There have been a number of much wiser than me people writing blogs and offering advice on how to prepare yourself in the event that you personally are the victim in the next round of company changes.
I’m not going to address the tactics (though if you’re interested, please leave a note and I’ll point you to some great advice, in my opinion.) But, what about the other preparations?
As a product manager, you wouldn’t watch a release that was going haywire and say “oh well, maybe it will fix itself,” or “i know that happened last time but this time is different?” You take control and make decisions.
In this economy, product managers are vulnerable. Whether your pm role sits through the marketing department or the engineering department, it would be the first targeted in both places. Why? Well, in the engineering role, the company can’t get rid of its “valuable” development and QA roles; and, in the marketing department, you need to drive activities to help sales. (Though, marketing will typically be downsized before sales and engineering from my opinion.)
So, instead of knowing you’re vulnerable, and doing nothing. Plan. You know how to do the activities to make sure your network is up-to-date, and that you are adding value in the PM communities; but, what about your personal self? Have you taken the time to prepare your mind in the event of a change? have you learned how to control your stress in times of panic? (My spouse would say I still need to work on that one.) Have you taken the time to relax and learn how to use these techniques at the unstressful times, so that if you need them during the more stressful times, you know how?
Looking in from the outside – PMs know how to plan for our products, how to overcome hurdles and move through challenges for success. But, are we preparing ourselves too?
(Now it’s time for me to eat my own dog food and take a few minutes for a prioritization and relaxation exercise break.)
