{"id":11629,"date":"2024-01-06T12:38:31","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T02:38:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nsrd.info\/blog\/?p=11629"},"modified":"2024-01-06T12:38:33","modified_gmt":"2024-01-06T02:38:33","slug":"two-years-a-product-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nsrd.info\/blog\/2024\/01\/06\/two-years-a-product-manager\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Years a Product Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

or, The Stoic’s Guide to Product Management<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(…and a book giveaway at the end…)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m coming up to two years of being a product manager. I reflected at the six month<\/a><\/strong> and one year<\/a><\/strong> points of my journey on my lessons so far, but as my two year anniversary approaches I want to re-evaluate what I’ve learnt \u2014\u00a0and perhaps also un<\/em>learnt during that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many different lessons and tips I can suggest having been a product manager for two years, but I’m going to settle for a single umbrella topic: the core approach to product management is embracing stoicism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been many stoic philosophers over the centuries, but Marcus Aurelius is probably the most well known. (The sheer fact that his Meditations<\/em> is in print almost 2,000 years after it was written suggests his enduring appeal.) You might suggest that the core dictionary definition for being “stoic” in the face of adversity derives directly from an Aurelius statement:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYou have power over your mind \u2014 not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength.\u201d<\/p>\nMarcus Aurelius, Meditations<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Now, as a Roman Emperor, Aurelius arguably had control over a lot of outside events, and a cynic might suggest that Aurelius might have been arguing for people to accept the status quo. But Aurelius also knew he couldn’t control everything. As soon as other people and their plans enter the equation, you’ve lost full control. (As soon as nature<\/em> or time<\/em> enters the equation, you’ve lost full control.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, stoicism as much as anything is about learning what you can control and what you can’t, and not letting yourself get upset about things that are out of control. Focus on what you can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve spent my career being told by one person or another that the next job I take is all about “owning” a {direction | solution | outcome}. You might have done too. But it’s never the truth. I’m not saying people lie \u2013 rather there’s an in a vacuum<\/em> understanding of the responsibilities of a role and the actual reality<\/em> of it. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n