SCALE

Professional development for newly hired Product Managers

Congrats!

You landed a new Product role! Now what?

After months of interviewing, rejection, more interviewing, take-home assignments, and panel presentations, you’ve (finally) accepted a new Product Management job. You’re feeling a bit of an excitement, anxious, relief gumbo and are scrambling to figure out what to do next.

You know that first impressions are incredibly important, and you don’t want the team to have second thoughts and doubts about your ability.

Overview

SCALE is a three-month, private 1:1 mentor partnership exclusively for individuals who recently started their first Product Management job and are feeling a combination of “yikes!” and “now what?” nervousness. For early-career Product Managers who need a safe space and tangible guidance to thrive in the role.

Background

GOOD NEWS, EVEN BETTER NEWS

This is totally normal. And I can help. After coaching several clients to help land their first Product role, I am watching them intently to understand how their first days/weeks/months are on the job. They all say the same thing. I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hose. Blair, can we reconnect for a session? I need your advice on this really specific thing.

IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO BE A PM BY TITLE ALONE

It’s equally important to perform. You know that they hired you for a reason but you may start to question that during the first several weeks on the job. Fight imposter syndrome in real-time by getting on-the-job guidance so that you’re not navigating your new Product Management job blindly. Organizations are infamous for throwing new PMs to the wolves so-to-speak (intentionally or unintentionally), without proper support and structure so if that concerns you, keep reading.

I’VE GOT YOUR BACK

Knowing that you have an objective perspective of an experienced Product Manager and Coach available to you, on-demand, so that you have the safe space to ask the silly questions, gain clarity, and practice new skills can be a difference-maker in your career.

Strategy

I’ll provide you with a safe space to grow, fill in knowledge gaps, and ensure that you get started on the right foot.

THE SCALE PROGRAM INCLUDES

  • Weekly private 1:1 Calls with Coach Blair

  • The SCALE Curriculum

  • Lifetime access to training materials

  • Asynchronous communication and deliverable feedback

  • Long-term career planning

  • Support in the private Online Community

Roadmap

THIS IS NOT A DIY, SELF-PACED VIDEO COURSE THAT YOU’LL NEVER ACTUALLY FINISH.

This is a hands-on, feedback-driven coaching relationship to help guide the most vulnerable part of your Product Management career. The SCALE Curriculum is divided into 14 weeks of content grounded in the core competencies that proficient Product Managers must build their foundation.

  • We’ll start by understanding (or creating) your 30-60-90 day goals so that you’re ultra clear on what’s expected of you in your role.

    We’ll define how you’ll learn and create a vision for your product, and develop relationships with your users and stakeholders.

  • Next, we’ll discuss the tactical elements of performing as a Product Manager.

    We are agile based on the demands of the job. While we may be in the midst of a PRD or your roadmap, a stakeholder presentation may become a hot item. No worries, we can adjust without a problem.

  • By the end of the program, you begin to feel incredibly confident about your path ahead. You will begin to handle new tasks well and adopt the mindset necessary to succeed, which frees us up to talk about what you want your Product career to look like in the next 12 -24 months.

User Experience

Gain access to a thoughtfully curated resource community that houses all the templates and training you’ll need to navigate your new job.

THE BEST PART OF THE COMMUNITY IS THE COMMUNITY.

The actual humans who get it. Between the Product Managers who stand in solidarity with you, providing peer support and shared experiences and the alumni community, you’ll find a new home that lasts beyond your time in SCALE.

Client Feedback

Read more client feedback on LinkedIn

More Details

Guidance on work deliverables such as PRDs, roadmaps, presentations, user stories, and more

Avoid potential embarrassment when presenting your first deliverables. Every organization approaches its documentation differently, but there are certainly common considerations that I’ll help you navigate. Just bring me the context and guardrails, and we’ll build together.

Three and 12-month career roadmap to establish intentional next steps

Best case scenario: you receive a super clear document that details what you may expect in the role, what they expect of you, and how you get there - all on day one. Most likely scenario: you don’t. Worry not; we’ll craft it together so that you can not only meet the company’s expectations of you but also have some expectations of yourself. What do you want to be able to communicate about yourself in, let’s say, a year? How you’ll position yourself for the next opportunity starts now.

Personalized Product Management Coaching

Maybe you know how to put together a killer roadmap but feature prioritization is still a doozy for you. Or maybe how to use roadmaps as a strategic communication tool (IRL not just in theory) is a challenge. Schedule time on my calendar and let’s hash it out. At the beginning of coaching, we’ll identify your areas of opportunity and make time to cover them all.

Learn and Practice Stakeholder Engagement Strategies

Dealing with a less-than-clear manager, working with developers for the first time, and tactfully saying no to pushy stakeholders can be some of the most challenging and overwhelming aspects of the job. Learn tried-and-true techniques to establish yourself as prepared for the task.

My Calendly link to reserve the time you need

Keeping up with which number session we’re on equals an output. In Product, we’re much more concerned with the outcome, so I don’t cap the number of sessions that you have access to. Book what you need to get you to your goal, typically bi-weekly.

Weekly lessons and workbook on my client-only portal designed to help you grow

From learning how to create a vision and enroll stakeholders in your vision to soliciting feedback and effective meeting leadership, I’ll provide a video lesson each week to help compound your growth.

Direct messaging access in between sessions

With the content and DMs all on one platform, simply message me with quick, random, and one-off questions, sharing deliverables, and obtaining feedback

This is for:

  • First time Product Managers

  • Experienced Product Managers starting a new Product role for the first time in a while

  • Working in a fast-paced environment with lots of ambiguity (and little coaching)

 

This is not for:

  • Aspiring Product Managers or professionals who have not yet landed a Product role

  • Professionals in other disciplines (e.g. Project Management

FAQs

During our alignment call, we’ll chat about your background and your new job to determine if the SCALE Program makes sense for you. There’s also space to ask any lingering questions, but here are a few Qs to get you started.

  • This is one on one with me, Blair. Some of what you share may be inappropriate for a group setting so you’ll need the privacy and intimacy of a 1:1 setting.

  • Yes! There’s a community of current Product Managers from several industries and levels to help you along your journey. You have access to this amazing group of people on Day 1.

  • In general, we take the training wheels off and let you prove your skills to yourself and your management team. You will have a ton of clarify and confidence to take on the job, so much so that you may surprise yourself. That said, in rare cases, we can continue to work together as you need.

  • Most client invest between $4,000 and $4,800. Flexible payment plans are available.

  • Yes, you do! You will maintain lifetime access to the SCALE content on our community platform.

I remember my first few months in Product like it was yesterday

I was fortunate enough to have a rockstar manager who took the time to coach me. Literally, scheduling several hours per week of classroom-style co-studying time to teach me the product and Product Management as a discipline. I learned stakeholder engagement and the definition of “the gold standard product” from him. He was concerned about melding our communication and personality styles from day one.

HE’S A RARITY.

Not every manager will dedicate as much time and attention to your personal and professional growth - even with the best of intentions. Even with him as the gold standard of a manager, I still invested in additional training to help me get the best start into Product.

My challenge to you is even if you think you don’t need coaching because you’ve already landed the job, simply explore your options. Though you’re probably completely over applications at this phase in your journey, I’ll ask you to consider one more.