You've got this brilliant feature idea.

You've done the research, talked to users, even built a prototype.

But when you pitch it to the team, you get:

- "We don't have time"
- "What about technical debt?"
- "How does this fit our roadmap?"

Here's what I learned after 50+ feature pitches that failed: The biggest mistake I see PMs make:

They think "buy-in" means convincing people their idea is good.

Wrong.

You're not selling a feature. You're selling a story.

And the story isn't about your solution, it's about a problem everyone already agrees exists.

Your technical skills got you the PM role.

But your stakeholder skills will make or break you.

I lost multiple battles as a PM by being "right" but ineffective.

Here's what I’d do differently now: 1/ First, understand why smart people push back against good data:

• They have context you don't
• They're optimizing for different goals
• They see risks you haven't considered
• They have pressure from their stakeholders
• Past experiences are coloring their judgment

Your engineering background is a superpower for writing PRDs.

But only if you know how to translate technical depth into business impact.

After reviewing probably about ~ 100 technical PRDs last year, here's what separates great ones from the rest 🧠 1/ First, a hard truth:

Your technical expertise can actually work against you when writing PRDs for non-technical stakeholders.

The more you know, the harder it becomes to explain simply.

This is why senior engineers often struggle more than juniors when becoming PMs.

Most PMs burn out... Not from overwork, but misalignment.

They thought they'd build great products.
Instead: endless stakeholder alignment and decks.

After 100+ PM interviews and 200+ JD analyses, I decoded the hidden red flags.

I'll teach you in 5 minutes what took me years: "Strategic thinking" isn't what you think it is

Most PMs assume strategic work means:
• Vision creation
• Market analysis
• Product direction

Product Management Maxims: Hard-earned wisdom for the daily work

A thread of practical rules that will save you years of painful lessons. ⚡ 1. If you want good requirements, talk to five customers. If you want great requirements, watch five customers struggle with your product.

People lie about what they need. They never lie about what frustrates them.

How To Get Rid Of Analysis Paralysis Forever, Even If You’ve Tried Everything: 👇 1. Stop using good outcomes to validate your process.

A successful feature ≠ good decision
Failed experiment ≠ bad decision

Track your decisions BEFORE knowing outcomes. Compare your expected probability of success vs actual.

This exposes your true hit rate.

The number 1 mistake ex-engineers make in PM roles:

Prioritizing possibility over value.

Let's uncover this fallacy and reverse it in just 3 minutes. 🧵 1/ the engineering brain is wired to ask "can we build this?"

feasibility becomes the primary filter.

technical complexity becomes exciting.

user value becomes secondary.

this creates predictable patterns:

If you're a new PM preparing for your first roadmap presentation, then you're probably making the same mistake that made me cry in my car afterward.

My director said: 'This isn't what we expected from you.'

Here's what I wish someone had told me ↙️ 1/ The hard truth: Executives don't care about your roadmap.

They care about business outcomes, market position, and risk mitigation.

Your job isn't to present a timeline – it's to tell a compelling story about where the business is going.

Most PMs chasing "technical skills" think they need to learn code.

But what they’re really chasing is credibility, confidence, and career security.

The myth of the "technical PM" keeps you stuck.

I'll teach you in 2 minutes what took me 5 years to see:
🧵 1/16 When someone says they want to be "technical," they're really saying they want job security in a world where engineers make the rules.

They want to belong in technical conversations instead of feeling like an outsider.

They want respect from people who think non-technical means less valuable.

This has nothing to do with code.

2/16

Designer: "Which dropdown pattern should we use?"
You: "Send me both, I'll decide"

Engineer: "The API response is unclear"
You: "I'll write up the requirements"

Stakeholder: "Can you check if legal approved this?"
You: "I'll follow up"

Welcome to PM monkey collection 🐒 🧵 ↓ 2/ The "monkey" = any task that needs a next move.

Classic management concept, but PMs face a unique twist:

We don't manage these people. Yet somehow we end up doing their work.

"We need to fix technical debt"

If you say this in executive meetings, you've already lost.

I learned this the hard way after 7 years as a Technical PM.

My background was actually making these conversations worse.

Here's the exact playbook that changed everything: 1/ Stop talking about technical debt.

"Debt" implies past mistakes. It triggers defensive responses.

Instead, frame it as "infrastructure investment" or "technical leverage opportunities."

*This isn't semantics - it fundamentally changes the conversation from blame to opportunity.*

Why most junior Product Managers fail to develop these core skills:

(It's not lack of talent. It's predictable failure modes that can be avoided.) 1/ Failure Mode #1: The Analysis Paralysis Trap

Junior PMs over-research instead of testing assumptions.

