I have been looking more and more into product management (still researching and digging further to make sure this is the right path for me). Currently a consultant at EY Parthenon (Tech M&A experience, as well as turnaround and restructuring).
Now I’m thinking of moving into product management, however lack technical skills (e.g., programming).
All the PMs here, what can advise can you share for a traditional consultant who wants to pivot to product management. Where should we begin? Contd...

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Recently purchased a book “Swipe To Unlock” to learn more about this field. I plan on reading it over the weekend. What are some tactical steps I can take to be successful in (1) finding out that this is the right path because I don’t just wanna move into product management because it’s cool; I truly wanna be part of building something, and having an impact, and (2) once I’m comfortable that this would be the right field, how can I network, sell my skills, and get a decent job?

Thank you in advance to anyone who can shed some light on this topic!

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As a PM I can state you don’t need to know how to code. Being able to collaborate with engineers is important but you can learn and adapt to it whole on the job. In my experience to date I haven’t had to get deep in the tech

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If there’s one book I’d recommend for you, check out ‘Inspired’ by Marty Cagan. I think he does a solid job of explaining the functions of the Product Manager and the likes. He also goes into depth around a few other functions that are pivotal in a software organization for you to get the fuller picture. In terms of choosing the path, totally depends on what you like and what you’re interested in...at the end of the day the level of depth in your technical skills will matter depending on what product you serve and who your customers are. Work on an API product? Might help to be technical...work on the UI for Hulu? Maybe not so important to be technical.

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I second starting with material from Marty Cagan, he’s a thought leader in product management with tons of invaluable experience. His company, SVPG has a lot of content on its blog and does 3-4 day workshops that are absolutely worth the investment.

Ken Norton’s blog is another great source of content to understand the role of product.

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Love that you want to validate whether the PM job is a good fit.

Here’s an article on the overlaps between the product and consulting toolbox: https://productlessons.substack.com/p/build-your-superpower-as-an-ex-consultant

I transitioned into product from consulting, and love it. Would caution that the day to day is not glamorous though. Much of the job in the beginning is sheer execution and getting into the weeds. The appeal for me has always been the skin in the game; and end to end ownership

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I have 15 years of experience as Business Analyst and then progressed into Product Management. I am not a programmer and not in Sales/ Marketing and sometimes feel I should learn to experience the entire spectrum.

Product Management is a generalist role intertwined with specialization to deliver Value to the user in a way they perceive with each iteration.

In your case you specialize in the area probably Tax or Consulting. Which is non software related so the Product Manager role’s change in comparison to the software company.

Hope this helps.

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Tough question but I think these would justify to see the big picture of Product Management
- Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
- the Startup Owners Manual by Steve Blank
- Zero to One - Peter Theil
- Design of EveryDay things - Don Norman

the list will not stop here but I feel this should give a good platform.

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I followed this article and couldn’t find so share. Thanks for sharing

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Greatly put. Looking forward to responses also

Thank you all for commenting. I will go through two books, as well as articles shared. I hope to share some of the findings in order to get feedback from experienced PMs, as well as to help other aspiring PMs!

Which two books are you choosing as your first two, OP?

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