🎾 Productive PM Tips, Ditch 1:1s With These 5, Asynchronous Work Debate, Interview Prep & Internal Tool Building

+ AI Brainstorming Magic!

Estimated read time: 1 minute 34 seconds.

This is Sunday 1-1-2-3 with George.

Welcome to the 82nd edition.

Today we have:

• The Ultimate PM Guide for Design Systems

• 8 Tips for PMs Building Internal Tools

• Actually Getting Things Done: How To Be Productive as a PM (+ “Design in Practice”)

• 10 Commonly Asked Interview Questions, and How to Prepare for Each, so You Stand Out and Get an Offer

• Who Needs Reoccurring 1:1s When You Have These 5 Things?

• Is Asynchronous Work Actually Detrimental to Your Workflow?

+ mastering brainstorming with AI

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🕹 I Partnered With

Product Growth

for the Ultimate PM Guide for Design Systems!

It was super-fun to write, and

Aakash Gupta

is a legend for bringing me on and helping me through the writing and editing process.

If you know someone who manages a design system, or if you’re curious yourself, check it out:

The Ultimate Guide: Design Systems

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💾 8 Tips for PMs Building Internal Tools

Speaking of other internal tools, chances are you're working on one right now.

I found this general guide super helpful - and if you don't work on an internal tool, you are secretly jealous of being able to co-locate with your customers and see their workflow.

Basically,

1. Embed with the people who use your products

2. Combine big projects with quick wins in your roadmap

3. Write your launch email when you’re in the planning phase

4. Identify your most product-minded users

5. Pay attention when your users hack your tools

6. Don’t go silent if you aren’t going to prioritize something

7. Own onboarding and launch announcements

8. No one reads the documentation

Read more here:

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☕️ Actually Getting Things Done: How To Be Productive as a PM (+ “Design in Practice”)

I wrote about How To Be Productive as a Product Manager: Quick Guide🕵️‍♂️ on LinkedIn.

But here’s a quick recap from Shreyas (I must have been following his method intuitively):

And if you’ve got an hour and want to geek out on something else, I think you’re going to quote from this talk a lot:

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🍪 Quick Bites

• 10 Commonly Asked Interview Questions, and How to Prepare for Each, so You Stand Out and Get an Offer

• Who Needs Reoccurring 1:1s When You Have These 5 Things?

• Is Asynchronous Work Actually Detrimental to Your Workflow?

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🤖 AI Corner

Master Brainstorming

Check out the rest here.

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That's a wrap for today. Stay focused and see you next week! If you want more, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@nurijanian)

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Who's George?

It’s me

I’m an underdog product manager.

Product management in New Zealand (where I live) is still a relatively immature discipline. I also came into it late via data science and UX. I may be older than others, but I often feel like a rookie.

To become better at my craft, I learn and explore new ideas relentlessly.

Then I share high-quality, tried-and-true ideas that can be used right away.

How I can help you:

• If you want to feel smarter, I’ve compiled my best actionable finds in prodmgmt.world.

• If you need to figure out prioritization in your role, get The Big Book of Prioritization.

See you next week.

— George.