Introduction
My precursor, I enjoy talking about life and to have relationships at a deeper level. I prefer to avoid small talk and given the option would rather sit alone and people watch, than to engage in small talk.
Purpose
The purpose of this post is to explain how I got into product management and to provide a level of transparency that would encourage you to keep moving forward and that whatever pain, suffering and failure you are going through right now, are stepping stones to success and growth. I have been fired 25 times over the course of 18 years. The last time I was fired was back in the fall of 2009 and looking at it now, it was a great move for my career. I am not boasting about all the times I was fired, I plan to use my past experience’s to provide some context and to let you know that I am not perfect. I often second guess my thoughts, emotions and have started to always ask the question, “How do I know I’m right?”
“Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” – C.S. Lewis
Career Timeline
I started working at age 14 and by 16 landed my first full-time job at Winn-Dixie as a grocery stocker. I quickly realized that when properly motivated, I go all in and when I am not, I get bored. The next 20+ years this would play out in many different ways.
1996 – Tree trimming and landscaping
1998 – Stocker dude
2000 – US Army
2003 – Forklift driver
2006 – Started college, still working 50 hours a week
2009 – Earned my Computer Networking degree
2010 – Video Conferencing and Telecom Support role at Samsung
2012 – Promoted to new product introduction engineer at Samsung, basically a Product Owner
2014 – Invited to become a Product Manager at Estech Systems, Inc (ESI)
2015 – Promoted to Sr. Product Manager and handed the keys to our flagship product the ESI ePhone7
2017 – Promoted to Director of Product Management for ESI
Where am I going with all this?
Glad you asked, I plan on using my past experiences within the workplace as a tool to explain the how and the why I got into product management.
Let’s begin…
In 2006, I remember a key event that would change my thinking forever. I was working at Daisy Brand (best sour cream ever!) and I got really ticked off at another coworker for slacking off and needless to say my response was not helpful. One of my managers pulled me to the side and told me I had to make a decision about my role in the workplace.
“Are you going to be a guy that comes to work to get a paycheck or are you going to be a guy that comes to work to make a difference?”
In 2010, I started working at Samsung and within months was very impressed with being around so much talent. While supporting moves, adds and changes I was tasked with running the president’s video conferences. This was huge, not because I was supporting the president of Samsung, but because I got an inside seat to a level of business that i had never been a part of and I loved it. It was fun to watch how relationships were built and how they were destroyed.
I was there when the marketing team created the first video that took a direct shot at Apple. The room cheered in excitement and that following year took first place in mobile phone sales, beating Apple for the first time. A year or so before Samsung started stocking every break room with free apples and not those cheap ones. The Gala and Fuji ones and made one request, when you take a break, grab an apple and ask yourself….How can you help beat Apple?
In 2013, during one of my reviews my manager asked me a important question. He said, “Eddie, you are going to have to make a decision one day and that decision must be, are you going to stay striving to become a better engineer or go into management?” I took this to heart and within a month left Samsung to join ESI as a Product Manager.
I have always had a desire to make a difference, a desire to lead others, but I lacked the confidence to do so and feared failure. Over the past 3 ½ years working in product management, I have encountered many trials and failures. I have spent the past year working to accept failure, learn from it and keep moving forward. About 2 months ago I put on the hat of an Agile Coach to teach this same principle to our development teams.
A quote that is always on my mind…
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.” – Dale Carnegie
Conclusion
My 5 reasons why I believe I have had success in product management:
- I am all about people, the team and relationships.
- Love well and understand that true love isn’t mushy gushy. Agape love is where it’s at…
- Own your faults and weaknesses. Focus on using your strengths.
- Have fun and laugh at yourself.
- Keep on learning
By Eddie Weakley, Director of Product Management at Estech Systems, Inc (ESI)
My Strengths – Harmony | Relator | Responsibility | Restorative | Arranger
5 Levels of Leadership
References
Dale Harbison Carnegie was an American writer and lecturer and the developer of famous courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills.
Clive Staples (CS) Lewis was a British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist.
Donald O. Clifton was an American psychologist. He developed the eponymous Clifton StrengthsFinder, Gallup’s online psychological assessment.
Giftstest website is designed as a tool to help you discern the spiritual gifts God has given you or created in you through suffering.
