A framework for PM skill development | Vikrama Dhiman (Gojek)
Lenny Rachitsky (host), Vikrama Dhiman (guest), Narrator
In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, featuring Lenny Rachitsky and Vikrama Dhiman, A framework for PM skill development | Vikrama Dhiman (Gojek) explores vikrama Dhiman shares pragmatic framework for accelerating PM careers Vikrama Dhiman, Head of Product at Gojek, breaks down a practical framework for product manager career growth built around three “What’s”: what you produce, what you bring to the table, and your operating model. He argues early-career PMs should obsess over outputs and execution quality, not strategy or abstract “impact,” and that strong artifacts (PRDs, briefs, strategy docs) are key proof of value. As PMs grow, their leverage comes from how they work with others—raising hard issues well, getting decisions made, and focusing on what they can control, their relationship with change, and the stories they tell about themselves. He also shares a skills matrix (data, design/research, tech, strategy, communication, collaboration, organization, community) and how he uses it to develop and transition talent into PM roles.
Vikrama Dhiman shares pragmatic framework for accelerating PM careers
Vikrama Dhiman, Head of Product at Gojek, breaks down a practical framework for product manager career growth built around three “What’s”: what you produce, what you bring to the table, and your operating model. He argues early-career PMs should obsess over outputs and execution quality, not strategy or abstract “impact,” and that strong artifacts (PRDs, briefs, strategy docs) are key proof of value. As PMs grow, their leverage comes from how they work with others—raising hard issues well, getting decisions made, and focusing on what they can control, their relationship with change, and the stories they tell about themselves. He also shares a skills matrix (data, design/research, tech, strategy, communication, collaboration, organization, community) and how he uses it to develop and transition talent into PM roles.
Key Takeaways
Early in your PM career, optimize for outputs and execution, not strategy.
Managers and teams primarily need you to ship things, write solid docs, and unblock work—trying to “own strategy” too early often means neglecting the basics that actually build trust and reputation.
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Maintain IC skills and tangible output even as you become senior.
Great senior PMs and leaders still roll up their sleeves—writing product notes, shaping GTM briefs, refining experiments—which both sharpens their judgment and earns credibility with teams.
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Your artifacts are your “impact on impact.”
High-quality PRDs, strategy docs, design briefs, and Jira stories turn direction into concrete action; weak artifacts are a common reason PMs on impactful products don’t see corresponding career growth.
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Adopt a deliberate operating model: how you work matters as much as what you ship.
Vikrama’s three rules—raise difficult issues without being difficult, surface important topics without making it about you, and get decisions made without making all decisions yourself—separate trusted leaders from argumentative blockers.
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Focus your energy on what you control and your rate of change.
Careers often stall when PMs fixate on org politics, scope, or assignments instead of improving skills; benchmarking yourself against industry bests and targeting one or two growth areas at a time keeps your learning curve steep.
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Interrogate and update the stories you tell yourself about who you are as a PM.
Labels like “high-agency” or “super-collaborative” can become excuses for blind spots (e. ...
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Develop along multiple skill axes, not just one strength.
Vikrama uses eight axes—data, design/research, tech, strategy, communication, collaboration, organization, community—and tailors development (e. ...
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Notable Quotes
“The really strong product managers are good at usually two of the three, but the ones who rise are performing well on all three axes.”
— Vikrama Dhiman
“Focus on outputs at the start of your career—and don’t forget outputs even when you grow in your career.”
— Vikrama Dhiman
“You must have that impact on impact through the artifacts that you work on.”
— Vikrama Dhiman
“Raise difficult issues without being difficult to work with; bring out important topics without drawing importance to yourself; get decisions made without making all the decisions yourself.”
— Vikrama Dhiman
“It’s never too late to do what you want to do and what you want to be.”
— Vikrama Dhiman
Questions Answered in This Episode
How can I assess my current strengths and gaps across Vikrama’s eight PM skill axes in a concrete, unbiased way?
Vikrama Dhiman, Head of Product at Gojek, breaks down a practical framework for product manager career growth built around three “What’s”: what you produce, what you bring to the table, and your operating model. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What does “high-quality” look like for PRDs or product strategy docs in my specific context, and how can I benchmark my artifacts against that bar?
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Where am I currently focusing on things outside my control, and how might I redirect that energy into skills or behaviors I can actually change?
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What story am I telling myself about the kind of PM I am, and is that story enabling or limiting my growth?
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If I’m transitioning into PM from another role, which one or two adjacent skills (data, design/research, tech, strategy) should I prioritize first to maximize leverage?
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Transcript Preview
Your name has come up more times than almost any other product person when I ask people for their favorite product leaders in Asia.
I created a career growth framework for product managers, which comprises of three things: what you produce, what you bring to the table, and what's your operating model.
Your advice is, earlier in your career, focus on just getting stuff out and done.
Can you show me your last ERD? Can you show me the last product note that you sent? Can you s- show me the product strategy doc? You must have that impact through the artifacts that you work on.
I'm curious what you've found most impedes people's career growth.
How you view change, whether you are focusing on things you control, and third is how you see yourself. The moment you are able to correct those stories, you may be back on the growth path again.
(intro music) Today my guest is Vikrama Dhiman. Vikrama heads all things product at Gojek, including product management, design, program management, research, and insights with teams across India, Singapore, and Indonesia. He has previously worked at companies like Directi, Airtel, MakeMyTrip, and WizIQ, and is among the most well known product leaders in Asia. When I ask people who their favorite product leader is in Asia, Vikrama's name has come up almost more than anyone else's. We chat about how to move into product management, how to be a great product manager, how product managers often shoot themselves in the foot, and so much more. With that, I bring you Vikrama Dhiman after a short word from our sponsors. And if you enjoy this podcast, don't forget to subscribe and follow it in your favorite podcasting app or YouTube. It's the best way to avoid missing future episodes, and it helps the podcast tremendously. This episode is brought to you by Uizard, empowering product leaders to ideate and iterate faster than ever before with the power of AI. As a product manager, I often spend hours taking screenshots and then annotating them with feedback for my team. With Uizard, I can simply upload my screenshot and Uizard's AI will turn them into a fully editable UI design that I can then take, make tweaks to, and then share with my teams in minutes. And when I want to get really creative and explore totally new ways to improve our product experience, I can use Uizard's AI to generate new design concepts from simple text prompts and turn them into interactive prototypes effortlessly. There's a reason that over 2.6 million people have trusted Uizard to accelerate every phase of their product life cycle and speed up time to market. Developers can even export UI components to React and CSS to speed up their development. Uizard's drag and drop editor is super easy to use, and you can collaborate in real time with your entire team. Even your CEO and customer service teams can contribute. Unlock all of Uizard's game-changing AI-powered features and more with 25% off Uizard's Pro annual plan. Visit U-I-Z-A-R-D .io/lenny and use code Lenny to check out today. That's U-I-Z-A-R-D .io/lenny. This episode is brought to you by Webflow. We're all friends here, so let's be real for a second. We all know that your website shouldn't be a static asset. It should be a dynamic part of your strategy that drives conversions. That's business 101. But here's a number for you. 54% of leaders say web updates take too long. That's over half of you listening right now. That's where Webflow comes in. Their visual first platform allows you to build, launch, and optimize web pages fast. That means you can set ambitious business goals and your site can rise to the challenge. Learn how teams like Dropbox, IDEO, and Orangetheory trust Webflow to achieve their most ambitious goals today at webflow.com. (music) Vikrama, thank you so much for being here and welcome to the podcast.
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