Sidharth Raina — The 5 What
Sidharth Raina
Product Lead at Fidelity International, lives in New Delhi, India
About
A Pharmaceutical graduate with a PGD in Clinical Research, managed to migrate early in the Financial Services industry staying there for over a decade surfing across Operations, Technology and Business. Despite my base location in India, I’ve had the opportunity to work in the UK and Europe assisting the relevant business areas. An ideator or contributor towards other ideas and innovation which improves customer experience.
Outside work, am a military enthusiast, geo-political interests, and a novice/amateur bass guitar player. Pre-COVID era, tried to visit one new country/place a year.
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The 5 What
What is the most valuable thing you carry with you from the beginning of your journey as a product person?
Never assume anything, always question & document everything. If possible, try using the product yourself and then compare notes, whatever you feel using it will potentially be the same as the actual end customer.
Also as I’ve worked across geographies, my interest to understand different cultures helped me connect & understand end users better.
What do you identify as a common thing among people working on product development?
Data, Design Thinking and User experience. All genuine product managers talk about these factors consistently. I feel these to be the skeleton and everything else as muscles and tissues around it.
Another factor I see is the ability to connect the dots which is present amongst PMs.
What do you think will be the next big trend in product development?
Before COVID, I would’ve said AI, ML and bits of blockchain (interrelated though) but COVID, I'm sure the healthcare/pharmaceutical/medicinal equipment industry will see a major spike in its product development.
Not to mention that nothing happens unless there’s any innovation, no matter how frugal.
E.g. the desperate need for ventilators during COVID. How innovators tried tweaking existing ones to maximize its usage.
What have you learned recently?
I am learning Executive Presence and leadership aspects. With my previous experience in handling teams, working in an agile & scrum environment, I’m used to firefighting but now and trying to learn the art of presenting yourself in front of other decision makers allowing to create a wider impact and have a better audience to listen to your ideas.
What would you like to say to the product people who are reading this text?
While there are more experienced PM/POs out there, I humbly share my two cents below:
- Treat your failures the same way you treat your success. In other words, don’t be shy to fail.
- Keep on evolving and never stick to a standard template of working or approach to any item.
- Because you’re a PM, you’ve developed an instinct. Do not underestimate it and feel free to use it as long as you can back it up with facts.
- Always have data ready to support your decision. If you don’t have it, find it. All my fellow PMs end up in a situation where they’re questioned of their decision.
