My husband and I each own a P&L; his is a small health practice and mine is an insurance book of business for a large corporate enterprise. The only real difference is the number of zeros and commas. Nonetheless, the stakes are high for both of us, as they are for all product managers.
Last night he was studying his P&L. Things usually come to a head around tax season, and allow
Photo credit Martin Erickson 2011
some time for reflection. (Wait – we’re paying what?!) I digress…
It makes for a better marriage when I don’t offer unsolicited “advice” for how he should run his business, and vice versa. I did make an exception that time he redecorated the office and I got a glimpse of red carpet paired with yellow paint. (We immediately called in the professionals before that Monday morning.)
Both geeky, in our own way, we do our continuing education on Saturdays over coffee. We read the latest articles and innovations in our respective fields. We review websites, social media, do our competitive intelligence. I read about weather events in my territories, while he reviews local pollen levels. Last week, deviating from the normal ‘How’s work?’ conversation, I told him he could look at his business mix, loss ratios, plan and forecast for 2018, and other activities that I do. He looked at me and said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” We shared a laugh.
True, as he has no boss, per se. But he gets the calls in the middle of the night when the alarm trips or when the air conditioner stops working Anyway, the takeaway is that our work has far more parallels than I knew. In his case, he’s also the product, but we’re both Product Managers in the end.