How can you break into Product?

This is a 5-minute read.

Only one way exists to break into Product. You must use the product.

Get to know it. Get to know who likes it. Why they like it. Why they pay for it.

Then, design a way to improve it. And tell their CEO or Head of Product.

That's it. Now you have their attention.

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Since this is easier said than done, like all things are before you have actually done them, allow me to explain.

When I say 'break in to Product', I mean being hired as a Product Designer, Product Manager, Product Owner, and so on. This approach works best for those of you aiming to become a Product Manager, but the principles apply to anyone. And now the stage is set.

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The core goal of anyone in Product is to get people to love your product. Two parts of this sentence are critical, so I will rewrite them in bold.

The core goal of anyone in Product is to get people to love your product. If people love your product, they will tell other people, and your product will grow. The more you grow, the more you can do. You begin to see the vision becoming a reality. Fun game.

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Let's start with people, because we always start with people.

People have problems. Products solve problems. But, there is no product without people.

Products without people will not sell, because the people to buy the product were not taken into consideration. It's simple. Thus, we don't even call them products. Instead, we call them solutions in search of a problem (SISPs). People don't like them, and they usually don't understand them. We definitely don't like them. SISPs are dangerous traps.

Thus, you must start with the people. You must understand them. Who uses the product you are looking at? What problem does it solve for them? What do they like about it? Why are they willing to spend their money on it? More importantly, why are they willing to spend their time on it?

Cultivating love is a related issue, but different. I am sure you have experienced this firsthand with potential romantic partners. I have. It's usually sad when it does not work out. You can get to know someone deeply, but if the connection isn't there, there will be no love.

The connection comes from the way that you solve the person's problem. In romance, you solve a few problems - attraction, care, conversation, enjoyment of time, and trust, to name a few. In Product, you do the same.

Instead of worrying about the way you dress, you worry about the way your product looks. Instead of planning out your date, you plan out the user's experience. Instead of striving for a second date, you strive to get someone to use the product again.

In other words, you prove it. If there is a reason you deserve this, show me.

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Here is where many aspiring Product people fail. They either:

assume they know the customer, without identifying how the product works for them, or
lack the ability to create something people love.

Both situations ensure you fail immediately. But it doesn't have to be that way. You just have to work smarter. In fact, all you have to do is embody the customer.

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Be a user.

When you use a product for yourself - to a solve a problem of your own - you gain incredible insights into how this actually works. This should be obvious, yet people all the time fail this initial step. You have to start by using the product.

And you should start by using a product that you love. That ensures that you know it.

My favorite interview question is simple - what is your favorite app? It's so good that I even ask friends and random people I meet.

Through this, I want to get to know the person. I want to know their thought process. What do they like? What does this app help them do? Why is this the answer they provided me?

And most importantly, why does it solve their problem better than anything else? If someone can articulate that, we are off to the races.

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I love Spotify. Of the products I use most in the world, I connect to most deeply to Spotify. Music - listening, discovering, obsessing over - fundamentally shifts the way my brain works. A neuroscientist could tell you specifically why that is. I can just tell you I love it. Evernote is a close second, because all my ideas are in there. This piece started there. But I don't love Evernote. I love Spotify.

And yet, as a deep user of Spotify, certain things drive me mad.

For example, I typically listen to large lists of music on shuffle. This ensures I won't kill a song too soon, and I get the chance to hear songs from long ago.

However, I also love albums. When I listen to an album, I expect it to be in order.

Yet Spotify refuses to make this change automatic. More than once a week I realize I've gone from Track 1 to 9 in seconds, and my listening experience is ruined. I get angry at how unfathomably dumb this non-feature is. I have to start the album over (if I'm in the mood), undo shuffle, and go again.

This...this is unacceptable for any music listener. And yet, a change so simple could delight me. I would probably even write about it.*

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Two things are critical here.

I am the customer. I fit a persona of Spotify listeners as a paid subscriber and active music listener (~3-4 hours/day). I am a serious listener who enjoys changing between shuffled playlists and albums. I know this customer persona inside and out.
I explained my problem and provided a clear path forward to solve it with a concise rationale of why it is important.

Those two things will get me a second look.

Then it's on you to prove you can help them.

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Show your work.

The more I think about science and math classes growing up, the more I appreciate exams. I live with a Physics teacher, so I see this secondhand now. If students answer a question correctly but don't show their work, they lose points. They could not prove they knew how to get to the right answer. Why would I expect them to understand how to solve a problem in the future?

English Literature was the same. We showed our work through writing essays**. Our reason and communication were on full display. Like lacking technical skills, bad communication is abundantly clear.

The principle remains in adulthood. The best predictor of future success is the past.

So prove that you can do the job. Show your work.

Every one of us has skills. This is inarguable fact. Put yours on display.

Maybe you're a great illustrator. Cool. Sketch out how the feature should look. Share how you got there through early scribbles and wireframes. Show your work.

Maybe you understand business models. Also cool. Your brain is a powerful tool. Analyze the opportunity and what the competition is doing. Show your work.

Maybe you can program. Very cool. I wish I was better. Hack together a feature add-on that anyone could click through. Show your work.

...And a million other skills exist. Whatever you're good at, prove it. Prove to me that you can help me with my problems, and I will hire you. Simple as that.

And if you can't, that's okay! You have a path forward; you just have to work harder. Maybe you don't have the skills just yet to make someone love the product you create.

Here is a harsh, and critically important truth - these people don’t need you. They are building billion dollar businesses without you. So what can you give to convince them they do need you? That’s your question. You must give.

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This is how you break into Product.

Look only at companies whose products you love.
Show them you understand who they are building for and why the product is great.
Think through the problem from the user's perspective and explain it.
Show them how you would solve it.
Then tell them why. Clearly and concisely.

Period.

Then life gets a lot more fun. All of a sudden, you're working for your dream company.

If you are so smart, you will figure it out. Because anyone can do it.

*More for Spotify - When a song comes on, particularly the first track from an album, pop up an option for me to listen to the whole thing. I just heard Wesley’s Theory, and now I want to listen to all of To Pimp A Butterfly. Give me the option without restarting the record.

**Fake essays. Spending 5 paragraphs on a thesis is not an essay. Essays are explorations. Essays are tries.

That’s 2/3. Next time, a philosophy on how to build.