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Ask HN: Where do I find a Product Management coach?

18 points by dezeiner ↗ HN
I've worked in startups for years leading in various capacities in and around product, but have not yet learned the "ropes" of product management, which is what I'd like to hone in on. And while I can probably get that experience at a big tech company, I do enjoy the more chaotic / creative environment of startups.

I'm looking for a PM coach to help me speed run the entire product management role, from strategy, roadmapping, managing stakeholders, dev cycles, etc etc.

Where can I find one?

10 comments

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erhserhdfd
I do not know of a coach, but two resources I would encourage you to check out are:

1. Silicon Valley Product Group Blog: They are thought leaders in the field and have a very strong opinion on how product management SHOULD be done. I do not agree with everything they recommend, but they are a great resource to help get up to speed with product management. https://www.svpg.com/articles/

2. Northwestern Kellogg Product Strategy Online Course: While expensive, this is an excellent and rigorous resource for learning product management basics. https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/executive-education/ind...

I know this isn't quite what you were looking for, but I hope these are some useful resources to get you started. I'd love to hear what you ultimately end up doing and whether you found it valuable or not.

drc500free
You can search linkedin for "product coach" and find quite a lot. Most product people (including me) are happy to do at least a one-off chat if you reach out and aren't selling anything.

Happy to connect with anyone interested in the field or pondering how to move forward within it: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-r-coleman/

voberoi
You might want to take a look at bestpracticer.com — they’ve been doing great work in this space.
beckingz
What kind of product management do you want coaching in?

At it's core, product is the art of finding viable solutions that work for business and customers. Looking for win-win solutions that are actually buildable.

The details of the specific business, industry, customers and technical implementation are everything though.

stuntkite
Humm... I might be one? Can you elaborate more on how that coaching relationship would work? What do you expect for curriculum / experience? How would you measure success? What do you think you still need to define? How much does that pay? How often? It doesn't sound like a full time job.

Genuinely curious how you or anyone else would see something like that working. Maybe I'll start a blog or something. I've never heard of this type of job in our industry. Like a personal trainer?

tylerrobinson
Hello, another PM here. As others have said, I’d also be glad to talk with you about your goals and my email is in my profile. I enjoy mentoring up-and-coming PMs.

But you might not need it. You said you’ve worked at other companies around product before. Can you get a job as a PM right now? Product is done differently everywhere. To learn roadmaps, stakeholder management, and dev cycles you have to just experience it.

mud_dauber
I can help. :-)

Check out Rich Mironov. Longtime PM consultant. Widely respected.

too_bad_123
> I'm looking for a PM coach to help me speed run the entire product management role, from strategy, roadmapping, managing stakeholders, dev cycles, etc etc.

This is a very PM thing to ask. I think you are going to be fine. Do nothing.