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How to Become an Expert in Anything

Yishnu Pramanik | 3 min read | 8 May 2025 | Medium Blog​

By Yishnu Pramanik — AI Product Manager & Cloud Nerd who once broke prod so you don’t have to

Why Expertise Matters (and Why Gantt Charts Don’t)​

Product managers sit at the intersection of what‑users‑need, what‑engineering‑can‑ship, and what‑finance‑will‑approve. To juggle those flaming batons without setting your roadmap (or eyebrows) on fire, you need deep expertise. Gartner’s 2024 survey shows that teams led by PMs considered “subject‑matter experts” deliver features 27 % faster and with 33 % higher NPS. Expertise is no longer a nice‑to‑have; it’s your competitive moat — and the best antidote to meeting‑itis.

“In the long run, you only hit what you aim at.” — Henry David Thoreau

Let’s aim well.

Set a North‑Star Goal​

Because ‘Become Awesome’ Isn’t a Strategy

  • Define specific outcomes. Instead of “learn AI,” try: “fine‑tune an LLM to cut support tickets by 50 % in six months.”
  • Use OKRs. Tie your learning objective (KR) to a product or business metric.
  • Time‑box the journey. Parkinson’s Law loves unbounded goals. Give yourself sprints.

If your goal fits comfortably in a sprint planning card, congratulations — you’ve already sliced it thinner than your dev team’s patience during scope creep. 😂

Yishnu’s Cloud & AI Detour​

When I transitioned from full‑stack to AI PM, my goal was to deploy a GPU‑accelerated DaaS prototype that could survive the wrath of QA. Twelve iterations and one embarrassing demo later, the platform won “Digital Transformation Awards” at the 2024 by Leh Government

Craft a Learning Roadmap​

  • Blend formats. Podcasts while commuting, code labs on weekends, books before bed.
  • Deliberate practice over passive consumption. (Shout‑out to Anders Ericsson’s 10,000‑hour rule — but remember, it’s 10,000 hours of practice, not scrolling Product Hunt).

“The goal isn’t knowledge; it’s competence.” — Dr. K. Anders Ericsson

Build Your Expert Tribe​

  • Mentors: Seasoned PMs who’ve already fallen into the potholes you’re about to discover.
  • Peer circles: Weekly “Product Therapy” sessions to swap war stories.
  • Communities: Mind the Product, Lenny’s Newsletter Slack, AI PM Guild.

A Data Point: According to Harvard Business Review (2023), professionals with two or more active mentors accelerate promotion rates by 30 %.²

Choose mentors wisely. The one who says “let’s pivot” every stand‑up may also pivot your sanity. 😂

Accrue Real‑World Reps​

a.k.a. Ship Something!

  • Side Projects: Sandbox for risk‑taking without legal signing‑authority nightmares.
  • Stretch Assignments: Volunteer for that gnarly analytics overhaul nobody wants.
  • Hackathons: Compressed learning at espresso‑shot speed.

“You can’t learn to ride a bicycle by reading PowerPoints.” — Satya Nadella

My Cloud AI Example (a.k.a. The Night Jenkins Cried)​

To grok container orchestration, I rebuilt our deployment pipeline on GKE, sliced CI/CD times by 40 %, and accidentally triggered 173 parallel Helm charts. Ops wasn’t amused, but I learned more in 48 hours than a semester of tutorials.

Seek Brutal Feedback & Iterate​

  • User interviews > stakeholder opinions.
  • Dogfooding: Use your product daily — nothing exposes flaws faster.
  • Retrospectives: Turn “what went wrong?” into action items, not blame games.

A 2019 Atlassian study found that teams conducting fortnightly retros improve cycle time by 24 %. Translation: Feedback loops aren’t just Agile theater.

Rinse, Repeat, and Teach​

  • Continuous learning mindset. Tech half‑life ≈ 2 years.
  • Share what you know. Writing docs, giving talks, or mentoring juniors cements expertise (the Feynman Technique).
  • Celebrate micro‑wins. Reward systems hack your dopamine; ship, sip coffee, repeat.

If nobody shows up to your lunch‑and‑learn, bribe them with leftover sprint pizzas. 😂

Conclusion​

Expertise isn’t a destination; it’s a product roadmap with endless sprints. Start by choosing one micro‑skill today — draft the OKR, pick a resource, and schedule that mentor call. Remember, the best time to plant a tree was ten years ago; the second‑best is before your next release deadline.

“Stay hungry, stay foolish… and always update your dependencies.” — Not‑exactly‑Steve Jobs