Techlandia Issue 3 - 2019/2020 - Page 16

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"As technology evolves, a career in Customer Success is an excellent way to bring together diverse experiences in Project Management, Sales, Customer Support or Account Management. Each of these disciplines

share a focus on relationships, results & positive outcomes

for both the customer and technology company."

- Bonnie Crawford,

VP, Sales & Client

Services at moovel

"It's never too late to transition into tech. My career started as a healthcare professional but I always dreamt of creating products one day. 8+ years later I've transitioned from being a UX Designer to a Product Designer and now a Product Manager. So my advice for people interested in design: Jump In! Surround yourself with great people. Give yourself time to

be good, even great. Stay curious, open

minded; and don't be afraid of putting

yourself in out there. You got this!"

- Rob Sicat, Product Manager at Koan

"The best advice

I can give for

aspiring Product

Managers is to be

forever curious! Ask

"why?” over and over

until you get to the root of

the issue. Don’t accept surface-level explanations, make assumptions, or the solutions people bring to you without

really digging in. Second, if you can become the expert on the Problem, not on your product or your company’s solution, then most answers will fall into place and become self-evident. Your company is full of product experts, your value comes from knowing your users, their challenges, and their goals."

- David Stockman, Product Manager at Orchestra Software

"The best Project

Managers in technology

demonstrate genuine

curiosity, a penchant

for telling the truth (even

when it’s difficult news), and

a strong sense of empathy. Curiosity is important as a Project Manager, be curious enough to ask questions to seek understanding of the complexity and nature of the tasks in your projects. Telling the truth seems simple, but it’s often difficult to be that person in a meeting who raises her hand to say that everything is, in fact, not ok. Practice empathy every day – put yourselves in the shoes of your customers and your stakeholders, understand what information they need and seek to provide it."

- Tracy Thomas, Director of Program Management at Cloudabilty

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