I often joke that asking for referral is a lot like initiating a sex conversation with your new partner. You need a consent, but you don’t want to sound pushy. Are you two close enough? Maybe you should wait. But what if the other person is willing? Then it’s a…

The short answer is, absolutely yes! The more elaborate answer is, you have a lot of homework to do! I get this question all the time from aspiring PMs. Lots of them are intimidated by the computer science degree requirement in the job description. My guess is companies put the…

My company has an amazing learn-it-alls culture. We are expected to block time on calendar specifically for learning and reflection and we have access to a wide range of free learning resources. While I cannot share the resources per company policy, I want to share the list of them. Lots…

I have a healthy amount of existential crisis after reading Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. One of many impressive things about Elon Musk is his long-term thinking. Though Elon Musk only started Tesla after Zip2, PayPal, and SpaceX, he was thinking about electrical car…

This article is the result of a chat with Ashwag Alasmari. She asked me how I managed to publish articles frequently. So this is a sneak peek in my writing process. Note this article is not about writing high quality pieces, because I am yet to figure that out. …

As a product manager, I get questions about how to break into PM world a lot. So I compiled all resources I have used, added specific information about Microsoft, and listed all my PM-related articles. Hope you find them helpful! I will update this blog when I have new resources. Resume …

[Update] After publishing this article, I read a leaked memo on LinkedIn from Elon Musk at Tesla. He made some really good points, so I will include his advice first: [Update: 10/04/2021] My colleague Ryan S. shared this article with our team. It’s similar to Elon Musk’ ideas, but it came with…

The article is motivated by several discussions with my friends, who encounter micromanagement in the workplace. According to Wikipedia, micromanagement is a management style whereby a manager closely observes and/or controls and/or reminds the work of his/her subordinates or employees[1]. I have heard various accounts from my friends, especially early…