Open in app

Sign In

Write

Sign In

Debbie Widjaja
Debbie Widjaja

2.7K Followers

Home

About

Published in IRL Product

·Jan 2

How senior product managers think differently

I often got asked how a product manager could get promoted to a more senior level. The truth is, getting a promotion is often a complicated game. Yes, your skills and achievements play a role, but so do other factors such as how much your manager cares about developing talents…

Product Management

17 min read

How senior product managers think differently
How senior product managers think differently
Product Management

17 min read


Published in IRL Product

·Nov 8, 2022

The forgotten cousin of OKR that could make it 10x better

I always thought OKR was a bit pointless. My first introduction to it was back in 2018 at Facebook. I already knew the projects I wanted to do that quarter. My manager reviewed the projects and said, “Can you frame the goals in an ‘OKR’ format?” I googled ‘OKR’, familiarised…

Product Strategy

5 min read

The forgotten cousin of OKR that could make it 10x better
The forgotten cousin of OKR that could make it 10x better
Product Strategy

5 min read


Published in IRL Product

·Jul 6, 2022

No-nonsense game plan for first-time product managers

Congrats, you finally got your dream PM job! But… what now? Here are some pointers to plan your first few weeks — and beyond. — People come to product management from various career paths. It’s not an entry-level role, so you’ll typically have a few years of experience somewhere else, bump into product one way or another, and get hooked. Many PMs, including myself, have never gone through any formal training.

Career Change

8 min read

No-nonsense game plan for first-time product managers
No-nonsense game plan for first-time product managers
Career Change

8 min read


Published in IRL Product

·Jul 3, 2022

Looking after your mental health as a product manager

Product management is a mentally taxing job. Whilst software engineers can afford to put their heads down and focus on one task at a time, PMs have to juggle different things, maintain different points of view, and deal with many different functions. There are plenty of articles about being more…

Product Management

5 min read

Looking after your mental health as a product manager
Looking after your mental health as a product manager
Product Management

5 min read


Published in IRL Product

·Jun 10, 2022

The problem-solver’s playbook: 17 questions to sharpen your thinking

tl;dr Stop falling in love with your problem, and definitely don’t fall in love with your solution. — If somebody had asked me years ago to distil product management in two words, I’d have answered: solving problems. Isn’t that our main job? Find out what the customer’s problems are and solve them. Bam, job done, give me the applause I deserve! Now, the problem with being passionate about…

Product Strategy

11 min read

The problem-solver’s playbook: 17 questions to sharpen your thinking
The problem-solver’s playbook: 17 questions to sharpen your thinking
Product Strategy

11 min read


Published in IRL Product

·May 22, 2022

A product manager’s guide to working with engineers

Many years ago, I interviewed at a startup in Berlin. I still remembered how the hiring manager described what a PM’s job was: “You’re there to unblock the Engineers. So if they’re hungry, it’s your job to buy them pizza.” I was young and impressionable back then, so I only…

Product Management

7 min read

A product manager’s guide to working with engineers
A product manager’s guide to working with engineers
Product Management

7 min read


Published in IRL Product

·May 19, 2022

Codifying the product discovery process

Product discovery is where PMs can bring their unique value. Let’s explore how you can codify it into your product development process. — A PM friend once said, “Being a PM is like committing to a constant identity crisis.” Designers create beautiful, usable prototypes. Software engineers code and turn those prototypes into a working product. Product managers, a cynical voice might say (i.e. …

Product Discovery

9 min read

Codifying the product discovery process
Codifying the product discovery process
Product Discovery

9 min read


Published in IRL Product

·May 4, 2022

Don’t bother hiring a product manager

I’ve met many miserable PMs in my life. The misery is rarely around the compensation, work-life balance, or career opportunities. Their complaints usually revolve around extremely difficult stakeholders who insist on certain things to build. …

Product Management

4 min read

Don’t bother hiring a Product Manager
Don’t bother hiring a Product Manager
Product Management

4 min read


May 1, 2022

Bad news, you might be harming diversity & inclusion in your team

Many companies now have diversity goals they need to achieve. Diversity can be easily measured with numbers — how many women/Black/Asian/LatinX/LGBTQ+ do we have in our candidate pipeline/team/leadership team? …

Diversity In Tech

5 min read

Bad news, you might be harming diversity & inclusion in your team
Bad news, you might be harming diversity & inclusion in your team
Diversity In Tech

5 min read


Published in Bootcamp

·Apr 30, 2022

One thing I did that massively boosted my PM days

This might be painfully obvious for some people. For me, it didn’t come naturally. As a product manager, my calendar was full of meetings. A typical week looked like this:

Product Management

6 min read

One thing I did that massively boosted my PM days
One thing I did that massively boosted my PM days
Product Management

6 min read

Debbie Widjaja

Debbie Widjaja

2.7K Followers

Product leader, ex Meta. See what I'm up to: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiewidjaja/

Following
  • David Dikman

    David Dikman

  • Ryan Holiday

    Ryan Holiday

  • Fabricio Teixeira

    Fabricio Teixeira

  • Julia O'Doherty (she/her)

    Julia O'Doherty (she/her)

  • Nick Wignall

    Nick Wignall

Help

Status

Writers

Blog

Careers

Privacy

Terms

About

Text to speech