In the first 90 days of your new product manager leadership role, you have the opportunity to discover and propose new directions for your team. It’s vital not to waste this time. To be most effective, it’s wise to go in with a plan. But do you know where to start? In this webinar, we are joined by Jim Semick of ProductPlan, Ambica Sogal of Hewlett Packard, Roxanne Mustafa of VMware, and Kevin Steigerwald of Jama Software. Our expert panel digs into how you should be spending your first 90 days in a new role. Whether you are joining a new company or a new team, you’ll learn the crucial steps you need to take to be successful. You’ll lean hat questions you need to be asking and what to look out for with incumbent tools and processes that may slow you down.

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Kevin Steigerwald
Jama Software
The Product Stack Co-Founder
–
Jama Software Director of Product Design
Moderator

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Today’s Panel
Jim Semick
Co-founder at ProductPlan
Ambica Sogal
Sr. Product Manager at Aruba
Roxanne Mustafa
Design Lead at VMware and
Pivotal Tracker

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WWW.WEBSITE.COM
Agenda
1. New Company vs New Role
2. People
3. Strategy
4. Tools & Process
5. Live Q&A
Submit questions at any time
during the webinar!

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Why are you joining us today?
Poll 1

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New Company vs New Role
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● Build Trust
○ Be egoless — don't rock the boat.
Be open about what you don't
know. Ask questions with earnest.
● Demonstrate Knowledge
○ Find ways to contribute early by
focusing on your skillset. Stay
curious and ask questions.
● Develop Empathy
○ Talk to customers. Talk to customer
support teams. Seek additional
opinions outside your team.
When Joining a New Company

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● Build Trust
○ Be open minded — be prepared to
let go of pre-existing beliefs.
● Demonstrate Knowledge
○ Share your expertise and offer,
don't force, your point of view.
● Develop Empathy
○ Talk to your team and understand
their challenges.
When Starting a New Role

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What have you found to be the most
challenging when joining a new team?
Poll 2

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First 90 Days: People
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● Learn about product through your
sphere of influence. Start with those
closest to your role, move outward
over time.
● Don’t just talk to your team. Talk to
Sales, Engineering, Customer Support,
AND customers.
● Use being “new” to your advantage to
get access to certain people/discuss
certain topics.
● Validate your learnings by closing
loops with leadership or stakeholders.
● Create artifacts for the next person.
People Recap

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First 90 Days: Strategy
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● Read, read, and read more. Start
with competitive analysis and
existing documentation on
historical roadmap decisions.
● Understand your purview and what
you are accountable for.
● Dig into metrics. Question, don’t
challenge.
● Buy yourself time by focusing on
discovery first. Don’t pick a
direction you don’t understand yet.
Strategy Recap

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First 90 Days: Tools & Process
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● Make sure to get on the right email
lists and meetings ASAP.
● Focus on jobs-to-be-done over
selecting the “right” tool. Keep
things moving while you have time
to evaluate.
● Know what tools you are
accountable for. Understand how
they are functioning and the value
they provide before replacing or
changing.
● Don’t keep stale backlogs around.
Tools & Processes
Recap

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Live Q & A

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Thank You.
Continue the conversation:
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Read more on this topic:
www.productplan.com/product-manager-first-30-days/
www.productplan.com/product-manager-first-90-days/