A few weeks back I had a conversation with a Product Manager. We were speaking about personal ambitions - what title, what scope is the goal? The only thing that really came to mind was that I want to build things. The joy of creating something that hasn't existed before.
My day job is – and has been for a while – managing engineering teams in the E-commerce domain. I'm super privileged to work with smart, witty and ambitious people and we're building great things for our company and our customers, in reverse order.
One thing management and leadership does is to create a distance between you and where the sausage is made. That's intentional, it's the essence of the role really – but it's something that a lot of folks who left the IC path struggle with. I struggle with that. I need to remind myself from time to time to not give in and start co-building with the team.
My fix is side projects. Side projects are beautiful. You're the customer, all stakeholders and every single contributor. You work on them when you feel like it, and you stop when they stop being fun. There's flexibility not only when it comes to what you're doing, but also in the how - where work life needs me to be able to push through complicated dynamics, I can simply close an editor and walk the dog when my side project fails to compile. It's great.
For a long time now, I’ve been designing and building split-flap displays. It’s something I’m deeply proud of. It’s unapologetically nerdy. And it forced me to learn skills I simply didn’t have before: mechanical design, electronics, manufacturing, patience. I’ve started writing about that journey at blog.flipforward.de. That writing isn’t marketing; it’s me staying close to the act of building.