The 5 Types of Product Managers and Their Focus

Image Credit Bruno Bueno

In as much as it is advised to be technical as a product manager, it is important to note that there are 5 kinds of Product Managers and different kinds depends on who they are facing and what skills they have handy under their belts

I will list the various types of PMs here:

Image Credit: Christina Morillo

1. Technical Product Manager (TPM): These are the Engineering focused PMs and more often than not, they have a technical background,either by working with the Engineers for a long time or they themselves were engineers before they transitioned into PM. For a TPM,it is very important to have core technical knowledge. Also, I should not fail to mention that TPMs might not be able to write codes but they understand the underlying principles of Engineering
2. Analytical/Data Science Product Manager (APM): The analytical Product Manager are as well technical in some sort but not as Technical as the TPMs. This category of PMs are focused on data and they drive business decisions. Some key skills of an APM includes SQL, Python, R among other tools needed in analyzing data. The may be refered to as the Knowledge Base of the organizations products who don’t only recommend decisions about products but also follow through with implementation of those decisions. The unique thing about the APMs is that they are customer focused, design focused and business focused all at the same time, thus making them very essential to the success of product
3. Market Product Managers (MPM): This category of Product Managers are User focused product Managers, they are the custodian of user Persona, User research, Product Market Fit, they are knowledgeable about what motivates the users to buy and use the Product, what will appeal the market etc. The MPM usually have their background in Marketing and Sales, Public Relations, etc. and the role of an MPM is very indispensable when it comes to Product Go-To-Market.
4. Visionary Product Manager (VPM): The visionary product manager are the category of product managers that are concerned about the long term strategies for the business, the VPM roadmap is not for the next quarter but for the next few years. The VPM is the strategist that knows best how the current strategy fits into the long term goal of the organization. The VPM work extensively on strategy and hand them down to the day to day PMs. The VPM more often than not will prefer to work with the unusual class of Product Managers known as the GSD-PM. Visionary PMs are more Business Focued PMs
5. The Get-Shit-Done PMs: The GSD-PMs are the goal driven more often the pain in the butt kind of PMs whose objective is to roll out the product irrespective of what the challenges might be. Excuses and nos is always out of the equation with the GSD-PM, they are the uncommon ones that are usually found in Startups or organizations that needs some rapid change. I refer to them as the Wartime Product Managers a lot of times. This category of PMs are usually at loggerheads with Engineers and will never look back. They are very focused on getting the product into the hands of the users/customers within the specified time, irrespective of what it will take.