AMA: Trello Principal Product Manager, Tamar Hadar on PM 30/60/90 Day Plan

As a first PM, you will need to be very judicious with how you allocate your time and resources. In fact, I think that’s true for larger companies as well. There are always going to be more ideas than resources available. As a product manager, you are responsible for translating the company’s vision into a roadmap so your first priority should be internalizing the company’s goals. Is it to drive sign-ups? Increase retention? Increase MRR? Or something else altogether? Narrowing in on that top go ...Read More

First off, take a deep breath and remember, crushing those OKRs is going to take time and effort. Next, set clear goals for each milestone and build a plan around it. Just like you would when defining a project, identify success metrics for yourself and create a plan. Here’s an example: First 30 days: Learning and Absorbing Establish good working relationships with stakeholders: the key to being effective is having open lines of communication with your coworkers. Take the time to get to know the ...Read More

I have been a part of small teams, large teams, a PM consultant and an entrepreneur. I have yet to scale a PM team beyond the first PM but here are the things I would consider: Structure your team based on where the company will be in a few months/years—hiring should reflect the company’s vision and serve as a blueprint for where the business is headed. Ideally, each one of the identified goals above would have a subject matter expert (e.g. a retention PM, a growth PM, a localization PM, an Ente ...Read More

Speaking to your cross-functional teams is the best way to gain a deeper understanding of your company’s goals, its processes and challenges. It’s also an excellent way to get to know your new coworkers! I like to start by telling the person a little bit about myself, the parts that don’t show up on my resume. Beyond forming a real connection with the person you’re speaking to, sharing something about yourself will lead to greater trust. In your conversations, make sure to include members of you ...Read More

I think it takes a thorough understanding of a product and its users to achieve success. For that reason, I am not a big believer in “quick wins”. Take the time to learn before executing and think of “winning” as the result of iterative experimentation. That said, the main thing you, as a new PM, bring to the table is a fresh perspective. That perspective is invaluable and could lead to great insights. We all tend to make assumptions about users’ behavior or their likelihood to convert or churn, ...Read More