The PM role is changing - you can’t just “hustle” to win anymore. Watch as I discuss how to think long-term as a PM, using lessons learned from Uber, Dropbox and FiscalNote.

1. Daniel Liem
Expanding the Product
Management Universe
Expanding the
Product Management Universe
Daniel Liem

2. Objectives
1. The Basics: the product
manager role today.
2. The evolution: four new
core competencies for
product management.
Objectives
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3. Objectives
Agenda
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1. Lessons from Uber, Dropbox
and FiscalNote
3. Purpose-driven product
management
4. Expand your mind.
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2. The dangerous rise of “hustling”
as a PM

4. Lessons from
Uber, Dropbox
and FiscalNote
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5. Had 4+ years of product experience
Built various products from consumer to enterprise / platform apps
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Lessons from Uber, Dropbox and FiscalNote on product management
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6. Three core competencies of a PM:
Vision, Execution, and People.
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7. Skill #1: Product Managers define the Product Narrative
A product narrative outlines the strategy you take to build your product by asking 4 questions:
What?
Creating your
Roadmap
Who?
Identifying Customers
Our Immediate Users:
Release Managers
Mobile Engineers
How?
Defining the Mission, Vision
& Goals (KPIs)
Why?
Articulating the Problem
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Lessons from Uber, Dropbox and FiscalNote on product management
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8. Skill #2: Product Managers then execute against the roadmap
The roadmap defines what needs to be built. What comes next is to follow a process of execution + iterations.
Build a Deal Flow
What?
Creating your
Roadmap
Who?
Identifying Customers
Our Immediate Users:
Release Managers
Mobile Engineers
How?
Defining the Mission, Vision
& Goals (KPIs)
Why?
Articulating the Problem
Plan
Get buy-ins from
stakeholders + make OKRs
Design
Prototype, mockup, test /
QA and define your metrics
Implement
Build your product, work
closely with engineers
Launch
And monitor your metrics
closely!
Iterate
Adjust
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Lessons from Uber, Dropbox and FiscalNote on product management
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9. Skill #3: Product Managers must do all of this with a team!
Be the bedrock for bringing and inspiring teams together.
Ops & Legal
(Product Ops,
Project Mgr)
Designers
Business
(BD, PA, BO)
EngineerEngineer
Engineer
Marketing
(PMM,
Social, PR)
PM
(you!)
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Lessons from Uber, Dropbox and FiscalNote on product management
Eng
Manager
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10. Building great user experiences as a
product manager can be hard.
The system is incentivized to move
quickly, experiment and encourage
short-termism.
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11. The dangerous
rise of
“hustling” as a
PM
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12. Short-termism can encourage certain practices...
The battle mantra of “hustling” –doing whatever it takes to win– has enabled billion dollar businesses.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Our roles as PMs, however, is changing...
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13. ...but, we often fail to anticipate the consequences of this process.
And has destroyed billions in long-term value - easy to forget small changes we make can have impact at scale.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Our roles as PMs, however, is changing...
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14. At the same time, we are forced to keep up
the pace, especially at startups... it seems like
being a PM is getting harder.
The question becomes: what does
the modern day PM look like?
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15. Purpose-driven
product
management
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16. I interviewed 30+ PMs and the consensus
is clear: long-term thinking matters.
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17. Let’s take the best parts of “hustling” (i.e.
working hard and smart), and combine it with
thoughtfulness and purposefulness.
That’s how we can build product experiences
that deliver long-term value.
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18. When defining the mission & vision, ask these add’l questions.
Let’s go back to first principles and question assumptions around how product management works.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Introducing: purpose-driven product management.
What?
Creating your
Roadmap
Who?
Identifying Customers
Our Immediate Users:
Release Managers
Mobile Engineers
How?
Defining the Mission, Vision
& Goals (KPIs)
Why?
Articulating the Problem
What can
possibly go
wrong?
How might
we build
responsibly?
(i.e. remain
compliant)
How might we
be inclusive?
(from who we
hire to the users
we build for)
Am I
personally
aligned with
the mission?
How might we
encourage
empathy-led
product
building + build
a brand?
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19. Here’s proof on why it works!
Case study: Uber’s brand was held accountable on Twitter by #deleteUber movement. % of Uber users in U.S. dropped ~3%
in February 2017, but recovered in following months after product improvements, policy changes and leadership changes.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Introducing: purpose-driven product management.
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source: Recode and Second Measure
#deleteUber

20. Here’s proof on why it works!
Case Study: Facebook didn’t build responsibly and enabled Cambridge Analytica to breach sensitive user data and manipulate
2016 elections, which got exposed in 2018 and shed $120B in value. It took a year to recover as they updated privacy rules.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Introducing: purpose-driven product management.
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Cambridge
Analytica
Scandal exposed
Other
related
scandals

21. Now, four core competencies of a PM:
Vision, Execution, People & Purpose.
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22. Expand
your
mind!
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23. There’s more to being a “PM” at a “tech company” than FAANG.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Expand your mind on what it means to be a PM
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24. Obvious’s purpose:
Reimagine the global
economy through a world
positive lens.
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25. Beyond Meat: plant-based meat.
Reimagining the $1.4 trillion dollar meat processing industry.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Expand your mind on what it means to be a PM
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26. Proterra: electric drivetrains for buses.
The “Tesla for buses”. If we believe in a future where everything will be electric, then so will mass transport.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Expand your mind on what it means to be a PM
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27. Zymergen: deep learning applied to industrial fermentation.
Computational and synthetic biology combined with AI is rapidly changing the way we create products.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Expand your mind on what it means to be a PM
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28. LTSE: long-term stock exchange – the 14th ever SEC approved exchange.
Quite literally: they are competing against NYSE to promote long-term, as opposed to short-term, trading.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Expand your mind on what it means to be a PM
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29. Incredible Health: recruiting marketplace for nurses and hospitals.
Nursing shortage in the U.S. is a massive problem, and it often takes 2-3 months for nurses to get matched.
Daniel Liem @ Product School | Expand your mind on what it means to be a PM
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30. Become a purpose-driven PM.
Find your dream job today:
jobs.obviousventures.com
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31. Daniel Liem
Expanding the Product
Management Universe
Expanding the
Product Management Universe
Daniel Liem