Garima Negi

How I Ruthlessly Prioritize as a Program Manager at Amazon Some days I open my laptop and it feels like everyone wants a piece of me. Slack blowing up. Inbox a disaster. Calendar full of meetings I didn’t even ask for. That’s when I remind myself: If I don’t run my priorities…someone else will. 1/ I start with my “must win” list ↳ 3 outcomes that have to happen today…everything else is noise 2/ I ask “will anyone care in 30 days?” ↳ If the answer’s no, it drops down the list 3/ I don’t just take new work…I trade for it ↳ “If I pick this up, what moves down?” 4/ I put my big work in prime hours ↳ Morning focus block = my most important deliverable gets done 5/ I’m okay with things not getting done ↳ That’s not failure…that’s prioritization I don’t aim to do it all. I aim to do the right things…and let the rest burn. 🔁 I share execution + prioritization systems weekly in The Weekly Sync: https://lnkd.in/e6qAwEFc What’s your non-negotiable priority filter?

183

11 Comments

LLMs are bad at creating PRDs if all you do is pass a prompt like "You are a Product Manager. Help me create a PRD that talks about [topic] for [audience] that solves [painpoint] this way: [description]." Here's how I fine-tune Gemini to help me write PRDs that are ~80% there👇 What is Fine-tuning on LLMs? It involves training an LLM on specific datasets to enhance its performance on particular tasks or domains. Without fine-tuning, your LLM has no context on what you are asking it to do beyond its pre-trained information. What kind of context do you give your LLM? 1. Core principles, constantly updated 2. Great examples (and ideally, bad examples) Here's how to do it 👇 ✅ Core Principles, constantly updated I always start my conversations with Gemini by asking it something like this... "We will use this chat to write PRDs. For us to tune to the right level of writing these documents, we'll start with a few principles that will be stored in a table. These principles can change over time, more can be added, and any others can be removed. Always keep these principles present and bring them anytime I ask or as needed. If in our conversation you detect that we can add new or change existing principles, ask me about it. Here's a list of X principles we'll add to our table: 1. Audience: PRDs will be written for approval from PM Director+ level and Eng Manager 2. Language: We will use simple but professional language. 3. PRD Sections:..." With a principles table, I can track my "settings" for the conversation - I also asked Gemini to be aware of new principles and changes, so that I can focus on the core idea of the PRD, and Gemini translates it into principles for me. You can also split into multiple tables, for example: one for the tone, audience, etc., and another one for PRD sections. I bring up the principles table anytime by simply asking, "Show me the principles." ⭐️ You can do this for any topic - I have a Gemini session tuned to help me write emails! ✅ Great examples (and ideally, bad examples) The second piece of context is as important, if not more than the first one. Upload both great and (ideally) bad examples of PRDs that you've seen. I ask Gemini to... "Analyze the PRDs to suggest new principles we might be missing, including things to avoid from the bad PRDs." I can also ask for suggestions on PRD sections, and on detecting the core themes on why they are good PRDs (or bad). My goal is not to say "Here's a great PRD, let's replicate it," and instead have Gemini learn from it to apply those principles in our new one. -- Now you have a Tuned Gemini (or any LLM) session! 💎 Below is an example of the principles for my tuned Gemini PRD companion using these techniques. 👋 Want to learn more about automating your Product Manager life with AI? Check out my comment below for the FREE email course that Marily Nika, Ph.D and I put together!

277

35 Comments

“Wait... Product Managers actually earn ₹50 LPA+?” That’s the exact sentence a junior messaged me last week. And honestly? . . . I had asked the same thing when I was starting out. The title “PM” feels vague. But the money? It’s very real—if you play it right. Here’s what most folks don’t tell you: 1/ APMs (0–2 yrs): ₹10–20 LPA 2/ PMs (2–4 yrs): ₹18–28 LPA 3/ Senior PMs (4–6 yrs): ₹25–40 LPA 4/ Group PMs (6–9 yrs): ₹35–50 LPA 5/ Directors (10+ yrs): ₹50–80 LPA And yes—remote roles now pay at par with office ones, especially in global SaaS or Series A+ startups. Don’t get fooled by fancy designations or startup equity promises. Use the ladder to benchmark your growth, ask better questions, and negotiate smart. ----------- PS. This would’ve saved me 2 years of trial and error. Repost ♻️ if it might help someone else out there navigating this messy PM world. #salaries #career #ladder #companies #growth #careercoach #2025updates #linkedin #india #apm

354

62 Comments

After working at Google for 12 years, I quit. Here are 7 harsh lessons for those who want to build their own path: 1. Big titles get attention. Real impact gets respect. Nobody cares about my fancy job title at Google anymore. They want to see what I can build and deliver today. 2. Golden handcuffs are just math on a spreadsheet. Once you're out, that 'what if' fear becomes background noise. Real building beats imaginary wealth. 3. Performance reviews are corporate currency. They don't convert to customer love. 12 years of ‘exceeds expectations’ won't land a single sale in the real world. 4. Leading 100 at Google is directing with a safety net. Running 10 with real payroll is performing without one. Different game, different stakes, different truths. 5. Real business laughs at case studies. Customers want solutions, not certificates. Theory dies in the trenches. 6. Work-life balance is a lie. But building from zero gives a different energy. The exhaustion feels earned, not endured. 7. That safety net you miss? It was always an illusion. At least now you own your failures and victories. REMEMBER When you’re creating your own path, everything else is noise. The only question that matters: Are you building something meaningful? Follow Warren Wang for more HR insights, trends and life in tech updates.

432

31 Comments

I once interviewed a candidate for a Technical Program Manager role at Amazon. They had spent more than 20 years in project management, but always in the automotive industry. They told me they had loved technology ever since college, but they lived in Michigan when they graduated. The first job they were offered was at an auto company, and they took it. Two decades later, they felt that choice at 21 was still haunting them. They wanted to pivot into tech, but it was a very tough sell. Their skills in project management were solid, but their domain knowledge in software and their trust with people in tech were both near zero. In the end, they didn’t get the role. That conversation stuck with me. Not because they weren’t talented, but because it showed how much our first jobs shape the rest of our careers, sometimes in ways we don’t notice until years later. In my article, I break down what I call the “three pillars of hiring” — skills, domain knowledge, and trust — and how they affect career pivots. It’s a detailed way to think about why some transitions succeed and others don’t, and how to make your own path more flexible. If you’re curious about how to avoid getting stuck in an accidental career path, you might enjoy reading the full piece.

56

5 Comments