š How TPMs Can AI - Preparing for Complicated Discussions and Meetings
Practical AI for Technical Program Managers. A series of real-world scenarios showing how TPMs can use AI tools to solve common challenges, work smarter, and 10x their impact.
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Practical AI for Technical Program Managers. A series of real-world scenarios showing how TPMs can use AI tools to solve common challenges, work smarter, and 10x their impact, complete with ready-to-use prompts and actionable strategies.
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Now, on to this weekās postā¦
How TPMs Can Use AI
Youāre reading another post in my ongoing series, āHow TPMs Can AI,ā where I share real world scenarios showing how AI can make Technical Program Managers more productive and effective.
Nothing beats concrete, real-world examples. My hope is that these stories inspire you to find your own ways to leverage AI, maybe even 10x your impact, effectiveness, and focus.
How This Series Works
Iāll start with a common challenge TPMs face.
Then, Iāll show how AI tools can help you explore possible solutions, sometimes ones you might not have considered before.
The Scenario
Youāve launched a feature. It shipped, but the path there was rocky. Now your VP of Engineering wants you to lead a retrospective.
Or maybe youāre heading into a feature review where you need to ask for more time because of unexpected scope creep.
Or perhaps youāre facing a difficult conversation about someoneās behavior.
Or you will be facilitating an estimation workshop with a group of cross-functional engineering, product, design teams.
As TPMs, we walk into many kinds of conversations on daily basis, formal and informal. But none can feel more daunting than the ones with big audiences and high stakes.
Why so challenging? Because we often lead these meetings. Thereās pressure from all sides:
Say too little, and you lose control of the room.
Say too much, and you risk derailing the discussion.
Say the wrong thing, and you could damage trust.
How do you keep the meeting on track when your VP starts to digress? How do you lead if youāre naturally introverted? How do you handle tough conversations without freezing up?
Before AI
Over time, experience helps. You reflect on past situations, learn what worked, and build your own playbook.
You might try to anticipate where things could go wrong, prepare pre-reads, or ask your manager and cross-functional partners for advice. But no matter how much you plan, the first unexpected moment can throw everything off.
When youāre still junior, you might even piece together advice from blogs and articles about running effective meetings. Thatās useful but often not enough to prepare for the real pressure of the room.
You always need something to calm the nerves.
After AI
Hereās where AI changes the game.
The real power of AI isnāt just access to information but itās the ability to get coaching thatās tailored to your exact situation. With the right prompt, AI can help you prepare in a way that feels actionable and relevant to you.
Recently, I had to lead a retrospective. Iāve done plenty of these in my career, but even with experience, it helps to refresh and rethink how to approach them.
So I leaned on AI. I wrote a prompt that laid out my context and asked for strategies, facilitation tips, and sample ways to phrase things during the discussion. The output gave me not just a refresher but also new angles to consider.
And this approach isnāt limited to retrospectives. You can apply it to any big or complicated meeting like feature reviews, roadmap debates, or difficult one-on-ones.