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Anton Kravchenko

AMA: Carta Director of Product Management, Anton Kravchenko on Product Management Skills

March 14 @ 10:00AM PST
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Carta Director of Product Management, Anton Kravchenko on Product Management Skills
Top Questions
If starting as more of a generalist product manager - what resources do you rely on to broaden your technical "toolkit"?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
I care less about specific resources and more about the iterative approach to professional growth. True learning comes from building a network of other PMs and subscribing to content that resonates with you. The more you stay plugged into real-life stories of what works and what doesn't, the fast......Read More
644 Views
1 request
Should product management decisions be data-driven or more so data-informed? Should Product Managers lead with intuition and use data to back up their assumptions?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
Classic PM answer - it depends.  The longer you are at the organization, the better intuition you will develop. The same applies to the product maturity, e.g. 0-1 vs. 1-N. New product to market requires PMs to look at trends and have a better sense of the customer needs. Well-established pr......Read More
335 Views
1 request
There is often a huge emphasis on analytical skills, instead of UX skills, when it comes to product management job descriptions. What role does UX play in product management?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
Usually, tech companies organize their teams so that there is a fully dedicated UX designer accompanying each PM. I can't say the same about data teams.  Almost in every company, PMs own KPIs for their product area. This means that you have to define what metrics your engineering team needs to......Read More
388 Views
1 request
What are the most important product management skills or perspectives that others inside an organization could benefit from that would improve their day to day?
Running a "Think Like a Product Manager" course next month and would love to hear others'
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
Your team size, overall organization dynamic, and product maturity all shape the skills you need to improve day-to-day operations. Distilling to the basics, I'd go with the following: * Customer Focus: PMs who put the customer at the center of their decision-making process often help other d......Read More
665 Views
1 request
When joining a new team, is it better to have the right soft skills and have to learn the hard skills of the job? Or vice versa?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
I don't think it's black & white. There is a broader spectrum of colors here. Leverage your superpowers to shine and learn the skills that help you do your job better. What matters is delivering results that move the business forward. These results will be noticed, and the rest will organically f......Read More
312 Views
1 request
What can someone who has an extensive engineering background do to prove themselves competent for an entry-level product management role?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
Start with your passion for Product Management and DWIT attitude. Find a team who needs an extra pair of hands. Partner with them in your free time. Deliver results that are visible to others. From there, it's an easy sell organizationally for "why" you should become a PM when the organization ne......Read More
689 Views
1 request
What are the most important soft and hard skills PMs can build to become successful in their field going forward?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
My top soft skills: 1. Storytelling: As PMs, we must communicate complex ideas clearly and concisely to a range of stakeholders, including developers, designers, executives, and customers. Personally, I spend a good chunk of time creating artifacts that align multiple stakeholders o......Read More
381 Views
1 request
I get a lot of critical feedback from my boss and I don't always know what to do with it or how to improve. Sometimes I don't even agree with the feedback. What should I do when I don't think the feedback is correct?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
This is a challenging one, as people's problems could be mentally draining and less exciting to deal with.  Tactically, I'd advise speaking with your HR business partner and seeking their advice by sharing specific examples.  Longer term, I'd suggest practicing radical candor with your mana......Read More
352 Views
1 request
What made you decide to choose Product Management over Product Marketing?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
This might not be the answer you'd expected ;)  I'm a first-generation immigrant, and I didn't really have a choice early in my career. I simply needed a company to sponsor my visa. After changing four jobs in the first year, I joined a company that was willing to invest in my immigration. Luc......Read More
345 Views
1 request
What advice do you have for recent graduates that want to go straight into product management?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
1. [If available] Intern as a PM before applying for a full-time position would put you ahead of other candidates. 2. Read Cracking the PM Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell and practice, practice, practice.  3. Use LinkedIn to reach out to other PMs at your dream company. Speak with......Read More
337 Views
1 request
Do you have any recommended online courses for those interested in breaking into product management (e.g. LinkedIn Learning PM learning path, Udemy, etc.)
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
I usually recommend starting with the following books: 1. Cracking the PM Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell 2. On Design Thinking by Tim Brown 3. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries As for the courses, I hear great things about: * Reforge - www.reforge.com * Managing your PM Career in 2023 &......Read More
338 Views
1 request
What is your process of setting a vision when you join a new company?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
I like to start by understanding the historical context and how teams arrived at where they are. What decisions were made and why. What worked well and what didn't go according to the plan. Starting there also enables me to build early relationships with key stakeholders and understand the col......Read More
418 Views
1 request
What is the qualities of a Product Manager that impresses their Engineering counterparts and thereby allows the PM to build influence with the Eng team?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
Being a team player and sharing team responsibilities e.g. sharing scrum ceremonies with your EM, will help you be equal partners.  Don't forget that while you're doing customer calls, aligning stakeholders, or writing PRDs, your EM is directly managing the engineering team. This takes energy ......Read More
617 Views
1 request
How do you overcome domain hiring bias while looking for product roles?
Anton Kravchenko
Anton Kravchenko
Carta Sr. Director of Product Management • March 15
I like to challenge those I hire with questions that don't fit the usual narrative. Below is an example of my Friday fun question: Imagine humans decided to take the moon and push it through a giant rock grinder. The rock and matter that comes from another side of the grinder are dumped on ear......Read More
377 Views
1 request