
Death of a Product Manager - ssp
http://crankypm.com/2011/04/death-product-manager/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheCrankyProductManager+(The+Cranky+Product+Manager)
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dmor
Beyond death of employees, the issue of bereavment for 20-something startup
employees is something we don't talk about much... but sadly it happens to a
lot of us. I went through this with my mother-in-law last year, and it was
very hard. My company was very supportive and did the right thing for me,
which was basically "we support whatever you need to do" and then checking in
with emails every couple days.

For me, it was the first close family member I've ever had pass away, so I
hadn't even thought about what I would do in the situation and I ended up
planning a funeral.

~~~
peterb
I learned what truly great leadership was at Microsoft in the mid-90s. My
father passed away unexpectedly and I was devastated. My director at the time
(who is now a VP), called me at my mother's home, and I was a mess. He told me
how difficult it was to lose his own father and to take as much time as I
needed to grieve. He told me not to worry about work and come back when I was
ready. The call was short, maybe 2 minutes. I will never forget that call and
its lesson. Empathy is the single greatest "skill" a leader can learn.

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masterponomo
We outsourced our PM function some years ago. After a couple of years working
remotely with an excellent PM in Mumbai, we noticed that the spelling and
grammar in his emails had changed radically. We asked through discrete
channels whether our guy had had a stroke or something that impacted his
writing. It turned out Habarjahn had actually died and been replaced, but they
tried to sneak the new guy in on us without letting us know. Funny how you can
form attachments with a co-worker you never even saw or spoke with. Now,
though, we're equally fond of Narendra (assuming it's still him.)

~~~
happyfeet
When you found the company would do such a thing as slipping in an employee
without notifying customer in first place, isn't it right to NOT deal with
that company anymore? Surprised you are saying you are fond of new guy
"(assuming it's still him.)".

~~~
masterponomo
Well, one of the PM's duties is managing our outsourcing contracts, so we're
kind of stuck until they fire themselves.

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kabdib
Had a co-worker who committed suicide. I still vividly remember the all-hands
we had when it was announced. The company behaved well; supported his widow (I
am not sure of details, but I know that at least one manager was still in
contact with her over a year later). We went to his funeral. I don't remember
if counselors were available, but it wouldn't suprise me. About six months
later the product shipped and we had put his name in it, in an easter egg. No
one objected, at least that I heard of.

It was a depressing time in the middle of some of the hardest work I've ever
done. I was single and unattached, and just dove into work as a coping
mechanism, as did a number of other co-workers.

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dotBen
I actually thought this post was going to be about the 'death' of the Product
Manager role in general. It's something that is implied all the time on HN -
that product management is everyone's job but not discussed enough.

 _(I was toying whether the above was insensitive as it is off-topic to the
somber post - but given Cranky PM's post isn't about a specific person or
recent event and is just a set of guidelines to follow in general I hope no
one takes offense)_

~~~
fishtoaster
I was hoping for a "Death of a Salesman"-style story of the downfall of a
self-deluding developer trying for managerial greatness.

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Argorak
In my experience, this is a good opportunity to gain insight on how sane a
company really is. If a company puts there business before such a unique
event, something is wrong.

I had such a case with the (rather expected, as in "old age") death of
relative. Working freelance, we had to call a number of clients that I would
have to take a few days off for funeral arrangements spontaneously. Luckily,
all of them were very supportive and adjusted their timelines accordingly.

I don't know what I would have done if any of them had a problem with that
situation. Chances are high I would have dropped the client as soon as
possible.

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protomyth
As a manager, you better be especially careful and sensitive if it was suicide
or homicide. I am not sure about the grief councilor thing, I have my own
experiences there and am still not sure about the value.

~~~
tomjen3
I would imagine that if it was suicide I would be mad at the deceased more
than anything.

Also isn't notifying next of kin usually something the police do?

~~~
protomyth
Yeah, it is either the police or doctor who does the notification.

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ballard
If a company bungles this badly, one can only imagine how poorly they handle
everything else.

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pnathan
Wow, that's a great blog (overall)! Thanks for linking to this!

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kommentor
i hate to say it, but the last sentence of this article is hilarious.

~~~
BasDirks
you're right though, wonder if it was intentional given the first sentence of
the article.

