Why We Need a Curated Learning Repository for AI Product Managers

An Idea That Seems to Resonate Much…

Apr 25, 2024

#beyondAI
Reflecting on my career and the broader journey to becoming an AI Product Manager, I've realized the importance of a diverse, well-rounded educational approach.

The beauty of this process, once discovered, is that it allows each AI Product Manager to develop their own unique and successful style.

However, finding that individual approach can often be time-consuming and frustrating, especially in the field of AI PM, where new technologies and methodologies emerge almost constantly. It’s challenging to discern whether a resource is the right one to learn from, or if the skills it teaches are perishable or enduring.

But if we fail to find the right resources to become that unique AIPM, we risk being unprepared for the complexities of our role, or worse, giving up too early on our path to becoming an AIPM.

Mastery in AI Product Management is more than just absorbing information; it involves weaving together a tapestry of diverse and relevant perspectives, methodologies, and skills.

To help our community overcome these hurdles, I introduced an idea.

In this newsletter, you’ll find:

Insights into my learning journey as an AI Product Manager.
The idea of a curated AIPM learning repository.
How my LinkedIn community responded to this idea.

Have fun 🤗

My learning journey as an AI Product Manager.

Reflecting on my career, which began in earnest in 2004 and has focused on AI Product Management for the past decade (since 2014), I've come to understand several key things.

My career was largely made possible by an insatiable desire to constantly learn and update my knowledge. This knowledge was primarily acquired through books, articles, and courses, both free and paid. Additionally, earning an M.Sc in Computer Science built a strong foundation that enabled me to grasp new technical and theoretical AI concepts more quickly.

However, looking back on my entire learning journey toward becoming an impactful AI Product Manager, I recognized that my strategy was not just about gathering knowledge from a single source, topic, or author. Indeed, back then, it wasn’t even possible to find a single source covering all the details one might need, due to the novelty, and more importantly, due to the nature of AIPM.

AIPM involves a blend of skills that span various disciplines, including technology, business strategy, and user experience, as well as a comprehensive understanding of what a product is. Not to mention the necessity of domain knowledge and the nuances of developing AI solutions from an ethical standpoint, along with the complexities one must overcome regarding data issues.

The idea: A curated AIPM learning repository

Reflecting on these insights, I began to question my own educational newsletter, A World Beyond AI. My goal has always been to offer a comprehensive view of AI Product Management.

I asked how I could teach aspiring or experienced AIPMs to become professional or exceptional in their fields if I only provided them with a very narrow view—my own—of the broad field of AIPM.

Did I learn this way? No.

Did I become the AIPM I am today by following such a narrow path? Definitely not.

It was quite sobering to acknowledge that my newsletter would never have the capacity to cover the broad skill set and knowledge required to become an AIPM, nor would other newsletters or sources be able to do so.

My own learning approach to AIPM was the best proof of that.

Nevertheless, the idea of sharing my knowledge, writing in my own style, interpreting complex ideas in my own way, and sharing my experiences from over 20 years remains valuable, I believe. After all, my style of writing and experiences might resonate more with some, while others may prefer a different type.

However, my newsletter can only be one piece of the puzzle for those who aspire to excel as an AIPM.

Once I accepted this, coming up with a potential solution became straightforward, and this idea has already been adopted in other fields.

Creating a library - a repository for AI Product Management learning materials that covers all aspects necessary to become an exceptional AIPM, including but not limited to my own insights - seemed like a viable answer.

I began to review my own knowledge base, tempted to make it visually appealing with stickers, emojis, and vibrant colors. But then…

My product manager's instinct suddenly kicked in, prompting me to question:

🤔 “What are you doing? Implementing before testing a soft hypothesis? Haven’t you learned anything?”

Yes, it sounds weird… but being a PM for many years means you'll question everything. 😀

However, it was the best approach I could take.

How my LinkedIn community reacted to this idea

I announced this idea with my LinkedIn community, on February 21, 2024:

This post became my most successful post to date, especially noteworthy for me given my relatively small audience of about 6,400 followers as of April 2024.

It performed at least twice as well as my previously best post from an impressions perspective and nearly tripled the engagement compared to the highest-performing post previously. It achieved 290% outreach beyond my own follower count. This is noteworthy, especially considering LinkedIn's recent changes to its content recommendation algorithm in 2023, which no longer prioritizes virality.

This post serves as a concept test, and it appears I've pinpointed a significant pain point.

But I can only be sure about this being a pain point, once I develop an initial prototype and see if it really resonates with you.

Anyway.

Surprisingly, after delving further into the statistics, I found that the need for curated and diverse sources of learning materials extends beyond those outside major tech companies.

People from Amazon, Microsoft, and Google seem to have the same problem.

We all struggle to navigate the ever-growing jungle of new technologies, methodologies, concepts, frameworks, and other emerging buzzwords, each accompanied by numerous publications of varying quality.

Especially in AI Product Management, finding the right mix of learning content that truly makes a difference is invaluable.

And if the figures are to be believed, this is not just my opinion.

The post at least helped me to make a decision:

💡 I will build an AIPM Learning Library

However, my intention is not to be the sole contributor. I'll definitely add my own and other resources I've collected over the years, but I encourage everyone in the field of AI Product Management to contribute to this knowledge base.

To maintain quality, I will review each submission personally - until the day I can no longer manage it on my own.

Then, I'll need a new idea.

But this is a problem for a future Jaser to solve 😉

It’s an exciting venture that I hope will not only enrich my journey but also significantly benefit many of you.

Let’s see where it leads us.

Let’s find out if this can be a thing. 😊

🌟 See that North Star, little Jaser? It's yours. But don't forget the stars that lead you there. Every star is a lesson learned, every constellation a skill mastered. 

The journey to becoming an AI Product Manager is knowing not just which star to follow, but when to take the leap to reach it.

JBK 🕊️

#AIProductManagement

P.S.

This is how you can help:

I invite you all to provide your best resources for learning AI Product Management, covering different aspects of AIPM. I will review and organize them. For now, just hit reply and make your submission. I figure out a better way for this.
I need 10 Beta Testers - ideally, some who have several years of experience in this profession, and others who are just starting out. Please drop me a message in the comments, if you’re interested.
The more you spread the idea, the better the repository will become. Please share this issue wherever you can.

Thank you ❤️

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