A few days back, while sitting on my balcony, I watched a neighbour who had just learned to drive, manoeuvring his car out of a parking space. He reversed his car 3-4 times to ensure it didn't hit the adjacent parked car. Today, I saw him again, reversing his car, but this time only twice.
What this reminded me of ๐:
๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
Had he rushed a few days back, he might have hit the other car. Instead, he took his time and improved gradually.
For someone transitioning into a product role, the key to success lies in daily improvement and improvisation. Shortcuts may seem enticing, but they lead nowhere.
Five years ago, transitioning from engineering to a product role was both exciting and challenging. While I knew partially whatย needed to be done, I was unsure about the how.
This uncertainty caused anxiety and nervousness, but I realised it wasn't just me. Everyone transitioning feels the same. So, I sought advice from colleagues and my manager, which helped alleviate my nervousness. However, I knew I needed a plan to get acclimated to the role.
During a one-on-one with my manager, she discussed my next focus: leading the Scrum ceremonies. As she spoke, I felt overwhelmed. Sensing my nervousness, she reassured me, saying, "Mistakes are expected. What's important is learning from them gradually."
This shifted my perspective entirely. I began slowly, with many conversations and actions missing, but I took notes and recorded meetings to reflect and improve.
After three months, I noticed improvement and felt more confident.
Another challenge was writing user stories for the development team. Initially, I mimicked others' approaches without understanding the intent behind user stories. As a result, crucial details were omitted, leading to multiple revisions and frustrations.
Realising my mistake, I delved into understanding user stories' purpose. As I learned, I began crafting requirements from the user's perspective with more enthusiasm, resulting in clearer requirements and fewer refinement iterations.
Three directions and their outcomes:
๐ If I didn't act โ I would have failed to lead the ceremonies. โ My transition into the product role would have been a disaster.
๐ฏ If I aimed for perfection โ I would be waiting for the perfect start. โ High expectations but poor results.
๐ If I improved gradually โ Slow start. โ Continuous improvement. โ Long-term success.
I didn't mind starting slowly; instead, I focused on continuous improvement. Isn't that what Agile is about?
Conclusion:
Aiming for perfection delays action.
Aiming to fail, learn, and try leads to long-term success. ๐
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