Sacha Dawes

Firstly, thank you for your question, and it’s one that I believe any aspiring or seasoned product manager should be asking.  The fact is that regardless of your domain, both business and technical landscapes continue to change, and as a product management leader I try to stay at the forefront of changes. In terms of where to look, it really comes down to where you are in your career, and what you’re looking to get out of the training.  Also, remember that not all training needs to be classroom- ...Read More

This can be a challenging situation, which may have come about for several reasons such as where the organization may not value or understand the role of product management or may have had a previous experience that shifted the focus of the function to be more execution oriented. Here are some approaches that you might try: Clarify your role, responsibilities and goals.  Ideally you should meet with your manager at least once per week, and you can use this time to discuss your job description an ...Read More

A strong, collaborative partnership between Product Management and Product Marketing—built on continuous communication—is critical to ensuring the success of any product or feature launch. This alignment directly impacts product readiness, go-to-market execution, and long-term product adoption. Too often, product marketers are brought in only at the eleventh hour, expected to deliver a “Mardi Gras”–style launch without sufficient context or preparation. This reactive approach typically leads to ...Read More

In our product meetings, we expect Product Marketing to bring the market and customer perspective to the table. While Product Management is focused on building the right solution, Product Marketing helps ensure we're telling the right story, targeting the right segments, and preparing the organization to bring the product to market effectively. Specifically, we look to our Product Marketers to: Bring customer insights, competitive context, and market trends to help validate problem-solution fit. ...Read More

In my experience, Product Marketing should be engaged as early as possible when working on a new feature or enhancement. Early involvement ensures alignment not only on the problem being solved and the value of the solution, but also on how it will be positioned, messaged, and brought to market. Product Marketing is a strategic partner, not just a downstream communicator. They bring a critical Go-To-Market perspective to the table—helping shape the narrative, validate customer and market fit, an ...Read More

There’s no universally “correct” answer to whether Product Marketing should report into Product Management or Marketing. The optimal structure often depends on the expectations, scope, and maturity of the Product Marketing function within the organization. In my experience, I’ve seen Product Marketing report into both functions—and the reporting line often reflects how the role is defined. In some organizations, Product Marketing operates more tactically—focused on content creation or sales supp ...Read More

Product Management (PM) and Product Marketing (PMM) roles are often deeply connected, and while there is often some overlap in areas of focus, they generally require distinct skill sets rooted in their respective mandates: building the right product vs. bringing the product to market effectively. Core Skills for a Product Manager (PM) include: Customer Discovery & Problem Solving: Ability to uncover user needs and define the right problems to solve. Understanding of what makes a great user e ...Read More

If anyone has gotten close to a complete list of must-have items for product leaders it is Amazon with their Leadership Principles (see https://www.aboutamazon.com/about-us/leadership-principles).  These represent a list of 16 principles that cover a wide area of areas including communication, strategic thinking, data analysis, research, organizational management, and more. Any product leader (or product management professional) will find it challenging to be successful at all those principles, ...Read More

Thank you for your question.  To start, it’s important to note that product management and project management are distinct roles with different focuses and responsibilities, where: Product Management is typically about creating and enhancing a product that addresses customer problems in a way that the customer is willing to pay for that solution. Project Management is typically focused on delivering specific projects against constraints that can include scope, a fixed timeline and budget. There ...Read More

Firstly, I’m sorry to hear about your recent layoff and hope that you are finding or will soon find some great opportunities.  That said, a huge kudos to you for looking to keep your skills up to date, which will show any prospective employer your dedication to product management, while also benefiting you in the long run. When it comes to AI/ML, there are a wide and growing number of resources available to you. It’s still a very new space, and so my guidance here would apply both to you and oth ...Read More