I think the following paragraph is very useful for many great “tech minds” here.
Never, ever, upstage your peers. One of the hardest lessons I ever learned was to never, ever upstage my leadership team peers, especially in their wheelhouse of expertise. Like CIOs, CPOs learn a great deal about how the organization does business and thus a whole lot about things like finance, marketing, production and more. After years of helping the organization implement cross-functional solutions that know no silos, osmosis alone will bring you knowledge. Add to that a dash of curiosity and research, and you become more than a bit knowledgeable--and that knowledge, revealed at the wrong place and time, can be like a noose around your neck.
My noose got put around my neck when I stupidly launched into a debate with the head of marketing about the best ways to do direct marketing to customers. That noose got tightened when the CEO agreed with me. I never mended the bridge I unwittingly burned with the VP of marketing that day, and a year or so later that burnt bridge almost cost me my job.
A better and positive relationship-building approach would have been to meet with the marketing VP before the meeting to hear his ideas and then to collaborate with him to shape those ideas; at the planning meeting he could own center stage and look like a star to our boss, the CEO. That would have placed me as a trusted colleague rather than a loose-cannon threat.
The lessons here could go on and on:
“Business mind” trumps “tech mind” every time
Always surround yourself with the best minds and talent you can find
When push comes to shove, there is always money available
Never negotiate with yourself
Be confident, tenacious, bold and humble
Avoid editorializing…stick to facts; it makes you more credible.
…but those are for another day, another “Dutch uncle” article. So, what lessons have you learned in your career? How many transcend your position and are more universally applicable? Your fellow ProjectManagement.com readers might benefit from your lessons learned--and you from theirs.
A section from “Four Lessons CPOs Can Learn From” By Michael Wood - May 5, 2014
