How to Succeed as a Non-Technical PM by Spotify's Product Owner

Product Management Event in New York about How to Succeed as a Non-Technical Product Manager.

Many companies require Product Managers to have a technical background - whether it be a formal Computer Science degree or experience with writing code.

"Over the years I've been self-conscious about my lack of technical background, yet I’ve learned that technical skills aren’t everything when it comes to Product Management." Jori Bell broke down the myth of needing technical skills to be a successful Product Manager.

She talked about how you need to understand the types of skills that will make you a successful Product Manager. She also discussed the importance of bringing non-technical value to a team and how to do it, and how you can build trust with a technical team.

Jori Bell is a Product Manager at Spotify. Prior to Spotify, she was a Product Manager all over New York City. She has worked at SoundCloud, Rolling Stone and AOL, Inc. She hails from Chicago and has a soft spot for deep dish pizza. Jori holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism.

Chapter 1 0:40 Agenda
Chapter 2 2:05 Speaker Intro
Chapter 3 7:55 First Product Manager Title at Soundcloud
Chapter 4 10:37 Why talk about something you CAN'T do?
Chapter 5 13:20 What Is Product Management?
Chapter 6 14:55 Why Are There so Many Differing Definitions for Product Management?
Chapter 7 18:10 Product Managers Need to Know "Enough"
Chapter 8 23:22 Technical Product Managers Can Be Limiting for Engineers
Chapter 9 27:25 If Not Coding What Do I Need?
Chapter 10 30:55 Where to Start When You've Never Worked with Engineers Before?
Chapter 11 33:05 Where to Start When Interviewing?
Chapter 12 42:30 Questions from the Audience

ABOUT US:

Product School is the world’s first tech business school. We offer certified Product Management, Coding, and Data courses; our instructors are real-world managers working at top tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Snapchat, Airbnb, LinkedIn, PayPal, and Netflix.

Our classes are part-time, designed to fit into your work schedule, and the campuses are located in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York, Orange County and Los Angeles.

Product leaders from local top tech companies visit Product School campuses each week. Through lectures, panel discussions, and a variety of other forums, the world’s top product managers visit Product School to provide invaluable real-world insights into critical management issues.

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[fookiebear]

this video basically answered all my concerns about PM. if you ever see this, thank u Jori ily <3

[InstaTeacher]

I studied English Language Linguistics, during my studies I dabbled into Quality Assurance job. In that position I really learned how a development team works and how to work with a PM and designers. Naturally, 3 years later I moved to Product Management. I think doing Quality Assurance is a very good stepping stone, as well. I was not a technical person in the past, and I'm not technical at the moment either, but I learnt to understand how the systems we have work, how they relate and I understood the impact of each decision.

The speaker hasn't mentioned much about importance for a Product Manager to understand analytics to be properly able to measure the impact and performance, which I think is one of the crucial parts of the job.

[CS-ycqp]

I’m interviewing for a apprenticeship role at my job and felt skeptical for not having much technical background but you are a voice of confidence, thank you for sharing 😊

[srikanthjnr]

This is hands-down, one of the best product management videos I have seen in recent times. Great breakdown of your day-to-day experiences in simple terms, no loaded big business terms. The fact that you come from a non-tech background really highlights and elevates your product management experience in a unique light but for everyone to understand in simple terms.

[hxvideo]

This is a very useful intro to the PM; I'm also coming from a non- technical bg, and am facing similar challenges, your story is very encouraging!

[yourshitsweakx]

Thia video really helped ease my imposter syndrome. I just recently accepted a position as a product manager and started doing a bunch of research on how to excel in this role. Your explanation of product mgmt sounds very similar to the job I am leaving for this new opportunity. Funny to think I was acting as a product manager without really knowing it. This makes me feel more confident starting my new job and excited knowing what career path I am interested in. 😀

[ayeshasal]

You are honest. Normally, no one expects PM's to know how to code but just understand how different components work together, bring creativity, structure, and the voice and needs of those they may not directly want to interact with.
Knowing the techncial capabilities and the limitations is definitely a plus.
What you described is a common challenge from anyone coming from a non-development or engineering/infrastructure background.
You pushed through it learning along the way and now speaking about it. ✌️

[zeinabibrahim]

Loved it. she explained everything in details and addressing the main issues while providing the solutions. Was really helpful. As a non tech pm as well I’m so proud of you hun ❤

[BeeHalo]

Great career storyline!
Product School-- during any Q&A sessions please remind the presenters to repeat the question.

[irenalam]

Absolutely loved this Product School session. Really appreciate her transparency and encouragement. It definitely opened my eyes to different perspectives and methods toward being a great PM.

[chellakumarpm]

Very informative and Jory's humility and openness adds a lot of confidence in budding Non-Tech PMs like me.

[cherilsurejjayan]

Very informative for ppl who aspires to be PM coming from nontech background. Most of the points discussed really clarified on how to look PM from a different perspective. 🙂🙂

[bluemoon]

Thanks for this great video! As a graduate student in Villanova University's Agile Management program, I've learned quite a bit about product ownership, and am expanding my education into product management now as well. This has been very helpful as I have an instructional design background with light UX, wireframing/front end development, persona creation, and customer research skills, but no hard technical background.

[buckstraw]

Hmmm.... I think a Product Manager can quite easily point to the development of a product in order to demonstrate a portfolio. It is actually far easier than for a developer to show what they've done. One other thing to point out is that the role of Product Manager isn't new. It has been around for decades. It is a role in a phase of being redefined though which I think is what the presenter was communicating. Overall, a very nice presentation particularly for non technical people aspiring to be a Product Manager.

[sandeephadole]

This was very nice session and cleared the myth of requiring the tech background for the PM Role.
one suggestion ..question asked by participant not clearly audible in the video.

[abhaydh]

Really nice session. That "thanx guys" at the end could cause people to fall flat.
Thank you! :)

[_kayphil]

I enjoyed the talk. The video quality however is not great. I can't see the text on the screen.

[phingers]

You really need to give the audience a microphone to ask their questions or make comments. Maybe you've done this in more recent sessions?

[HarsivoEdu]

Made my day :) thanks. It's valuable info :)

[iampetrunin]

Very motivating speech, thanks so much!