Hit the ground running when starting as Product Manager at a new company

Eitan Gersh Kaplawi -

Provided value within a week of starting at a new company.
During COVID-19 lockdown, here's what I did

I started a new job as a Product Manager.
Due to the Coronavirus I’ve been working from home since day 1, the company isn’t used to working remote, in fact, they switched to work remote a day before I joined 🤦🏻‍♂️
So my onboarding process went out the window…

Fearing downsizing due to Covid, my aim was to provide value ASAP (ROI).
Below are a few things that helped me accomplish this fast! (within a week of starting).

Since the end of my first week I’ve been getting very positive feedback, that I’m doing great work and and exceeding their expectations! (I’m nearly 3 weeks there and already got assigned a few key efforts).

I got this feedback from various ppl and roles: my manager (VP Product), another PM, Team Tech Lead, DEVs and QA on the team, account managers, integration ppl, etc.
The purpose isn’t to brag, but to provide proof of effectiveness.

Here are a few things I did that I think helped

  1. I’ve been taking notes of (nearly) every meeting I joined and shared them with the ppl that were in the meeting.
    Thanks Tiago Forte and David Perell! 🙏🏼
    (also got the team to use PARA 😛)
  2. Especially on remote calls the note taker holds quite a bit of power, he is the driver of the meeting and can set the tone afterwards by sharing things such as action items, deadlines and owners.
  3. Good note taking provides more clarity for everyone. Instead of a pile of bricks, a clean and nice sidewalk.
  4. I ask a lot of questions, and since I also take notes, the answers are documented, and I can get back to my notes.
  5. One of the quickest wins was doing project management stuff, which helped me learn. We now call it being a “Learning Router”.
  6. Over communicate — I Write weekly updates with my goals, ppl I met, things I noticed that I think can be done differently, and general feeling. Everyone is swamped with #Covid_19 I try to make it easier to my manager, and team mates.
  7. Any new Slack channel I was added to I introduced myself, my role, and who I’m shadowing. Ppl got to know me, and wished me luck 😀
  8. Being the new guy has power, you are expected to ask a lot of questions, and you can use this to ask even dumb or obvious questions… Why are we doing this? Do we have to do this? What if we don’t? If I gave you a magic wand what’s the one thing you’d solve?

I’d be glad to answer your questions, shot!

(Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash)