

Ask HN: Moving from tech leader to operations/product management? - tech2biz

My careers is taking an interesting turn. I am the most senior tech manager (Director of Technology) at the company I work with and one of the more skilled hackers. However I've had an interest in how companies get things done. I've recently been put in a position to work on the company's overall process for working projects and building products and to effectively product management a couple of those products. It makes sense since I have some human skills and know the company inside and out. My questions, is this wise? Is someone without an MBA going to make it far down the road to Director of Operations/COO? Have you ever been in a similar situation and what did you do?
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h4ck3rhn
I'd say go ahead. Besides other things, it will give you a perspective on
profit vs cost centers (Peter Drucker). You will be asked to control the burn
rate and make choices about what produces enough value to the company.

Being a techie, I have a bias towards calling tech chops as must have for any
senior role. It just get you to make much better decisions when you are in a
technology business.

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jkohlbach
I haven't been in a similar situation, but from my experience jumping jobs
quite a few times in the tech space, degrees don't matter as much as
experience.

If you've been at the company for a long while like it sounds and you know
what would be good for the company as far as product development goes, I'd say
moving into a role where you can actually optimize those processes is a great
position for you to be in! Good luck in your new role..

