Product Management and MBA
Product management seems to be probably one of the most important, and concurrently one of the least understood, job responsibilities in any industry. Depending on the industry and company, any and all of the following responsibilities could be performed by a Product Manager.
1. Envisioning a product - consumer research, user profile etc.
2. Product lifecycle management - this would include managing a product from conception to delivery. This could comprise project management duties as well since you'll probably be running a cross-functional team
3. Marketing - create product awareness, brand management, targeted advertising, sales etc.
As you can see, this is truly a cross-functional job that includes both strategic planning and tactical acumen. Okay, before I start firing MBA jargon randomly, I should clarify this statement. 'Strategy' mainly deals with the big picture. It is about having a long-term vision for the company and working towards it. 'Tactical' on the other hand is concerned with the details, implementation and getting stuff done.
So a complete Product manager should have the following skills/talents in my opinion.
1. Industry experience - If you want to be a Product manager, say for a telecom product, experience in the industry and a good technical background will definitely help.
2. Marketing skills - A good amount of a PM's time will be spent on this. So strong marketing and analytical skills, ability to work with numbers as well as people, communication etc.
3. Cross-funcitonal skills - A working knowledge of Finance, Sales, Engineering etc. since you will have to lead a mish mash team and will be involved in every aspect of product development.
So how do you get into such a role? From what I hear, there are 2 ways - put in years of field work or get an MBA from a top school. An MBA would provide you with a complete skill set for this challenging role. You would be equally adept at putting a finance proposal or understanding and working with numbers. It would also improve your communication and problem-solving abilities. and most importantly, your cross-functional team-based projects and internships will be a stepping board.
Some top MBA programs for product management and marketing are Kelloggs, Michigan and Wharton. If you want a strong emphasis on technology as well, you should also consider Stanford, Berkeley and MIT Sloan.
One of the best articles about Product Management I've come across is this. Wikipedia as usual has some good stuff on the topic.
1. Envisioning a product - consumer research, user profile etc.
2. Product lifecycle management - this would include managing a product from conception to delivery. This could comprise project management duties as well since you'll probably be running a cross-functional team
3. Marketing - create product awareness, brand management, targeted advertising, sales etc.
As you can see, this is truly a cross-functional job that includes both strategic planning and tactical acumen. Okay, before I start firing MBA jargon randomly, I should clarify this statement. 'Strategy' mainly deals with the big picture. It is about having a long-term vision for the company and working towards it. 'Tactical' on the other hand is concerned with the details, implementation and getting stuff done.
So a complete Product manager should have the following skills/talents in my opinion.
1. Industry experience - If you want to be a Product manager, say for a telecom product, experience in the industry and a good technical background will definitely help.
2. Marketing skills - A good amount of a PM's time will be spent on this. So strong marketing and analytical skills, ability to work with numbers as well as people, communication etc.
3. Cross-funcitonal skills - A working knowledge of Finance, Sales, Engineering etc. since you will have to lead a mish mash team and will be involved in every aspect of product development.
So how do you get into such a role? From what I hear, there are 2 ways - put in years of field work or get an MBA from a top school. An MBA would provide you with a complete skill set for this challenging role. You would be equally adept at putting a finance proposal or understanding and working with numbers. It would also improve your communication and problem-solving abilities. and most importantly, your cross-functional team-based projects and internships will be a stepping board.
Some top MBA programs for product management and marketing are Kelloggs, Michigan and Wharton. If you want a strong emphasis on technology as well, you should also consider Stanford, Berkeley and MIT Sloan.
One of the best articles about Product Management I've come across is this. Wikipedia as usual has some good stuff on the topic.
posted by c2c at Tuesday, September 05, 2006
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