Paradigm shift

I'm turning some (large) multiple of 10 years of age this year. My birthday isn't for quite a few months yet but I like to plan ahead. :) Regardless, I'm doing my once-a-decade review of my life, which has the longest time-horizon of them all, a lookahead of 20 years in addition to a decade's worth of review.

Have I done as much as I had hoped to? Simply put, no. I lost sight of where I wanted my life to go when the kids entered my life and I've been merely existing since then. Of course, my life took a very strange sharp turn a few years back that was massively disruptive not only to myself but to my family. Thankfully, the paths we've taken has lead us to a stable and better place than where we were back then. It's been tough but we're there now.

Which leads me back to the central theme of my introspection: what now? Well, the most urgent need is for me to figure out what I want to do, career-wise. I have the following options:

1. Project management
2. Program management
3. Product management
4. Product development

Project management is what I had been doing previously. It's why I'm striving towards my PMP certification. Simply put, a project manager ensures that a project is successful and this is a lot tougher than it seems. Out of the lot, this is the most versatile option; there will always be a need for project managers. The detail-oriented side of me *loves* this role and it remains a very viable and solid choice.

Program management is what I'm currently doing. Getting my PMP is the first step towards getting my PgMP certification. The two are not directly related but having my PMP first establishes the foundation for the type of work that a program manager will run. A program manager ensures that projects directed at the same or similar strategic goal are managed as a program, where each project and its deliverables are coordinated efficiently to achieve the best possible program outcome. I *love* this role. It's a blend of operational and strategic needs that makes my heart sing with joy; it's air traffic control with projects and anyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy juggling things like that. I love managing complex systems and this is about as complex as it gets.

Product management was what I had been doing some time back. This is about taking a product and ensuring that it continues to delight its customers year over year, release after release. It deals with the needs of customer, understanding the market and staying one step ahead of the competition. When done well, it makes a product a household name, like 3M's Post-It notes, or Xerox machines or the iPhone. When done poorly...it can bring down a company. This tickles the part of me that wants to nurture and grow things. It gives me a nice comfy warm glowy feeling inside. It's still cerebral and detail-oriented but it also gives me warm fuzzy feelings.

New product development is what I'm supposed to be doing at the moment but due to several factors, it's not something I'm allowed to run with yet. NPD is about understanding the needs of the customer before the customer even knows they have a need. It's about bringing revolutionary products to market, things that will change our lives as we know it. The microwave oven is one example. Remote entry/locking systems for cars. Personal video recorders. All the little things that we now take for granted that we could not have conceived of 20 years ago. This position is one of the hardest to find employment for but with the right person in the right company, has the potential to change the world. This is the good bits of all three of the previous jobs rolled into one plus it allows me to let my imaginative and innovative self to roam free. If I found this position in the right company, I'd relocate to the ends of the world to do it.

So...what to do? Right now, I'm not sure but at least I have 4 options to choose from. I'm okay with where I am at the moment but this is not about the here and now, it's about where I want to be 20 years from now. I think I know but it'll be really tough to get there.

In the past, I've always separated what I love to do and what I did for work, thinking that if I worked on something I loved, I'd get bored with it eventually and that love would go away. Looking around, the truly great people, the ones who make a difference are the ones who work on what they love. I've now come to believe that I've been mistaken about this, that I should be working on what I love so I can bring all that passion and enthusiasm to bear and make a real difference. A significant paradigm shift, one which if I'm mistaken, might destroy part of what I love. I've decided to take the plunge though - I've always believed that if one is to burn, one might as well burn as brightly as possible even for just a short time rather than smouldering dimly for a longer time before extinguishing into darkness.

Stay tuned. I hope to make decent headway on my dreams over next few years.