

Ask HN: Transitioning from engineering management to a business role? - shifter

Hi all,<p>I&#x27;d like to transition from my current role as an engineering manager at [major SV hardware&#x2F;software company] to a more strategic, business-oriented role at a startup (note: I want to remain deeply involved in the product).<p>However, I have no business experience other than some minor contracting work several years ago.<p>Has anyone here made a similar transition? What types of things should I focus on or avoid?<p>Thanks!<p>[Edit: whitespace]
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CyberFonic
Being "business oriented" means generating revenue. Find ways of becoming part
of the process from marketing to sales. The closer to the sales end of the
chain, the more valuable you will be to your company.

So you'll need to come up to speed in both theory and practice on that side of
the divide. I did it by volunteering to do business development and getting
out of the office and generating sales. At first it was very hard, being
technically oriented it was quite a shift to move across to the client's side
in looking at the product range.

In general terms "consultative sales" is the descriptive term. There are many
good books on the topic and you would do well to read Steve Blank's blog and
books. But the real crunch comes with putting all the theory into practice and
constantly evolving as a BDM.

