A question on Quora recently made me consider what innate characteristics or personality traits make a great product manager. I answered the question with, of course, more questions (see screenshot below). However, I then started playing with the idea of an interactive form that could help people thinking about product management as a career path determine if it might be right for them. I developed a simple spreadsheet that can give prospective PMs insight into important traits of both PMs and PM positions in general. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY NOT A SERIOUS CAREER GUIDANCE TOOL, just some food for thought. The workbook poses a series of questions and then provides feedback on why various personality traits or preferences are amenable to or likely inconsistent with a career as a PM. Feel free to provide feedback or download it to assess how “PM-ish” you are or customize it to reflect what you feel is important.

Click on the image to download the spreadsheet.