In the Your Objective section of my un-resume, I list domain knowledge last in the things you want out of a somewhat-technical product person like me. Here’s why I think that:
- Management competencies are not domain specific. This is a bit of old wisdom and the reason MBA, Product Management, etc programs exist. These rolls are about applying a range of management skills to a domain. And that leads to…
- Good managers learn domains and learn them quickly. Part of what good management training programs and coaching teaches are methods for managers to pick up domain knowledge quickly. The management point of view can be a bit overly categorical and macro in its view, but good managers leaven this by cultivating environments in which domain experts keep them honest.
- Finally, orgs looking for PMs in rarefied domains shouldn’t look at me. Unless it’s digital and/or data, I am probably not your person. If the domain matters that much, I might even suggest you look for some one with domain knowledge who has the maturity and demonstrates the aptitude to lead and manage. Then go train them in product management.
There is obviously a lot more I could say on this, but these are the big reasons why I de-emphasized domain knowledge in that list.