Playing Catch Without Arms, or: Why I’m going to learn to code as a PM.
Hi reader,
Wait a sec, please don’t run away! This isn’t your usual run-of-the-mill “should PMs code or not” piece that you’ve read a thousand times — promise.
How? I’ve been a Product Manager for 3 years now, and a Product Marketer for 2 years before that, but I went to business school before that. Full disclosure: I did earn an engineering degree before that, but in Audio Engineering — so if you need a sound guy or audio produced, let me know, but that course was 0% IT or CS.
I do know a wee little bit of coding, but I’ve never gone further than scrapping together a twitter-like prototype using Ruby On Rails with a tutorial (in the early days of One Month, highly recommended btw!). So yeah, I’ve been working closely with developers for about 5 years now, without the aptitude of being able to (theoretically) join them, even for small/easy tasks. And I’m fed up with it.
To code, or not to code — Product Management’s discussion evergreen
Just to get this out of the way so we’re all on the same page:
Common Advantages of Developer-born PMs
- Deeper understanding of “what’s happening inside the product”
- Ability to consult & support on possible solutions
- Ability to better understand & plan workflow complexity of a software org setup
Common Disadvantages of Developer-born PMs
- “Too far down the rabbit hole”, i.e. too focused on minor details and losing sight of the big picture (which is an essential responsibility of a PM)
- Meddling with (or even dictating) technical solutions that developers should own
- Crafting solutions around technical limitations, not actual user/product needs
As a PM with a non-tech background, I continually did my best to leverage my inability to mess with my developers’ work — and it has served me well in many situations, which is why I wouldn’t just flat-out recommend that every PM learn to code. Instead, I’ll explain why I’m pledging to delve into it.
When is he finally going to talk about Dredg?
Like me, you might be a fan of the group Dredg, and wonder how that quote is supposed to relate to this topic (or you might be unfamiliar with a legendary band/album, in which case I’d dismissively consult you to swiftly summon your Googling powers). Here it is:
As a Product Manager, one often feels like one’s sitting on the sidelines & watching the action — without a real way to influence the actual course of events. Imagine you’re a sports team’s coach, but you never actually played yourself, not even in the past (or maybe a long time ago, or a different sport), so it’s not impossible, but somewhat hard to relate to your players.
When I pondered the implications of that analogy, I was thinking of different ways to symbolize that feeling — and the most fitting one that came to mind was playing catch without arms: the only way you’re able to do that is to guide someone else with arms, which becomes extra difficult if you have very little (or no) clue how arms work.
Ok, so back to the coach.
Still, people usually assume that you possess operational knowledge of, or influence on, what’s happening in the field.
Even if you went through all the right prep work with your team — when the game’s on, all you can do is cheer them on and make sure that they are set up for success as much as you can.
Now, we could go back to that same old discussion from above — but here’s where I want to take a different turn:
Imagine you’re that coach.
People often address the expectation that you’re able to directly influence the game’s outcome — say before or after a game, at a press conference.
And while you can soundly explain that it’s not your role within the team, and that’s how interdisciplinary teams work etc., and so on — later, when you’re alone, you might wander/wonder:
“What if I actually knew exactly what they’re doing, or even what needs to be done?”
Not to actually run out onto the field during a game. But just to really understand the distinct playing techniques of each of your players. To maybe be able to counsel them during half-time, and not having to use buzzwords. To notice in-depth patterns over time, and helping the team improve on that knowledge. And maybe — just maybe — to be able to “show and tell” moves at practice.
Wouldn’t that be great?
From that perspective, it definitely seems like it. And, to all engineer-born PMs, please hold your horses — even if one only acquires technical knowledge after learning the PM ropes, that still adds up to a different background than being a full-fledged engineer that eventually switched to PM. No offense, but you’re not able to fathom that specific pain of being out in the cold about what actually goes down on the infrastructure. It sucks — you can take that to the bank.
The missing hat
Now, imagine acquiring some of those skills — let’s say just about enough to contribute more precisely than before, that definitely adds to the PM’s usual collection of “different hats to wear”: having a developer hat to wear from time to time sure sounds like a good hat to have.
Of course, there’s a deeper desire addressed here: to speak their language. To be the translator. To be the actual, true jack-of-all-trades. To feel more connected to what you’re working on all day. Having the “coding superpower” (which isn’t really one, I know) has always had a certain allure, and there are arguably worse ways to spend your time than investing it in learning some coding whips.
So what about running the risk of forgetting the other hats?
Yeah, I know — the closer one gets, the more one is tempted to lose the ability to look sideways. And while I deem it unlikely that one of my main assets as a PM with a non-tech background in the tech industry would violently pivot into my achilles heel, I’ll need to stay wary. I’m confident that I will.
So all things considered, I’m planning to ramp up coding skills this year. Let’s see how far I get (obviously not too far in the past).
Are you having similar thoughts or plans? Are you just into Dredg as well? Or do you think that I’m gravely mislead by a bunch of ideas in my head? Do drop me a comment if you do, or reach out on Twitter/Instagram (@bertrothen).
And of course, please do put your digital hands together if you’d like to do me a favor! 👏
