A colleague wished me a happy two year anniversary the other day. Apparently LinkedIn tracks that kind of stuff. I knew it had been about two years since leaving pharmacy practice and becoming a product manager, but I hadn’t really given it a whole lot of thought until now.
So, two years. What’s that mean? Not much really, especially if you buy into the theory outlined by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers. According to Gladwell it takes about 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to truly master a skill, any skill. Given that I’ve been a product manager for two years, and assuming that an average year is about 2,000 hours of work, which we know is laughable, then I’ve barely scratched the surface.
If being a product manager is anything like being a pharmacist it’ll take several years to get good at it. My first year as a practicing pharmacist was chaotic, much like my first year as a product manager. I started to learn the basics of how to be a pharmacist during my second year of practice, but still had a lot to learn. This is pretty much how I feel about my second year as a product manager, i.e. I understand more, but still have a long way to go. I didn’t become what I’d consider a good pharmacist until I had several years as a pharmacist under my belt. I guess that gives some credibility to Gladwell’s theory.
How about my first two years as a product manager? It’s been good. I’ve learned a lot, especially about non-pharmacy related stuff. In many ways it’s a lot like all the other jobs I’ve had. There are good people, and bad. There are those that work hard, and those that don’t. Those that make the rules, and those that break them; sometimes it’s the same people. There’s paperwork, bureaucratic B.S., political agendas and a lot of handwringing. There’s also lots of innovation, camaraderie, hard work and enjoyment. Like I said, a lot like other jobs.
This year has been exciting for me as some of my ideas have resulted in new products hitting the market. Are the products any good? Who knows, we’ll have to wait and see. They’re not exactly what I had envisioned, but they’re decent. As I continue to hone my skills over the next few years I expect that my future product ideas, concepts and designs will be better. Experience counts for something. That’s my theory anyway. I’ll let you know next year if the theory was any good.
One concern I have is that I will eventually lose my skills as a pharmacist. If it take 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to master a skill, how long do you think it takes to lose that mastery? Should take longer, right? I hope so. I still feel comfortable when I walk into a pharmacy. Most times I feel like I could roll up my sleeves and dig in. I hope that feeling never goes away. Only time will tell.
The bottom line is that I’m glad I made the switch. It’s been a nice change of pace and a good outlet for my interests in both pharmacy and technology. I can’t see myself going back to practicing hospital pharmacy any time soon. I’m having too much fun doing this.
Leave a Reply