Let’s say you’re in disagreement with the leaders of your organization. It’s not unusual, especially for a product manager. You’re hired to be independent and creative, but only up to a point. And so a new owner comes in, or a new team, or a new priority… the business wants to do something that you disagree with.
“Disagree and commit” is the obviously desired answer, especially in career organizations, but one of the strengths of Silicon Valley is the continual ferment of people refusing to settle. Where would we be if the Traitorous Eight had disagreed and committed? Ah, but one might think, why should I leave my job when it’s just as likely that the new thing is going to fail and disappear? It’s a gamble: if you’re correct that the new priority is wrong for the market, then maybe you can keep the old priorities alive while the new priority is proving itself a failure. Let’s call this concept “Steering from the engine room”. I have to admit, I’ve tried steering from the engine room at an angle to the bridge’s command. In one instance, it worked — I was correct that customer demand for the product was imperative, and my engineering team was correct in assessing that the problem was soluble, and the pressure we built up was resolved in a way that resulted in working product and happy customers.
In other instances, it did not work. The not-forbidden-but-also-not-aligned innovation project was found and killed before release. The do-it-right architectural approach was squashed in favor of a quick hack. The safe release process was scuttled in favor of a spicier risk level. At worst, it’s suboptimal to try this approach because your efforts are simply ineffective waste. At best, you’re working harder than necessary to get the outcome. Maybe your plans collapse half-done when dissonance becomes too much. It’s entirely possible you could get fired or managed out after accomplishing nothing. It’s better to be aligned with what the people running the company want. That starts with pushing back for what you believe in. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s the more effective thing to do. If that attempt to re-align doesn’t end up with the organization’s plans including what you want to do, then it’s time to job hunt.
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