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Don't know of any, but I went in the *opposite* direction, was a program
manager and then product manager.
I think that good program/product managers are more "born" than "made".
You need to have a strong, driven, results-oriented outlook. You have to
be a "people person" who gains energy as you work with people, but you
also have to have the courage and tenacity to confront people from time
to time. You have to be detail and schedule-oriented. You have to sweat
the details, and it's all details. You will be ahead if you thoroughly
understand each part of the product/program delivery process, but you
can learn that.
Not all of this sounds like the typical tech writer, so be warned! Lots
of people do program or product management, but the best ones are
likeable, extroverted, highly visible, and "successful." The last one is
hard to define. The program/product managers that "make it" are the ones
that consistently deliver "the goods".
This is, by the way, a very high-stress position. You have to be the
ultimate owner/problem-solver/sh*t-disturber/woman on a white horse. The
upside is that you have tremendous visibility in an organization. Most
Silicon Valley CEOs I know have some product management background.
Joe
Joe Malin
Technical Writer
(408)625-1623
jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com
www.tuvox.com
The views expressed in this document are those of the sender, and do not
necessarily reflect those of TuVox, Inc.
-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-216553 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-216553 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Amanda A
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2005 11:29 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Anyone know of tech writers that became program/product
managers?
Randomly networked my way to an interview next week for a position as a
program manager and would rather not screw it up... would love to hear
from anyone who knows about this stuff!
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