Episode 3: From Consulting to Cognite PM
In this episode of Paths to Product, I interviewed Katrine Tjolsen and learned how she went from being a consultant at McKinsey to becoming a Product Manager at Cognite.
Listen to Katrine’s episode on anchor.fm here.
Background
Katrine was born and raised in Norway, went to high school in Brazil, and got her undergraduate and Masters degrees in Computer Science in the US at MIT.
Upon graduating, Katrine joined McKinsey’s Oslo office as a consultant. After some time at McKinsey, Katrine realized she wanted an opportunity that would let her have more autonomy and give her the ability to see projects through, so she joined Cognite as a Product Manager. Cognite’s main product is Cognite Data Platform, which is an industrial data ops platform.
At Cognite, Katrine is the Product Portfolio Lead, and leads the core APIs.
Top Three Takeaways
1. Consider starting at a startup
If you’re looking to transition into Product Management, consider pursuing your first PM job at a startup. Not only do startups provide exposure to a range of different job functions, but they also tend to be less particular on the pre-requisite backgrounds of candidates, and are more willing to hire based on potential and ability to learn. Katrine mentions how in her early days at Cognite she got to participate in sales meetings and create marketing content, helping her learn new things that have enabled her to be a better PM.
2. Dare to Lead
Product Managers must be leaders. From day one, they are often required to make big decisions. While that can be challenging, it’s important for PMs, regardless of seniority, to dare to lead. PMs need to decide on a direction, even if they are taking a risk and there is a chance that they may be wrong. Making mistakes is okay, as long as you own them, learn from them, and make better decisions in the future.
3. Connect with other PMs
Katrine highlights the value of connecting with other PMs and creating or joining product discussion groups. These can be groups of PMs within or outside your company. It’s a great way to learn from other people’s experiences and mistakes, and get different perspectives on approaching product problems.