→ Spend weeks on competitive analysis vs. talking to 5 users
→ Write 20-page strategy docs vs. shipping small experiments
→ Request more data vs. making reversible decisions

Falsifier: If you can't ship something testable in 2 weeks, you're overthinking.

The 7 product management skills that separate senior PMs from junior ones: 1/ Prioritization

Not just "what to build next" but:

→ Which themes get roadmap focus
→ How to sequence projects for maximum impact
→ When to kill projects that aren't working
→ How to say no without burning bridges

Test: Can you defend your top 3 priorities to skeptical engineers?

the best product managers ignore 90% of execution tasks that junior PMs obsess over.

no ticket grooming. no standup theater. no backlog babysitting.

took me a few years to learn this brutal truth.

here's the only framework that matters: 🧵👇 1/ Stop running the daily standup

"But who'll run it if I don't?" Any eng can do it, rotate the schedule

Why? Every minute you spend running process is a minute not spent on:

- Finding highest-impact problems
- Aligning stakeholders on vision
- Uncovering hidden assumptions

1/6 The Skills AI Will Take From Product Managers 👀

Here's the truth that'll keep you up at night: AI is coming for 80% of what you do today as a PM.

Data collection, slide decks, user stories, competitive analysis reports - all that stuff you learned in your first 90 days? AI does it better, faster, and without needing coffee breaks.

You're not a chef who's about to be replaced by a microwave. You're a chef who's about to stop chopping onions.

Think about it. Every great restaurant has line cooks doing the prep work - chopping vegetables, measuring ingredients, following recipes exactly.

That's what most PMs spend their days doing. Writing the same user stories. Making the same slides. Running the same analyses.

AI is your new line cook. And if you're smart, you'll let it handle the prep while you do what actually matters. 2/6 The Simple Rules That'll Save Your Career:
1. If AI can generate it in 5 minutes, then don't spend 5 hours on it.
2. If it's about collecting data, then let AI do the heavy lifting.
3. If it's about understanding WHY users do something, then that's still your job.
4. If it's about choosing WHAT to build, then AI can't replace your judgment.
5. If it's about convincing skeptical stakeholders, then AI can draft but you need to deliver.

After studying high-performing PMs for years, I noticed something strange:

The most impactful product managers often do LESS than their peers.

They write shorter docs. Hold fewer meetings. Create simpler processes.

They've mastered making impact look effortless.

Here's how: I spent my first 3 years as a PM writing 30-page PRDs no one read and creating complex processes no one followed.

I thought "good product work = hard product work."

But what if the opposite is true? What if making it harder actually reduces your impact?

You left engineering because you were tired of:

- PMs who don't understand system dependencies
- "Product people" who can't think in flows
- Leaders who demand random features
- Roadmaps built on hope

But what if product management was actually about systems?

"Thinking in Systems" blew my mind: 1/ Most technical people are trained to see the world as a series of cause-and-effect relationships:

- Input → Process → Output
- Problem → Solution
- Bug → Fix

But products are systems, with:

- Multiple feedback loops
- Delays
- Unintended consequences

Roadmaps 101: Not a schedule. Not a backlog. A communication tool.

Here’s how to get it right: 1. Why You Need a Roadmap

If you don't have a roadmap, three bad things happen. Your team builds random features. Your stakeholders constantly ask when things will be ready. Your customers don't understand what's coming next.

If you have a roadmap, everyone knows what's important and when to expect it.

Most PMs bomb this interview question:

“Tell me about a time you influenced without authority.”

It’s not about persuasion.

Here’s what they’re really testing: First, understand what kills most answers.

Candidates tell stories about convincing people. They talk about charisma. They focus on winning arguments.

But that's not influence without authority. That's just being loud.

If you tell a story about winning a debate, then you already failed.

Everyone asks, "How do I break into PM?" but nobody asks, "What would I actually DO as a PM?"

Here's the truth every aspiring, junior or jaded product manager needs to hear: 1/ Most of you would hate this job. Let me show you what product managers really do all day.

Product managers often end up as professional cat herders who write documents that nobody reads.

Your technical skills got you the PM role.

But your stakeholder skills will make or break you.

I lost multiple battles as a PM by being "right" but ineffective.

Here's what I’d do differently now: 1/ First, understand why smart people push back against good data:

• They have context you don't
• They're optimizing for different goals
• They see risks you haven't considered
• They have pressure from their stakeholders
• Past experiences are coloring their judgment