Month: May 2020

If you’ve found this page because you’re debating giving me a job offer and you’d like to understand me a bit more, let’s take a bit of time to talk about some stuff you don’t like about my background.

He Doesn’t Have A Degree

Truth! I got a good job working at the Ahmanson Theatre right out of High School, and decided that working an enterprise position as a Systems Administrator would give me more valuable experience than attending college. Instead of accruing debt, I had the opportunity to make some money and also work in the games industry which has always been a passion. It’s been a long time since any of us were in college and I hope my 20 years of professional experience carry some weight. I’m happy to provide references showing what a smarty-pants I am, if that’s what you’re worried about

Lastly: Google, Apple, Starbucks, Nordstrom, Bank of America, IBM are all companies that have something in common. They all no longer require college degrees from their employees. What do they know that you dont?

He Sure Changes Jobs Often…

Absolutely. As of the writing of this, I’ve had 7 jobs in the last 7 years. The No-Bullshit Primary Motivator here is….

The average cost of living increase is 3-5%. Particularly earlier in my career, but still continuing later, I have found fairly often the opportunity to pursue a more lucrative position resulting in a 10-20% salary increase (or improved benefits/stock/profit sharing/career growth). The primary reason for leaving several of these roles isn’t a lack of loyalty, it’s a lack of compensation.

A few of them have been based on geographic changes. Quite a few of my jobs were the result of former co-workers actively headhunting me to new companies because they understood the capacity for work. I strive for new experiences and new challenges and often find growth opportunities internal to a company considerably less available than externally.

I personally agree deeply with the Netflix Culture here. But of course I do, as a highly effective individual I want to work in places that recognize and reward highly effective contributors. I highly recommend watching this great 3 part series from the LinkedIn Speaker Series by Fred Kaufman titled: Your Job is not Your Job. It’s a bit of a tangent, but it’s also REALLY GOOD

His Experience is Overly Broad

I don’t know if people say this. Man I sure hope they don’t. No matter your company’s size I really hope you hire T-Shaped Employees. I’m still in the process of turning my T into an X, though I’m still not 100% where the X-Shaped Employee comes from…

I Don’t See Much Product Experience Here

If you want to look over my resume and peruse the title and make this kind of generalization, I totally understand. Filtering out people is really obnoxious. I hate it when I’m hiring. I look for any reason not to hire someone and I too start with browsing the job titles to see if this person is worth my time.

BUT HERE IS HOW MY RESUME HAS LOTS OF PRODUCT EXPERIENCE BRO

“If You Don’t Stand For Something, You’ll Fall For Anything”

Gordon A. Eadie

Here’s a list of things I’m passionate about:

• Individual Empowerment
• Innovation
• Jeet Kun Do
• Data-Driven Decisionmaking
• Market Understanding
• Relationship Building
• Tool and Technology
• Continuous Improvement

Individual Empowerment

We know that Great Ideas Come From Anywhere. In the Toyota Model of product management we practice “Go And See”. The people doing the work know it better than you, find ways to empower them. More here

Innovation

Jeet Kun Do

I studied Muay Thai and Jeet Kun Do under the legendary Guru Dan Inosanto, the talented Guru Andy Wilson, the incorrigible Guru Ryan Teal ever inspiring Kun Kru Dennis Hall. So much of what these guys taught me about kicking ass, it turns out, also applies to kicking product development ass too. More Here

Data-Driven Decisionmaking

Market Understanding

Relationship Building

Tools and Technology

Continuous Improvement

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own

Bruce Lee

I didn’t notice it until I’d been doing Filipino Martial Arts for a few years, but the adages of a fighting style developed with a focus on efficiency had a surprisingly large amount in common with Lean Product Development.

Jeet Kun Do is Bruce Lee’s martial art which represented a powerful paradigm shift away from venerated high-walled Kung Fu lineages to a focus on taking from every source that might have something to teach. Chief among the principles amount JKD is economy of motion. Simple works best.

There is a time and a place for a spinning hurricane kick, but 9 times out of 10 a right cross will get the job done. So too, product development.

I’ve noticed that, at several large companies due to the needs of conformity, and at several smaller companies due to not knowing any better, a series of program management rituals are performed because they will result in goodness. Control charts and burn downs and good estimates. The hills we die on.

I have, recently, trended more towards a Kanban approach to product. Focus on Kaizen. Focus on delivery. Focus on simplicity. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

As Mike Tyson said “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. Your project will have setbacks. You have imperfect information. Your teams ability to adapt and execute and have a few strong moves in their pocket that they can use to get back on track are more valuable than a plan with contingencies. And what’s better for your businesses bottom line? It’s cheaper too

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times”

Bruce Lee, again

Know your kicks. Here’s my suggestions:

• Stand ups – Your jab to check your range, get you out of trouble, and set up your other moves
• 1:1’s – Your footwork. Check your team health. Avoid pitfalls.
• Retrospective – This is your middle kick. It is your workhorse. This is, in my opinion, the single most important thing for a team
• Summary Report – This is my teep/push kick. It makes some room for me and sometimes does real damage

“But what about planning? What about stakeholder alignment?” Sure. You need some other moves too, but get those 4 down. Start with fundamentals and first principals

Be Like Water

Adaptability as a PM is one of your greatest strengths. Your work is theoretical and soft-skills. The cost of thoughtwork and ideation is relatively low. Challenge preconceived notions, and discard what is useless. Don’t stay pot committed to a plan because you happen to have been the one to come up with it. If you go into a fight thinking you’re going to win and start to get your ass kicked, it’s time to make a new plan, not just keep trying the same thing

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!