There are 3 Games of Product Management

There are 3 Games of Product Management, and each of these has variations based on the context.

• Game1: doing the actual Agile Product Development work to deliver customer value, of which the biz gets some. Product-Led, Customer-Driven.
• Game2: getting "permission" to do Game1 well
  • cf Soft Skills, High Agency, Change Your Organization, Dark Agile
• Game3: career success, both within your Org, and across multiple Orgs over decades.

cf So Good They Can't Ignore You, Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose, Games Theory, GamePlaying, RealWorldGame, Meta-Game

What defines the context that varies each game?

• all 3 games are Ill-Structured, which makes them even more "fun"
• the "type" of PM you want to be: (2017-12-19) Ulrich 6 Types Of Product Managers Which One Do You Need
• the type of Org you're in, the type you want to be in
• how much of each you want: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose
• what else you want: Hero's Journey
• beware (2022-01-11) Chin The Dangers Of Treating Life As A Game

My "hot take"

• I want to maximize my success/mastery at Game1, to serve customers and progress (My Calling). There are few organizations or people who care very much about this. Most Successful Companies Get Just One Thing Right.
• I want reasonable success at Game3
• I consider Game2 a distraction, and Change Management is so rarely effective, that I prefer to seek Orgs that will be aligned with my Game1. Smaller, earlier-stage, fewer-product orgs are more likely to be this way.
• An awful lot of PM advice is really just about Game3, even if it doesn't seem like it, because it's about "following the process" that makes you look like you're doing the right stuff, even if your results are mediocre. PM-theater, de-facto Bullshit Jobs. See (2022-04-26) Are You Doing Product Management Or Bullshit Management.