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AMA: Shopify VP of Product, Mamuna (Oyofo) Oladipo on PM Soft and Hard Skills
February 9 @ 10:00AM PST
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Shopify VP of Product, Mamuna (Oyofo) Oladipo on PM Soft and Hard Skills
Top Questions
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
The biggest mistake I will mention here is not getting stakeholder buy-in. A lot of times we make assumptions about what people want and do not take the time ahead of to understand needs. Speak to those needs and share any constraints. Work to bring alignment across stakeholders. In the end, stak......Read More
909 Views
3 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
There is definitely a fine line here. Every decision cannot be data driven and will likely be informed to some extent BUT part of the excitment of product management is leaning on that intuition. In some cases, you will have data to back up your assumptions and in others you will not. Every situa......Read More
877 Views
2 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
It likely depends on the type of role you are entering into, the focus and phase of the product. It also will likely depend on whether the company has invested a lot in building out an existing UX team. I am biased because I have built out product design teams and therefore see true value in anyo......Read More
810 Views
1 request
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
I personally believe this to be communication. Often times, we as PMs dive heads down into a problem with understanding that we need to have a time with us to do the work. It is important to develop a communication style that resonates meaningfully with your audience. As a PM, you will need to co......Read More
734 Views
10 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
The hard skills that come to mind for me are: 1. Technical - This is going to vary depending on the type of career you want to have and the company you want to work for. Generally, it is important for you to have an understanding of technical development principles and vocabulary. You want to be......Read More
885 Views
9 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
To be a strong product manager, you will have to learn to balance your art in the science. That is your hard and soft skills. When you are new to a team, naturally you want to show your value and start to contribute right away. However you don't take the time to understand the dynamics of the exi......Read More
663 Views
4 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
I'm a fan of pairing. Often times Engineering works so closely with product, it is easy enough to sit more closely with your product partner and work through problems together. Ask questions and learn while on the job. If and when you get comfortable enough, start to volunteer to take on differen......Read More
807 Views
2 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
I like to look at feedback as a gift and approach it with an open mind. How I would approach this is: 1. Do some soul searching :) understanding your own communication style. How do you communicate? How do you like to be communicated to? What things help you stay open minded? What things make yo......Read More
648 Views
2 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
I am very much a systems thinker and like to understand the whole. I started my product career focusing on product management but quickly was exposed to the different facets of product management incl product design, engineering and product marketing. I wanted to do a bit of a deep dive in each o......Read More
870 Views
3 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
1. Understand what about product management is interesting to you 2. Research roles and opportunities that speak to what you find interesting 3. Identify the gaps in your skills or experience 4. Fill those gaps :) Take a course, read, volunteer to build something. 5. Network and build a grou......Read More
881 Views
3 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
My personal take is that when I am speaking with strong product candidates, I can see a few qualities shine through in their story. For me, those are: 1. They are constant Learners/curious They are constantly asking questions and actively listening. They are readers and constant consumers of i......Read More
1237 Views
7 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
I personally have been teaching at The Product School and have seen benefits/value from those coming out of the course. It is really going to come down to your own learning style however. You could also very much find free reading materials if you are unable to invest in taking courses at the mom......Read More
940 Views
2 requests
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
It's hard for me to think anyone is 'doomed' per se but I would make this a focus area if you are truly trying to get into product management. Making smart decisions quickly is a strong product management trait and so to be successful, you will need to be comforatble doing that. I would probably ......Read More
870 Views
2 requests
What are the required hard skills for a product manager?
Also is it a plus for a product manager to know how to read code?
Mamuna Oyofo, MBA
Shopify VP of Product • February 9
Answered another question about hard skills. I don't think its generally necessary for PMs to read code but I do think it is important for you to understand the concept/principles. An overview would be very helpful in making you a good partner to your other more technical peers. It also helps whe......Read More
1011 Views
2 requests
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