Most Important Skills for a Product Manager at ChargePoint
Kevin, a Product Manager at ChargePoint, highlights effective communication as a crucial skill, emphasizing the ability to "translate" information between different teams and business contexts. This requires strong technical knowledge, business fluency, and ideally, industry familiarity, although Kevin notes that "quickly get[ting] into a new industry" is possible with a strong work ethic.
Communication, Technical Skills, Business Acumen, Industry Knowledge, Problem-Solving
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Kevin Chung
Product Manager
ChargePoint
Cornell University 2011
UCLA MBA
Political Science, American Studies
Energy & Utilities, Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member, LGBTQ, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Effective communication skills are crucial for conveying information to various teams (engineering, design, etc.) in a way that each team can understand.
2. Possessing business fluency, including understanding profit generation, cost analysis, and revenue potential, is vital for making sound business decisions.
3. While industry familiarity is often preferred, the ability to learn quickly and build trust can be equally important for success, especially when transitioning into a new industry.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
Many companies look for the perfect unicorn product manager, someone who is both left- and right-brained, a designer and an engineer. I think what companies expect can sometimes be over the top.
However, the core skills for this role tend to be the ability to communicate very well with engineering teams, design teams, and other stakeholders. This involves using both left- and right-brain thinking to effectively communicate ideas, regardless of the other person's role.
For example, if an engineer is in the room, can you translate requirements into terms they understand? This requires strong communication skills and technical knowledge.
Another critical skill is business fluency. This means translating your work into the needs of the business. Are you generating profits? What are the costs and potential revenue for a new project?
Industry familiarity is also often mentioned by companies. While some roles allow for quick adaptation to a new industry through building trust and learning fast, there is often a requirement to understand the company's specific industry.