## story of a product guy I am writing this after a lot of musing around "Why am I inclined towards building and fostering products?" And guess what, I have a few thoughts to share... Let's talk about creativity for a while, what is creativity? I'd say creativity as this example itself, is a sense of **infinite possibilities**. For the sake of keeping things contextual, let's take an example. You are given a problem and told nothing (that's the beauty, you need not even be asked to solve it). Naturally when you listen to something as a problem, your brain becomes a stormed playground. Dribbling through the haze of ideas, you try to evaluate possibilities while encompassing the complexities of reaching a goal which has not yet been defined, and since there's no definition, it fosters an environment of endless possibilities, which we call **creativity**. Creativity is taking a leap into the uncertain, creativity is being courageous, creativity is taking risk, creativity is a challenge and the list of responsibilities on a single words keeps going on endlessly. Creativity is mystic :) As a person I have always been fascinated about design, looking into the crux of things, thinking, and that paved the path into a profession which involves thinking at its essence. The only change in the by-product of thinking, here, is that it drives businesses, which I was cool with as it keeps my mind engaged with meaningful pursuits and also feeds my stomach. And that's how a start in design was brewed. Likewise, getting into product was seen as a lindy opportunity, it involved a lot of ownership which in return carved my perspective. Eventually I have realised Product Management is not what Social Media gloss world portray it to be, it is about discerning thought and how well you play the odds to your favour. Having a good acumen which drives results, trusting but verifying, initiating the momentum, being accountable and all this while learning to enjoy the nuances while also fully grasping its implications. It’s beautiful. Building and fostering a product is a creative pursuit. Similar to designing, it is a craft you become good at by putting in the hours, practicing, experimenting. You can't just mug it up. It's not algorithmic, it requires thought. And eventually I was made aware that building a product is also making a business, and hence, this thought must be infused with business acumen. This is how I like to put it: **_Learn the play and then play the game_**. Every initiative you undertake, you have to understand it fully first, be it behavioural analytics (ask good questions btw), be it listing out the JTBDs, be it documenting, be it strategising, finding that perfect four by four market gap to position the product, you have to be clear with it first and then on a lighter note, be prepared to answer the classic: “What did you do?” :) --- Hahahaha! Thanks for reading, I hope this was insightful, if you wish to read more about navigating through the work life, I recommend reading my [[code of work]]. peace.