Two years of blogging: a twisty path
"Rising" to product leadership isn't linear.
I officially started the blog in March 2023, with a few articles I had written earlier that year. So we’ll call it two years — December is a good time to reflect, anyway.
But the highlights:
50 posts, 4 podcasts appearances, 3 live public talks 🎭
From thinking about product management to responsible AI 🤖
Modest but rising subscriber count 📈
Pissing off Marty Cagan, making friends with
😄Helping over two dozen PMs via 1:1 mentoring chats 😊
It’s that last point in the list above I’m particularly proud about. Product management isn’t easy, and helping others with these direct chats is my way of paying it forward and helping the product community.
When I started this blog, I was at a leadership role in a floundering startup. Blogging was a way of release, of working through the tough interpersonal problems that plague startups. By the end of the year I was out of a job, and finding a new role took ages. Blogging during this time was a chance to learn and improve, as well as keep relevant on LinkedIn, where recruitment mostly happens. In the middle of this year I started a new role, which I enjoy tremendously. Since the role is around leading the AI initiative both for the company and our customers, part of my role is to be outspoken about this topic. I love how this matches my values, and I get chances for public speaking around responsible AI.
This role is nominally a senior IC, though I’m still herding a lot of cats across all our platform (ie leading both people and products). Have to say, I’m enjoying the balance of it. I get enough kicks around mentoring, talking to customers, setting strategy, solving organisational issues, and taking products to market. Helps that the company is really a great place to work, with that all elusive ‘culture’ that most execs talk about but so few build correctly.
My point in this, is to show that the path of “rising” to product leadership is twisty. There are many external factors, from global macro economy to a bit luck with the roles. The things you can control are your attitude, continual learning and improvement, and openness to new experiences and opportunities. Don’t be disheartened if your career track doesn’t follow an “ideal” ladder — so few do. Enjoy the moment. Make that your target for next year.
Speaking of enjoying the moment, you can scroll back through the archives if you want to read or hear me harp about meta-themes of product management, but given that it’s the silly season I’d like to draw your attention in particular to Life of a PM— in Cat GIFs and my Sanity Check. If those two posts don’t make you LOL, you’re doing it wrong 😜
This is the last post of the year. See you after a well-deserved break :-)