[asafira]

Hi Kenneth,

I first wanted to say thanks for putting up this essay on product management. I don't think quality pieces on the subject are easy to come by, and I think you give a lot of valuable and tangible insight on it.

Second, it looks like you favor past experience as a PM --- but what about college grads? Do you think it's usually a better idea for someone just beginning their career in the "real world" to start out as an engineer first? Maybe this sounds obvious as I've stated it, but I have a few friends that started their careers as PMs and have been successful. Interviewing a college grad might be a little trickier, no?

Lastly, I definitely agree that a big part of being a good PM, or maybe a good manager in general, is making good, or even just reasonable, decisions on a regular basis. There are seemingly endless small choices that need to be made that add up to a lot, and many of these choices (I've found) aren't going to be dead obvious. A decision, however, needs to be made and it's important that to make a decent one without dedicating too much time to it based off of your understanding of the goals of the project, your experience, and your gut instinct.