Do what you enjoy.
It’s the mantra that every parent tells their child, every professor advises the young student, and every friend remind you of when you complain about your job. Go do what you enjoy.
I’ve now been in this state of transition for 18 weeks. This is much longer than I thought I’d be here. Really. I intended to visit, not relocate. (And, yes, I have been busy with project work, classes and the like.) Along the way I’ve gotten all kinds of advice, some good and other, well, not so good. But, one thing that I am constantly asked is “What are your target companies? And, have you networked your way into them?
I’m interviewing with companies for my next great opportunity. And, when I was speaking with a company, the conversation went like this:
Interviewer: “You have a mix of technology and product management and marketing. Where on the spectrum do you really enjoy being?”
Me: “Actually, neither end. I am about the market and solving the problems the market has.”
And, my question to you is as a product manager/product marketing manager how would you answer this?
This morning I woke up to find that Dr. Jim Anderson wrote a blog post on “Which Job Boards Work Best For Product Managers?” I typically enjoy his posts, but today, Dr. Jim – you missed the mark.
Forrester Analyst Tom Grant wrote an interesting blog about requirements gathering. In the blog he enters into the world of “complete odiousness of traditional requirements” (his words, not mine.) Dr. Jim Anderson commented on this, saying that “The real problem is that we simply don’t know how to ask the right questions.” I couldn’t agree more!
I have long held the position, as I know many of the esteemed product management “gurus” have, that you can teach a product manager about the industry/technology/market, but you can’t teach an industry expert how to have a real conversation with the market.
I know many others out there will blast me for this. I am ready. A person who knows how to have the conversation is far more likely to get to the problem that is at the heart of the matter. This person is more likely to find what solutions (not technical features) will resolve the problem. And, this person will be able to find out the value of the solution. A technical expert will likely dive into features and functionality, and ask a different line of questions – none of which are about the problem.
Having domain familiarity is good. I admit it helps in framing the context. But, it is not necessary. Most people can be taught the basics of any domain, or at least enough to know how to keep the conversations relevant.
Looking in from the outside – companies (and hiring managers) should be looking at the qualities of the product manager’s aptitude, not their platform experience. It will serve the product better in the long run.
