My First 100 Days in Office…as a Junior Product Manager
I’ve held the “office” of Junior Product Manager at OTL Ventures for roughly 100 days now — no small feat, some might even say it’s huge. And although in my first 100 days my team didn’t pass any bills sending humans to Mars or institute copious tax cuts, we also didn’t make enemies with Russia or lose half our staff so you tell me who’s winning.
Day one in office went something like I imagine the first day as President to be like — if you don’t know something, Google it. And not unlike the Presidency, I’ve been surprised at how much I’ve learned already, humbled by the team I have the privilege of working alongside, and passionate about the value we bring to our clients. So here are a few lessons I’ve learned from my first 100 days in office…as a Junior Product Manager.
1. QA is an excellent way to engage with a new product
I have spent a good majority of my time testing our client’s products and for me, it was the perfect way to start. QA allows you to engage with a product at a molecular level and formed in me a problem-solving mindset right out of the gate. This has allowed me to develop a high standard for accuracy & not compromising on quality, while also learning the balance of focusing on what’s most valuable & most impactful.
2. The importance of a good Cabinet
The value of a kick-ass team is certainly not a new insight. Having the opportunity to work alongside Seamus, Luciano & Kilburg was one of my driving motivations for joining OTL in the first place. It’s been a constant reminder how rare it is to feel like you would be content to do just about any task if you’re surrounded by the right people. It is a privilege to work with stellar engineers who have copious & undue measures of patience for my many questions & silly mistakes. It is an honor to have teammates who are uncompromising in their pursuit of excellence, both for the standard of work we execute and the value we offer our clients. They are tenacious & compelling, stubborn in what they believe while maintaining a posture of humility and relentless to pursue how they can be better, never growing stagnant. Their drive for excellence is unparalleled and admirable but also contagious. At team OTL grit is not a goal, it is implied.
3. Be assertive, be opinionated & ask more questions
I’ll admit this is an area where I have a lot of room to grow. It’s good to be reminded that none of us has “arrived”, neither is that the goal. Although I have much to learn from a teammate who has 10+ years of experience on me, holding back suggestions and my perspective because I can’t boast as much experience is never a good stance. And sometimes it prevents me from taking risks. When I let myself succumb to the false notion that I haven’t “made it” yet I lose an opportunity to add value and holding back prevents us from growing as a team. There is such a thing as a stupid question but not asking at all only leads to more misunderstanding. I imagine that if we knew all the questions Presidents have asked their first 100 days in office, we’d be able to empathize a bit more & think of them as just a bit more human.
I don’t think there’s been a week where I’ve done the exact same thing two days in a row here and I love that. Not only am I constantly challenged technically in my Jr. PM role, I also have the benefit of learning about every industry our clients are a part of. Whether it requires me to understand the greatest challenges facing commercial kitchens, the best way for landlords to screen potential tenants or the benefit of paying cashlessly for customers booking manual labor jobs.
And on my 40 minute bike ride home each day, if I’m not listening to a podcast that Seamus & Kilburg have recommended, mulling over Luciano’s serious Sketch skills or geeking out about how I never thought running sequel queries in a database could be this much fun, I usually just run over & over in my mind how incredibly overwhelmed & thankful I am that I get to do this. I can say without hesitation that I’ll have something new to learn every day I’m here — I wouldn’t want to be in a position where that wasn’t the case.
So here’s to another hundred days of triumphs & hurdles, questions & discoveries, collaboration & excellence, grit & propulsion. If it’s anything like the last 100, I’m in for a hell of a ride.
More on what we do & who we work with.
More on how we got started.
