It’s January, so it must be time to kick-off our annual series diving-in and learning all about what makes The Best Product Person of 2012 tick. Over the coming weeks I will be sharing segments of a Q&A session I had with Andres Glusman of Meetup.com — and shedding some light onto just exactly what makes Andres truly The Best Product Person of 2012.
Getting to here…
> What key people helped shape you into the product manager you are today?
Everyone I’ve worked with at MU over the years. In particular Matt Trush, Scott Heiferman, Gary Burns, Greg Whalin, Peter Kamali, Matt Meeker, Chris Keane, & Dervala Hanley. Plus remarkable people in the Lean community including Giff Constable, Kareem Kouddous, Steve Blank and Eric Ries.
> How did you decide to become a product manager?
At my core, I’m really a social scientist (my background is in Economics & Psychology). I’m fascinated by people and what makes them tick. Working in product gives me the opportunity to understand and shape people’s behavior at scale. Since almost everything we do at Meetup is viewed as an experiment, we have an opportunity to try lots of approaches, see surprising results and double down. That’s a pretty awesome laboratory. Plus, for me getting into product at Meetup meant that I’d get to build a team with people who really inspire me.
> What inspires you in your day-to-day work?
The challenge of shaping the behavior of millions of people. What I do this week will impact millions of people next week.
Nominate TBPP 2013 Today!
Thank you to everyone who participated, nominated, interviewed, AND passed on the word! The nomination period for The Best Product Person of 2013 has begun! The individual who first nominates TBPP is also awarded! Nominate your pick for The Best Product Person right now!
http://tbpp.wufoo.com/forms/the-best-product-person-of-2013/
Stay Tuned
Over the next few weeks I will share more of my interview with Andres Gusman, The Best Product Person of 2012!
Subscribe now (click here) to make sure you don’t miss any part of this series exploring The Best Product Person of 2012, or any other of the upcoming product person interviews, as well as other insightful posts from The Product Guy.
And, don’t forget, take a moment and congratulate The Best Product Person of 2012: Andres Glusman. (tweet)
Enjoy!
Jeremy Horn
The Product Guy
The Product Guy 