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Milena Krasteva

AMA: Walmart Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology, Milena Krasteva on PM Soft and Hard Skills

June 9 @ 10:00AM PST
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Walmart Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology, Milena Krasteva on PM Soft and Hard Skills
Top Questions
What should I do when I don't think that the feedback from my boss is correct and how do I approach it?
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.
Milena Krasteva
Milena Krasteva
Walmart Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology • June 9
Even when feedback seems completely unfair, there may be some small nugget to pay attention to. So, in general don't dismiss the feedback without some introspection. Giving objective feedback is actually hard to do; most people can't distinguish between whether it is their own pet peeves that are......Read More
368 Views
1 request
When joining a new team as a product manager, is it better to have the right soft skills and have to learn the hard skills of the job? Or vice versa?
Milena Krasteva
Milena Krasteva
Walmart Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology • June 9
This reminds me of an interview question I got a very long time ago: "Is it better to have a bad team or a bad manager". In both cases, you'd rather not find yourself in either extreme. In both cases, there is no right or wrong answer and a lot depends on additional circumstances and assumptions.......Read More
2444 Views
1 request
What are mistakes product managers make when trying to get buy in for their roadmap that end up damaging stakeholder relationships?
Milena Krasteva
Milena Krasteva
Walmart Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology • June 9
It seems all too easy to NOT get roadmap buy-in. Sometimes, it can feel like the default answer is always "No" at first, and despite all the work you have done, you are getting sent back to the drawing board. Some things that help, not in any particular order: * Go as wide as possible early ......Read More
697 Views
2 requests
What is the most underrated soft skill of a high performing PM?
Milena Krasteva
Milena Krasteva
Walmart Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology • June 9
I'd love to answer this in a slightly different way: The single most important skill, that cannot be rated highly enough is Communication. Many other soft skills are fundamentally still rooted in or are dependent on communication.  Nuanced aspects of communication also matter: * adapting com......Read More
501 Views
2 requests
How can someone from a different field like engineering transition to product management?
Milena Krasteva
Milena Krasteva
Walmart Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology • June 9
Fairly easily potentially, compared to transitioning from other less-related fields. Product Management is as much art as it is discipline or science. Leveraging technical expertise related to the same or adjacent PM area helps. Some job descriptions will even require engineering experience or ar......Read More
465 Views
2 requests
What made you decide to choose Product Management over Product Marketing?
Milena Krasteva
Milena Krasteva
Walmart Sr Director II, Product Management - Marketing Technology • June 9
The two disciplines are very different, despite some intersections on go-to-market, outbound communications, and occasional blurred lines between the roles in some companies regarding strategy and customer requirements. Early on in my career I had the opportunity to simultaneously work in both fu......Read More
563 Views
1 request