Product Management is Negotiation
Schmidt List | Hosted by Kurt Schmidt | November 2018
About this episode
Jen joins Kurt Schmidt on the Schmidt List podcast to explore two skills that don't always get talked about together: networking and negotiation — and why both are essential to a product management career. Speaking from her role at the time as VP of Digital Product Management at Optum, Jen shares how she's built and sustained meaningful professional communities, and why taking ownership of your own growth is the only strategy that actually works.
What they covered
Why nobody cares about your career development as much as you do — and what to do about it
How to build a networking practice that's consistent, not just reactive when you need a job
Why internal networking inside large organizations requires the same skills as external networking
How "small bets" on new connections compound into career-defining relationships over time
The role of accountability partners and mastermind groups — especially at senior levels where formal development often disappears
Why product management is fundamentally a negotiation skill — and how that plays out inside a matrixed organization
A few things Jen said
"Nobody cares about your career as much as you do. If you're waiting for your fairy godmother to show up and say bibbity bobbity boo, here's your dream job — you're going to be waiting for a long time."
"Once you get to a certain level, people stop caring about your personal development. So that's the point at which I have to care about it."
"Networking is a constant for me — because I love that input. I just want to know what you're working on and how you're solving that problem, because it sounds an awful lot like a problem I have."
About Schmidt List
The Schmidt List is a podcast for people dedicated to managing successful projects, developing impactful products, and building engaged teams, hosted by Kurt Schmidt.