The power of mentoring – DeVaris Brown on The Product Experience

Some of the most successful people we know credit their mentors for making the difference in their careers. We've recently heard great talks from the likes of Barry O'Reilly, Marty Cagan, and Gibson Biddle where they talk about having a 'personal Board of Directors'.  But how do you go about getting a mentor and getting the most out of the relationship?  We asked Devaris Brown to join us on the podcast to mentor us in the art of mentoring. 

In this episode, sponsored by Pendo, listen to learn about:

• Mentoring
• The different types of a product manager
• Diversity in Tech

Quote of the episode

There’s no shortage of shitty PMs right?  So, yes there is a need for mentors. PMs mean a lot to different people. It even took me a while to understand, after having multiple jobs as different types of PM to understand like “Ok, this is what it actually means”.

Links mentioned in this episode

• Follow DeVaris on LinkedIn, Twitter and his Website
• Empower your data team at Meroxa
• The People Of Color In Tech article,Networking For Introverts
• DeVaris talked about Using Playbooks to Drive Innovation  at the Shift Dev 2019 Conference
• Do You Need a Coach, a Mentor or a Therapist?, fromThe Institute of You

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Our hosts

The Product Experience is hosted by Lily Smith and Randy Silver.

Lily enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Head of Innovation at Go Compare and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol (which now has 800+ members!) and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy is a product consultant and coach who has been working as an interactive producer and product manager across the US and UK for nearly 20 years. A recovering music journalist and editor, he launched Amazon’s music stores in the US and UK, and has worked across sectors including museums and arts groups, online education, media and entertainment, retail and financial services. He’s held Head of Product roles at HSBC and Sainsbury’s, where he also directed their 100+-person product community. Randy's book, What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19 is out now, with all profits going to COVID-19 relief efforts.