Sachin Rekhi

2016 was another great year of writing for me. I published my 100th essay at the beginning of the year and wrote another 20 essays throughout the rest of it. I grew unique visitors by 50%, page views by 80%, Twitter followers by 30%, and email subscribers by 450%.

But just like everything I do in product, what excites me most is rarely the stats, but the impact I have on real people's lives. And this year I appreciated the outpouring of notes from readers. I relished the stories of helping a reader get their very first product manager job, helping an entrepreneur to reach product/market fit, and helping a new product leader find their footing in their expanded role. Please keep sharing your stories as it's really the fuel that motivates me to keep on writing.

As a quick look back, here are the five most popular essays I published this year in case you missed any of them.

1. Product Management Career Ladders at 8 Top Technology Firms
I demystify the rarely discussed product management career ladder through a detailed look at specific career ladders at 8 top technology firms, including Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more as well as discuss the most common dimensions of advancement.

2. 3 Types of Product Managers: Builders, Tuners, Innovators
We've started to see specialization emerge in the product management role here in Silicon Valley. I detail the differences between the 3 high-level product management roles that now exist, which I affectionally call builders, tuners, and innovators.

3. Video: The Art of Product Management
I was asked to give a talk this year at my alma mater, Wharton, on product management. I took it as an opportunity to put together a comprehensive overview of how I define the role of product management in an hour-long talk where I cover over 70 slides. The video has already become one of the top videos on product management on YouTube.

4. How To Ace Your Product Management Interview
I shared my own interview advice by walking through in-detail the actual interview questions I used on hundreds of product manager candidates that I interviewed at LinkedIn during my four years there.

5. 3 Essential Dashboards for Every Product
For every product I've managed, I've ultimately setup 3 essential dashboards covering acquisition, engagement, and monetization metrics. I share some of the most important metrics to include in each of these dashboards.

Thank you so much for being a reader this year! And happy holidays and happy new year!