Sky Team and Product Management
A 20-Year Veteran's Game Plan for Career Advancement
For over two decades, I've navigated the complex world of product management, honing my skills and advancing my career. But it's been in the last ten years that I've discovered a surprising source of professional insight: my growing obsession with board games. As my collection has expanded and my nights and weekends have filled with gaming sessions, I've found intriguing parallels between the tabletop and the boardroom. Recently, one game in particular, Sky Team, has caught my attention not just for its engaging gameplay, but for how uncannily it mirrors the challenges and skills of product management. This cooperative game, where players work together to land an airplane, offers more than just entertainment—it provides a unique lens through which to view the path to product management excellence and career advancement.
Drawing from my 20+ years of experience navigating the complex skies* of product management and countless hours around the gaming table, I've identified key skills that not only help you win in Sky Team but can also propel* your product management career to new heights*. Whether you're just starting your PM journey or you're a seasoned professional looking to level up, understanding these connections can provide valuable insights for your career trajectory.
Let's explore four key areas where Sky Team closely resembles product management and how mastering these can boost your path to promotion:
1. Strategic Communication and Coordination
In Sky Team, the pilot and co-pilot must communicate clearly and efficiently to land safely. This communication, however, all takes place before you start the round – there is no talking during the round. Similarly, to succeed, product managers must communication extensively between various teams - from engineering to marketing to sales to executives; and quite often that communication has to be thoughtful and planned out ahead of time.
Career Impact: As you climb the ladder, your ability to facilitate clear, strategic communication across departments becomes increasingly crucial. Future managers of product managers need to coordinate multiple products and teams simultaneously.
2. Efficient Resource Management and Prioritization
Sky Team players juggle limited action dice to complete vital tasks. Each player has only 4 actions per round – 2 of which are mandatory. So, choose carefully and prioritize the most urgent and impactful actions at each stage of the game. Product managers similarly allocate and prioritize finite resources like budget, personnel, and time across product development stages.
Career Impact: Demonstrating skilled resource management and clear prioritization, especially on larger projects, showcases your readiness for senior roles where you'll be entrusted with more substantial budgets and teams.
3. Balancing Specialization and Collaboration
In Sky Team, each player has a specific role (pilot or co-pilot) with unique responsibilities, yet success depends on seamless teamwork. Similarly, product managers often need to be specialists in their product area while simultaneously being a generalist to collaborate effectively across various departments.
Career Impact: As you advance in your career, you'll need to deepen your expertise in specific areas (like data analysis or user experience) while also broadening your ability to work across and lead multiple teams. Future managers of product managers must excel at both deep product thinking and cross-functional leadership.
4. Adaptability and Change Management
"No plan survives contact with the enemy," as the famous military adage goes. This principle is illustrated in Sky Team as the game introduces unexpected events that players must navigate. Whether it’s new air traffic you must avoid or shifting wind patterns you need to adjust for, things rarely go exactly as planned. Similarly, in product management, even the most meticulously crafted plans often need real-time adjustments when facing market realities including market shifts, unexpected user feedback, or unforeseen technical challenges.
Career Impact: Your ability to adapt swiftly and effectively to changing circumstances is a key differentiator as you climb the career ladder. Senior product leaders and managers of PMs are valued not just for their ability to create plans, but for their skill in guiding teams through the inevitable pivots and adjustments. Demonstrating that you can maintain product vision and team morale while nimbly responding to changes marks you as a resilient leader, ready for roles with broader strategic responsibilities.
Leveraging Game Insights for Career Advancement
Playing Sky Team isn't just fun - it's a low-stakes way to hone high-value skills. Here's how to apply these insights to your career:
Reflect on your gameplay. How do you communicate under pressure? How do you prioritize resources? Use these insights to identify areas for professional growth.
Apply game-based learnings to your work. Try new communication strategies or decision-making frameworks inspired by your Sky Team experiences.
Highlight these skills in performance reviews. Use specific examples of how you've applied strategic communication, resource management, quick decision-making, and adaptability in your product work.
Seek out opportunities to demonstrate these skills on a larger scale, positioning yourself for promotion.
Conclusion
The parallels between Sky Team and product management offer more than just an interesting comparison. They provide a framework for understanding and developing the skills critical to advancing your product management career. Whether you're aiming for a senior PM role or setting your sights on managing a team of PMs, honing these abilities will help you navigate your career to new altitudes*.
What aspects of your product management role do you see reflected in board games? Please write back with your thoughts, experiences, and most importantly, board game recommendations!
* These puns are very much intended.
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