparency, making it difficult to debug when something goes wrong.

Gaining the Technical Confidence to Crush an Interview

This article discusses the difficulties of finding a job in a poor economy and provides advice on how to create a standout resume, prepare for technical interviews, and adjust to a new company culture. It emphasizes the importance of being honest and teachable during interviews, understanding that everyone gets nervous, and not getting hung up on specific companies.

Ethics and Equality in Software Engineering

Before the pandemic, the author was scheduled to deliver a talk about ethics in software engineering. Research revealed that historically marginalized groups faced discrimination in the software industry. To create change, the author recommends unconscious bias and microaggression training, psychological safety for team members to bring up concerns, and listening with respect and empathy. Data is also important to make others aware of the inequalities in software development.

Securing A Fluid Transition to an Established Organization

Transitioning to a well-established organization can be difficult, as the products and processes are more complex than in a startup. To ensure a smooth transition, it is important to create a supportive network by developing rapport with cross-functional teams and communicating openly with managers and peers. Additionally, taking ownership of tasks and reaching out to key stakeholders for subject knowledge can help bridge the knowledge gap.

Succeeding as the First Product Hire in a Startup

This article discusses the experience of the author as the first product manager at a startup. The author had to build a plan from scratch and take on many responsibilities. To do this, the author created a 30/60/90 day plan, asked for resources, and met with the engineering lead to discuss the engineering side of things. The author also created a product vision, strategy, and roadmap, and then executed the MVP as quickly as possible. The author also provides lessons learned from their experience, such as networking, asking for help, and getting informed content.

Focusing on Products Over Services

This article outlines the process of transitioning from a service-based company to a product-based company. The author explains the steps taken to hone in on a specific industry, form teams to create products, and align the product marketing and sales teams. It also discusses the importance of understanding the customer journey and the mindset reset that needs to happen during the transition. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of innovation and how it can empower people.

Selling Technically Complex Products

The author was tasked with increasing sales of a technical product at a call center. To do this, they spent one day a week in the call center, empathizing with the sales team's struggles and providing them with tools to help them understand the product. This human approach resulted in a tripling of revenue without hiring any new members. The author learned that empathizing with the sales team and providing them with the necessary tools to understand the product will increase their confidence and motivation to sell it. Additionally, they must be pitched the product and its benefits in order for them to sell it.

Promoting Change Without Losing Partners

In order to bring innovation to an organization and stay ahead of competitors, it is essential to focus on the end goal, not the change itself. To facilitate change, it is important to understand human interaction and desires, map the team's profile, and replicate good tools and strategies. The principles remain the same no matter what changes the organization is going through, and it is essential to base change upon the profile of the team and customers in order to keep as many partners as possible. Transparency is key to growing the business without losing partners, customers, or employees.

Preparing for Heated Discussions with Major Clients

In a meeting with a major client, I was unprepared and found myself in a heated discussion. To prepare for future meetings, I began to understand my audience and tailor my information to them. I also created a roadmap detailing our top five priorities and who was responsible for them. Through this experience, I learned to understand the history of the client and hold myself accountable for any issues.

Creating New Hiring Methods to Find Qualified Candidates

In order to quickly scale up his team, the author had to find a way to hack the hiring process in the remote world. He used his networks to find trusted candidates and asked his peers to loan him their team members to use as interviewers. He looked for learnability over technical ability during interviews and provided feedback to candidates that were not hired. He also stayed in contact with accepted candidates to keep them engaged and answer any questions they may have.

How To Fast-Track Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder

As an engineering leader, the author faced the challenge of identifying the right people to promote and choose future leaders. To address this, the author implemented a quarterly team-switching program, encouraged coding best practices and documentation, and set goals and career paths for team members. Through these actions, the author was able to motivate team members and create a clear path to leadership.

The Problem-Solving Process: A Modern, Data-Driven Approach for Engineering leaders

A CTO of an engineering organization faced a problem of making decisions based on subjectivity rather than data. To tackle this, they researched and found the DORA metrics from Google, which helped bring data culture to the company. To make data-driven decisions, they launched their own startup, Insightly Analytics, to build real-time dashboards with data from disparate tools. This helped reduce meeting times and allowed managers to have data at their fingertips. The lessons learned from this experience are that data-driven processes bring a universal language, real-time dashboards reduce meeting times, and data availability reduces slack interruptions.

How to Improve Team Communication

When inheriting an enterprise-level program in a medical devices company, I took action to identify the eight workstreams and their activities, as well as the external high-level stakeholders who were not satisfied. To address this, I established a program structure, a roadmap for the senior leadership, and a cadence on reporting. I also identified a point person to play a leadership role and set expectations with respect to cultural issues. Through this process, I learned the importance of research, interviews, and observation, as well as the need to meet and get to know teams, develop a roadmap, identify motivations, and find a middle ground between parties.

Mentoring Freshly Recruited Employees

A company hired an intern from a nationally reputed university, but the intern was not doing well. The selection team devised a plan to investigate and help the intern, which included setting up a meeting with the mentor and mentee, providing resources and support, and setting expectations. Through this process, the intern was able to learn new things, try individual projects, and give a presentation to the VP. The team learned that when hiring a fresh grad, they should provide adequate training and involve them in all aspects of the job, and give team members some personal space to explore their worth.

Leading Change Through Planning and Collaboration

A previous company I worked for had no project or product management system in place. I conducted an audit of the IT portfolio and gathered a team of project leads, finance, compliance, and vendor management teams to analyze the projects and evaluate project management tools. After selecting the most appropriate tool, I implemented a process of project reporting, coached teams throughout the project life cycle, and prioritized and ranked projects. This resulted in a new way of managing the portfolio, transparency and clarity for the organization, and substantial savings on vendor engagements.