{"id":171,"date":"2017-04-16T21:33:38","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T02:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs.\/?p=171"},"modified":"2019-05-03T18:47:53","modified_gmt":"2019-05-03T23:47:53","slug":"product-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lindagorchels.com\/blogs\/product-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Product Management 101: What is Product Management?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"what<\/p>\n

Is product management a job? A career? A discipline? It depends on whom you ask. The landscape is forever changing, yet forever staying the same.<\/p>\n

My Story<\/h3>\n

When I started out in product management (quite<\/em> a few years ago) it was pretty much uncharted territory. Except in consumer packaged goods.<\/p>\n

While being a female with an MBA wasn’t exactly rare, it also wasn’t common. I had successfully run a marketing research department. I had customer knowledge. And several direct reports. Presumably that would be a good foundation for product management. But that was true only to a point. As a product manager with no direct reports, I had to attain my goals through influence. I had to work with all levels and types of people. The entire life-cycle was my responsibility. And I learned not all views of the job were the same.<\/p>\n

Conflicting viewpoints<\/h3>\n

Different companies and industries (and people) see things differently. That’s why the number of consultants and books has exploded. And various membership societies coexist. Like the Product Development & Management Association (PDMA). And the Association of International Product Marketing & Management (AIPMM). Indeed, a search for product management in the LinkedIn Groups yields over 1,000 results. While most groups are quite small, some have thousands of members.<\/p>\n

But product management titles vary<\/h3>\n

Not surprisingly, titles and their meaning vary. Some product managers handle strategy and innovation related to upfront <\/em>activities. Relevant titles include:<\/p>\n