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Impact mapping for career


 

Impact mapping is a powerful technique PMs can use to improve collaboration and communication within their organisations. Moreover, this visual method can help product people plan and advance their careers.

Product folks' careers are rarely linear. Most often we stumble upon a product role and decide to stick around. Then it inevitably changes and we have to adapt accordingly. Some of us are just drifting, some jump on opportunities that present themselves, and others - try to plan their careers.

Previously I covered one way to plan and showcase your career in the form of a roadmap. An impact map is another way to think strategically about your product path.

Your professional "Why"

Like any impact map, start this one with impacts. Try to answer these questions as honestly as you can:
  • Why are you interested in the product role?
  • How do you want to impact your organisation or the world in general?
  • Who do you want to work with?
  • What things do you want to do?

Write down answers. Step aside for a bit. Come back and analyse. Answers to those questions will be important inputs to your career impact map.

Let's take an example.
Presume you want to create the best-in-class scheduling app for doctors. You want to help people get medical help immediately when they need it. You'd like to work with local hospitals and private doctors as your primary customers. And you want to work with designers and engineers to craft the right product to solve this massive problem. You want to do discovery, talk with doctors, understand the problem well, prototype the solution, test it and iteratively build the product so you can get feedback on every step and improve accordingly.

How can you use impact mapping to pursue such a career?

Impact 

More people have easier and faster access to medical care



Actors

Given you can't achieve the desired impact on your own - you'll need to think who can help you. Those could be other people or organisations. Try to come up with several actors to broaden your choice.

Are there already companies that work on solving the medical scheduling problem? Do they hire for any roles you want to do? No? Do you then want to create your own startup? Do you know people to embark on the journey with you? Or think even more broadly - maybe a good scheduling product already exists, it's just hospitals and doctors having issues adopting it. Maybe you can help?


Outcomes

When you have identified some actors who might help you to make the impact you want, it's the right time to brainstorm the outcomes. Try to come up with a few outcomes for every actor - even if some outcomes appear stretched, still put them on the map.

Perhaps you can get a product role in an existing company that is aligned with you on the impact you want to make. Or if there is no suitable choice, you might want to have the bravery to start your own gig. As an alternative, you can flip the tables and seek an opportunity on the clients' side - doctors and hospitals.

Outputs

Finally, it's time to plan the concrete actions you will do to chase the outcomes. Here it's essential to have alternatives. After you come up with the initial set of outputs - show your impact map to a friend or a colleague, and ask them to suggest even more outputs. You'd be surprised with all the options you didn't think about.

If you're seeking that product role in an existing company - you naturally need to craft your CV, apply, and get an interview. It's helpful to research the place, find people who work there and ask them for help. If on the other hand, you choose to work on the client's side - you might want to research the problem space by being a customer yourself and interviewing medical personnel who deal with scheduling.

Keep your maps updated

You can get the most value out of the career impact map if you keep it updated frequently. The market is always changing and you are always changing. You can use the impact map to model a possible future situation and get ahead of the crowd.

Let's look at one more example - AI taking over product management and our jobs.

 

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