“From the splash screen to the screws I want to build great products.”
I’ve been asked numerous times before what my career plan is and my answer has always been “I don’t know”, that’s been a cop out for my real answer as given above. My answer is somewhat quirky as it doesn’t involve ambitions of a title, hordes of minions and a corner office.
If I actually had business cards printed, which I never do, in lieu of a title I’d put “From the splash screen to the screws I want to build great products.” It’s why I focus on work stuff beyond my day to day remit and send a blizzard of emails at all hours of the day and night to people I’ve never physically met and probably shouldn’t be mailing in the first place.
So become a Product Manager!
No thanks.
Product management involves pragmatism and compromise, you can’t march into a business review and say “I plan on tanking revenue, losing customers and handing a perceived lead to the competition for 18 months to two years while I finish this masterpiece I have the development team working on.” Sometimes you can do that, most times you can’t. You won’t last very long in the role unless every product is a world beating product at the end of that process.
In general how you get along is to align your goals with the company’s goals while understanding that every publically traded company’s primary goal is to maximise shareholder return. It’s not to make great art or the best shampoo or the finest products it’s to ensure the owners get their money’s worth from their investment.
The company might do that by making great art or the best shampoo or the finest products but somewhere and at some time if you’re a Product Manager you’re going to have to slowly swallow a pint glass full of Castor oil or do something which gives you that sensation just to get along.
My way of going from place to place offering solicited and unsolicited input and ideas suits me better. Most certainly I’m not happy when things don’t get done for various reasons or things take longer than I’d hoped. In general everything takes longer than you’d hope, for example I didn’t know that half the amount of time spent bringing something to market is spent on QA alone, but you do what you can where and when you can.
Now all I have to do is balance out my non-work related interests and I’ll be doing well all round.
You can spend too much of your time and your life at this stuff.
