Comments on: Be the CEO of your product. Be the CEO of your own career.

By: In Search Of A Metaphor | Product Management Meets Pop Culture

In Search Of A Metaphor | Product Management Meets Pop Culture — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:07:33 +0000

[...] You hear this one a lot. [...]

By: Sameer

Sameer — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:35:50 +0000

Awesome Post!

By: Worth The Read « i need a reality check

Worth The Read « i need a reality check — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:14:52 +0000

[...] Cranky Product Manager – Be the CEO of your product. Be the CEO of your own career Shut the hell up and show some initiative. Honestly. You’re a Product Manager for [...]

By: John Springfield

John Springfield — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:28:00 +0000

Br the CEO of your own career.by The Cranky Product Manager on January 8, 2009in The PM Profession” http://bit.ly/yRYE

By: Paco

Paco — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:13:29 +0000

Agree on the “not whining” part.

Using the “CEO of your product” cliche makes me want to hurl though.

I hate schmucky upper-management types who throw that cliche at PMs but don’t back it up with any CEO-esque authority for the PMs.

SCHMUCK: ” PMs should act as the CEO of the product.”

ME: “OK, so I can hire and fire people for the product team?”

SCHMUCK: “No.”

ME: “Will you tell the rest of the product teams – marketing, sales, support, engineering, and QA – that I’m the product CEO?”

SCHMUCK: “No.”

ME: “Well do I get an annual budget, set the product pricing, or work with the CFO to set our quarterly revenue target?”

SCHMUCK: “No, no and no.”

ME: “Do I get a compensation package like a CEO with an equity interest in the company commensurate with my product’s contributions to overall profits?”

SCHMUCK: “Definitely no.”

ME: “Do I at least get final-say on our product strategy and roadmap?”

SCHMUCK: “Yes, unless we need to change it.”

ME (INTERNALLY): “Well, are there any other magical fantasy jobs you want me to fill while I’m at it? Perhaps I should also be the product time-traveler, magician or unicorn-wrangler too.”

ME: “OK, then I’m pretty sure you’re describing a ‘product manager’ and not a ‘product CEO’, which I already am.”

By: Ray Salemi

Ray Salemi — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:14:01 +0000

Great advice!

They need to know the key to job security:

Job security isn’t thinking that they won’t fire you, it’s not caring if they fire you.

The ONLY way to get that kind of job security is to be CEO of your career.

By: josh

josh — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:51:07 +0000

“Instead of whining, DO something about it”! This should become standard operating procedure.

I think as a product manager, you have three options at work:

1. Make the change happen
2. If you can’t make it happen, learn to live or work around the issue
3. If you can’t live with it, get out and go somewhere else

Sitting still and whining about how things could have been or should be doesn’t help anyone.

By: Cranky Product Mgr

Cranky Product Mgr — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:10:57 +0000

New blog post: Be the CEO of your product. Be the CEO of your own career. http://tinyurl.com/7sh2yp

By: April

April — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:35:24 +0000

Ha! This is my fav post of the year (yeah OK, we’re only 8 or so days into it but still)!
I worked for a woman that ran a massive business at IBM and she used to say “Gee whiz, do you think I get to go whine to my boss!? Suck it up!”
April

By: John Westerveld

John Westerveld — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:25:28 +0000

Thanks CPM… every once in a while we all need a verbal kick in the backside!