I recently had a debate with several colleagues about the following question; would you rather be the best in the world at one specific task or a jack of all trades? Viewpoints on the question were mixed.
On one hand, being the best in the world makes you an authority on whatever it is you are the best at. A jack of all trades may have a wide range of talents, but is unlikely to be called upon for knowledge on one particular subject.
On the other hand people that are the best at what they do spend endless hours perfecting their craft, but are often one dimensional. What does a professional athlete do after his or her career is finished? Malcolm Gladwell’s title “Outliers” suggests that it takes 10,000 hours for someone to master their craft. That’s over five years (based on a 37.5 hour work week) of working on only one specific task.
Product Management is one career path where it’s viewed as beneficial to have expertise in a number of areas. As the link between a number of organizational functions including technology, marketing and sales – having broad knowledge is important for developing the trust and support of the stakeholders Product Managers work with on a daily basis. A Software Product Manager without technical expertise may have difficulty communicating customer needs to the internal technology team. An effective product manager though, must also be able to communication benefits to the product’s end user in a way they’ll understand.
In Product Management, being the best in the world is not a matter of mastering one particular task. What are the key factors to perfecting your craft?
Filed under: Product Management | Tagged: business, canada, communication, content, customer interaction, emarketing mix, feedback, innovation, insights, Internet, marketing, mass audience, Matt Belbeck, Matthew Belbeck, new technology, product, product development, product management | Leave a comment »
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