Updated: January 24, 2024 - 7 min read
As we continue to ride the wave of excitement following the launch of our groundbreaking Product Leader Certification (PLC)™, I find it fitting to pause, take a step back, and reflect on the incredible journey that led us to this defining moment.
The first PLC cohort kicked off with a resounding success, boasting a complete sell-out and an impressive student satisfaction score of 9.15/10! Now, as we witness an ever-growing number of ambitious Product Managers capitalizing on this unique opportunity to fast-track their career advancement, I’m eager to share more information on this pivotal certification course and to celebrate the remarkable milestones we've achieved together.
The PLC is more than just a program—it's a commitment, a manifestation of our undying mission to educate and empower the next wave of transformative Product Leaders. Through the PLC, we sought to bridge the gap between Product Management and Product Leadership, and to provide a platform for practicing Product Managers to evolve into the visionary leaders they aspire to be.
And today, witnessing the incredible response from the community, it's clear that we've tapped into something truly significant. Your unwavering support and enthusiasm have validated our efforts, and for that, I extend my heartfelt gratitude.
How we help you go from Product Manager to Product Leader
Crafted with painstaking precision for practicing Product Managers, the PLC takes you beyond the realm of Product Management and propels you towards the universe of Product Leadership. We've distilled the collective wisdom of top Silicon Valley product leaders into a dynamic, engaging, and comprehensive program. Our goal? To arm you with the advanced skills and strategic foresight necessary to shine in your current role and accelerate your journey towards your next promotion.
Why did we embark on creating the PLC? The answer is simple: We listen. We understand that the skills and strategies which brought you success as a Product Manager may not suffice as you climb the ladder towards a leadership position. That's where the PLC comes in. The program has been entirely remodeled based on invaluable feedback from students and instructors, and designed to deliver more value than ever.
The PLC provides an ideal blend of strategic understanding and practical execution, featuring 30 hours of immersive live instruction, coupled with 6 hours of on-demand content. This means you can earn your certification in just 6 weeks part-time or five intense, full-time days. We’re all about fitting seamlessly into your schedule.
The PLC isn’t simply a theoretical course. We place strong emphasis on the practical application of skills with exclusive templates aiding you in roadmap planning, task prioritization, conducting experiments, crafting a product strategy, and effective team leadership.
Let's delve into the advanced Product skills you’ll learn in the PLC:
Taught live with a top instructor who’s a practicing Product Leader at a Silicon Valley company, our core modules will allow to integrate both the hard and soft skills you need to win that promotion and excel in the leadership role:
Craft Your Advanced Product Strategy: Develop a winning product strategy and leverage it to make informed decisions.
Translate Your Product Strategy Into Action: Turn your product strategy into a prioritized, actionable plan, driving impactful Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).
Orchestrate Your Product Portfolio: Dive into the world of Product Portfolio Management (PPM), mastering various frameworks and understanding its role through real-world case studies.
Build and Sustain a High-Performing Team: Learn to coach, evaluate, and develop a high-performance team culture, and manage challenging conversations effectively.
Communication, Documentation & Storytelling to Influence: Lead with different types of authority, foster stakeholder collaboration, and master the art of delivering influential product presentations.
Build a Strong Culture for Your Product Team: Establish a robust product culture and rituals, develop guiding product principles, and cultivate a culture of innovation.
Ship for Outcomes: Understand build versus buy decisions, manage project constraints, risks, and assumptions, and balance trade-offs between quality, speed, and scale.
Lead Effective Meetings: Facilitate idea-driven, alignment-focused meetings and confidently communicate roadmap updates and changes.
Master Product Financials: Understand the role of pricing in product strategy, master financial and business modeling, and grasp unit economics in product development.
Advanced Product Analytics & Experimentation: Conduct user research for actionable insights, make data-driven decisions, and synthesize findings with customer journey mapping.
Set Yourself Up for a Promotion: Understand the product career ladder and identify steps for your next promotion.
Put Everything Together: Demonstrate your understanding of all course content in a final presentation, developing and presenting a growth strategy for a product with a focus on priority ranking.
Solidify your knowledge with exclusive, on-demand video lessons
But wait, there's more! Our PLC also includes exclusive on-demand modules taught by the industry's brightest stars, Michelle Parsons (Product Executive formerly at Hinge, Netflix, Spotify, and Kayak) and Amin Bashi. These modules, available for you to access at your convenience, cover crucial aspects of product leadership, including:
Building and Communicating Product Strategy: Learn to develop and effectively communicate a robust product strategy.
Leading a Team: Master the art of fostering, guiding, and motivating a high-performing product team.
Product Storytelling: Understand and leverage storytelling techniques in product management to captivate and engage stakeholders.
Build Vs Buy: Navigate the decision-making process for build vs. buy scenarios with confidence and precision.
OKRs: Immerse yourself in the world of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), learning to effectively understand and implement them in product management.
Getting a Product Promotion: Empower yourself with strategies for positioning yourself for a promotion and accelerating your ascent on the product career ladder.
Rated 9.5/10 by students who call it “The best investment of my professional career”
Our first PLC cohort, guided by Michelle Parsons, our esteemed Product Executive in Residence, was fully booked weeks before it commenced and scored a whopping 9.5/10 satisfaction score.
Don't take our word for it. Here's what our students have to say:
“I highly valued the dedication and hard work invested in ensuring the excellence of the content. This encompassed everything from formulating a strategic plan to effectively managing a team and earning a well-deserved promotion. I deeply appreciated the pragmatic methodology employed, as well as the multitude of anecdotes shared by Michelle during the classes, which added depth and credibility to the material.”
Babajide Okusanya
“The Product Leader Certification is a great investment for anyone looking to sharpen their Product Management skills. Michelle Parsons brings a wealth of knowledge and energy to the course. She’s inspiring to learn from and clearly a born leader.”
PLC Student
“The entire experience was amazing. Very thorough, very detailed and informative and engaging all at the same time. My experience was learning about all the different tactics and techniques around user research and data. What I particularly found useful was when Michelle was able to draw from her own real experiences which made what we learned easier to understand.”
Nuzhat Ahmed
“My favorite thing was the breakout sessions and time with my classmates. It was engaging and informative but also helpful to realize we all have the same struggles. As a PM you can often feel alone and it was nice to have that realization of "oh, it's not just me.'”
Jenn Bornstein
“I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as a Product Manager at Mastercard! P.S A quick shoutout to Dr. Anamika Datta and my classmates at Product School. It would not have been possible without you guys!”
Prateek Aole
I am truly excited to welcome the new faces in our upcoming cohorts. At Product School, we believe every Product Manager deserves the opportunity to learn from the best. We're committed to bringing top-tier resources, instructions, and networking opportunities to your fingertips.
Product Leader Certification (PLC)™
Are you ready to step up to the role of a Product Leader? To make a real difference? To steer the ship rather than row the oar? Join the Product Leader Certification (PLC)™ today! The future awaits.
Enroll now
Updated: January 24, 2024
