Some people seem naturally successfully and fall into niches that fit them perfectly. The rest of us get to do it less efficiently. I’ve found parts that are a good match and others that aren’t.
It really is all about setting on a journey with no idea of where you are going. I’m doing that myself, here, and in front of the world, one step (and occasional jump) at a time.
The clarity comes through doing and the doing is hard for people like me that are motivated by whether or not the payoff appears “worth it” or not. Sometimes you have a sense of what the payoff could be, but you can’t be sure. That’s when you have to take a risk and leap.
I’ve had the luxury of working for a successful company for a long time. I’m not changing that part, but I am changing what I do there. I’m moving from managing product development and delivery on the program management team and moving to the OpenShift Marketing team. If my posts here switch to being more online marketing focused that could be why.
I want more experience on the front lines with a bigger chance at moving the needle. What better a product to do that than with OpenShift and the fantastic people working on it? In all of my software development experiences I’ve never worked on a team that collaborates and functions at such a high level across every functional area.
In case you think this is a strange turn or wonder if I have previous formal marketing experience or an MBA?”
No, “I’ll figure it out.”
October 10, 2012 at 4:16 am
This is awesome. John, I’ve always admired your openness to learning and your ability to dive into unfamiliar seas and quickly make them familiar — best of luck with the new (but not-so-new, after all) waters. Having been thrown into a (much shorter and shallower) version of this particular sea o’ marketing a few years back, I’m keen to see what you’ll learn.
October 8, 2012 at 8:07 pm
Rock on, my friend. You got this.