New Resources/Last Assessment

So I found a bunch of new "what do you want to be when you grow up" resources on the web yesterday (via LinkedIn, for those of you evaluating the effectiveness of social media channels).

The most promising of these, whose depths I have yet to plumb, is InternsOver40 -- a blog about people making intentional and sharp career changes later in life.It's laid out a little capriciously, IMO, and somewhat hard to read, but the content makes it worthwhile. I look forward to following it.

As I began to explore the material on this blog, I found links to other sites with a similar theme which, in turn, linked me to things like skills assessment tests and the like. It's like...I don't know...a "web" or something.

"Control of the adjacencies"

I spent the next two days in a kind of Apple-induced thrall, thinking excitedly of what my new Mac laptop would do and when I could get it. I was thinking of all the new, non-PC things I could do when the spell began to fade and I realized I needed a counter-perspective.

So, I called one of my friends who once was a Mac devotee, but who moved his life over to the PC world. (Interesting note is that he blogged about this when he did it and got flaming, vituperative hate mail from Mac people he didn't even know. Everything has a dark side.)

Mr. Wood, Your Laptop is Ready...

So, after much debate, I got online the other day with the Apple Store Concierge and made a "Personal Shopping" appointment for last Thursday. I was still wrestling with this "PC vs. Mac" thing -- logic said PC, emotion said Mac. Which was the right decision?

I walked in at 11:00 am and was met promptly by Kristin, whose business card carries the title "Expert". I was very honest with her:

• Not gonna buy anything today.
• Struggling with why I should pay 2-3x for a MacBook Pro
• Wanting to understand the emotional geas that Apple had magically placed upon me.

Which version are you?

I had lunch with a friend of mine today who has become sort of an informal career counselor in his dotage. (OK, he's not that much older than I am.) I wanted to ask his advice about this My Next Hat project as he's thought about this sort of stuff way more than I have. Plus, it was good to catch up with him.

He has been a manager of Engineers for a long time now and, during our lunch, made the point that different Engineers are needed for different levels of product maturity.

Mac vs. PC

Mye portable difference engine be afflicted with aires and maladies of a moste nefarious sorte so that I fear to touch its keyboard with my sainted flesh. I do observe that its internal aire circulation device does stray now and again from the path of righteousness and that a stern tap is required to restore its gaze in the direction of the Almighty and cause the aire to flow freely once more. And it is similarly afflicted with the twin Curses of Sloweness and Insufficient RAM so that even the simplest piece of godly software does challenge it to its limit, causing internal grinding sounds that surely indicate the unholy presence of the Adversary's daemons. Yea, verily I do need a new one.

So, the question is, what to buy next? Mac or PC? The PC I'd like is probably going to run me about $1000. A similarly-equipped Mac would cost twice that much at least. No brainer, right?

Portfolio project

God, has it been a week since I last blogged? That's unforgivable. My sincere apologies to the 2-3 of you who are still reading this blog.

The reason for my delay is yet another project. This time, it relates to my portfolio.

You see, I think Product Managers ought to have a portfolio the same way that artists do. Nobody hires a painter or sculpter or even a home-improvement contractor without seeing something of their previous work. Why not expect the same of Product Managers?

Relator, not Realtor...

By far the most amazing thing I've learned from all these tests is that I have the RELATOR talent. What does that mean? Essentially, it means I tend to cultivate deep friendships easily AND I need those friendships to sustain me.

That flies in the face of everything I ever believed about myself as an introvert. About five years ago, I had a blog and I had several comments from readers that their favorite entry was titled "The Tyranny of the Extroverts". It was pretty funny. I'll see if I can dig it up and "re-print" for tomorrow.

Strengths Finder 2.0

I've already done several things on this journey of self-discovery, but the thing I think I've found the most valuable has been an exercise called Strengths Finder 2.0. This analysis model is based on more than 50 years of human observation by Gallup scientists and the premise is this:

• If you're in a job that plays to your strengths, you're far, far more likely to be good at it and to enjoy it.
• So, the first thing you need to do is identify those strengths.

Birkman Says...

Yesterday, I probably nauseated you with my description of the Birkman Method and what it told me about my behaviors and my interests. Today my plan is to make you actually vomit with a detailed description of what jobs I should have. That is, if you keep reading.

The thing to remember is that this analysis is not based solely on my interests. It's also based on how I like to work and what kinds of behaviors I exhibit in the workplace. Generally speaking, I tend to like to work alone and uninterrupted, but as part of a larger team and toward a greater goal. I like a lot of freedom in what I choose to do next though I can adapt to pretty radical change if given enough warning. I'm pretty good with other people, though I'm not at all interested in selling to them. I like to treat others as customers (not clients) and I like to make them happy.

The Birkman is Here! The Birkman is Here!

On Friday I met with a career consultant who walked me through the results of my recent Birkman test. For those of you who are not familiar with the Birkman (and, before taking it, I counted myself a member of that club), it's essentially a personality test that determines how you tend to behave. It was created in the 60's by Roger Birkman, a WWII bomber pilot who observed that, even though pilots all flew the same mission, their reactions to a mission were wildly different. He went on to become an operational psychologist and creator of the Birkman Method to try and explain, characterize, and measure these differences.

A Distraction

I haven't blogged in a day or two and I feel compelled to write down why and why not.

When I blog, I take it as a serious commitment. "Four to five entries a week," I tell myself, "or it's not worth doing." I believe strongly in honoring one's personal commitments, even if nobody else cares. If you're not true to yourself, you're really not going to be true to others. Or so I have come to believe over the years.

Miscellaneous Updates for Monday

1. On Saturday, Product Camp Atlanta was held at the Georgia Tech Research Institute. More than 250 Product Managers and Product Marketing Managers from Atlanta and nearby cities congregated to discuss techniques and meet each other. This was my first event and it was really excellent. It's an entirely volunteer event with corporate sponsors picking up the food tab. Volunteers proposed 44 sessions on various PM topics, the top 23 vote-getters of which are delivered. I was lucky enough to have mine selected ("The Four W's or How to Train Your CEO"). Small audience, but it was very well-received, I thought. A number of people asked if I would come in and do training.