There comes a point in a company’s life when it becomes its own largest customer.

This is the crossover point in the 𝑥-pattern below.

Left side of 𝑥 is largely about Produce work. Right side largely Organize+Self-promote work.

Crossover is inevitable, but defer it if you can
Quick recap:

People do 3 types of work within companies.

Produce:
Creating artifacts to serve the company’s external stakeholders.

Organize:
Creating the necessary structures & processes for Produce work.

Self-promote:
Creating a proxy for their own competence & impact.
Startups are almost 100% about Produce work.

That’s why some people love working at startups.

Very large companies tend to require more Organize + Self-promote work from their PMs than Produce work.

Less than 20% Produce time is common for Group PMs in some large companies.
Use this framework to:

-Understand whether you prefer being left-of-𝑥 or right-of-𝑥, when looking for a new role

-Evaluate & discuss where your company/org is & where you’d like it to be

-Periodically track how quickly your company/org is moving towards the crossover point
Finally:

To learn more about Produce / Organize / Self-promote work, company politics, the role of senior leaders, and the role of managers, check out this thread https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1329330848919810049
You can follow @shreyas.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:

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