3 Things That Give 80/20 Results in Your First 90 Days as a Product Manager

To succeed in a new product role, you’re going to need a handful of things.

I’ve been through a few ups & downs as a PM.

Every time in a new role, it felt like starting a new business from scratch. PM work is different company-to-company.

I want to give you the distillation of the best things to do when starting a new role.

I hope this can set you up for the kind of success that grows your influence & improves your craft.

Queue up 3–5 user interviews in your first week

Right before you start, make sure you have at least 3–5 users to talk to in the first week or so.

You’ll need to get up to speed with the problem space asap. And what better way to do this than to get it from real users?

(If your manager can’t make it happen, you’ll know the challenge ahead right upfront.)

Since you’re new, focus on the value prop from the eyes of the user.

Ask “What does the product help you do?” and listen. Then synthesise the answers & play that back to your manager.

Start a playback ritual to recap the week (otherwise, observe)

Speaking of playbacks, the best PMs do this weekly.

You’re a context hog by nature of the job. Often you will take on some project management responsibilities. (But make sure you share these responsibilities with your team.)

Design a tiny habit to do this. You’ll need is regular event on the calendar, a template, and a weekly review ritual to collect the data.

My friend Terence does this with a Miro board & a video so others can watch it async.

Book 3 x 1-hour mobbing sessions with the designer & tech lead

You need to know the product in & out. The reality is that no onboarding task will be enough.

Go deep into the app, the code, the Figma files — anything you can get your hands on. Do this with your product partners. The amount of learning that will happen in these sessions will be 10X anything you do by yourself..

There’s always more to do.

You’ll find great First 90 day plans around the web.

But these are the key things that I believe will set you up for massive success.