The Time I Vented on Social Media and it Handed Me a Better Career

You never know who is lurking so raise your expectations.

Is there an aspect of your job that doesn’t make sense? Do you see opportunities for improvement where others seem unaware?

This was me about 10 years ago.

I was working for a software company within its Professional Services organization. I was rolling onto a large project for a multi-billion dollar corporation. My main responsible was integrating a newer, niche product with the main product.

Most people believed the niche product was unreliable. Yet I had worked with it before and knew others familiar with it. I realized the main product lacked the necessary integration hooks for success. That was the real reason for so many failures. The niche product, while still maturing, was capable and well designed.

In the past, people had created stopgap solutions due to the lack of proper integration. This frustrated me given it was unnecessary work that should be features of the main product. These workarounds had real costs for my company and our customer. Why was Product Development not plugging these holes?

As was typical back then, I assumed the worst. I felt Product Development didn’t see these issues as meaningful.

So what does one do? I vented.

The company had recently rolled out a corporate social media platform called Yammer. You’re forgiven if you don’t know what it is. Think, Facebook… for work. Microsoft bought it.

I decried how the niche product was excellent and how the main product was the one to blame. How the issues I was experiencing were ridiculous. I had given no thought to what may happen next.

Well, not true. I imagined my post would soon disappear, forever forgotten. Or, at best, my peers would pile on, endorsing my frustration. Nothing more.

Instead, the Head of Product found it and called me out.

The Head of Product was a hard-driving person. She wanted to provide an audience so I could share my frustrations and suggest solutions. As you can imagine, I wasn’t prepared for this outcome.

Over the next week, I surveyed my peers, collecting and analyzing all our frustrations. I discovered a half dozen significant gaps and a dozen small refinement opportunities.

When it was time for my meeting, the Product Team made short work of creating tickets and user stories. They were thankful for the feedback. As it turns out, they were unaware of these gaps. No one had ever taken the time to share feedback or offer remedies. Gasp!

Within weeks, most issues had found solutions. The rest tackled over the next few months. All in all, the response was amazing.

From then on, I became the champion for the new product as well as the guru to seek for complex integration needs. I made fast friends with the Product Owner for the niche product.

This led to my first significant promotion at the software company.

Over the next year, I grew frustrated again. This time due to the sales and solution design processes. Most projects were set up for failure almost immediately. Few of my peers knew the operational questions to ask to ensure success downstream. Discovering these issues during later phases then became disruptive and costly.

My current role was insufficient. I wasn’t able to course-correct when only pulled in after disaster was evident so I needed a new strategy. This time I was more proactive and forward-thinking.

I wrote a manifesto, of sorts. A document outlining my rationale for a new swat team of consultants and its mode of operation.

This team would help Sales ask relevant questions. The goal was to ensure the right mix of products were included. Also, to ensure the right expectations were set from the outset. These had far-reaching ramifications.

After Sales, the swat team would coach project teams on the nuances of the niche product. This would ensure the gathering of all relevant requirements occurred early, using a consistent process.

I shared the manifesto with my leadership as well as with the Product organization. To my surprise, a corporate re-org was underway, paving the way for this new team. The team was mine to build and lead. That represented my most significant promotion to that point in my career.

I was lucky. My rant could have caused harm to my career. I had taken no steps to understand what I did NOT know. Instead, I found a sympathetic person willing to listen and fix my issues.

Assuming, like me, you are not immune to the need for ranting, I offer this advice. When shedding light on an issue, follow it up with potential solutions. Don’t be a professional finger-pointer. Instead, become someone that offers a way forward.

I felt justified in my rant. Yet I had never stopped to think about what I did NOT know. I assumed my colleagues had shared the short-comings with the Product Team. I was wrong. Making matters worse, I failed to do so as well.

Venting was easier. Almost zero effort.

I was so sure the Product Team didn’t care. That my priorities were not their priorities. Based on their eagerness to help, I couldn’t have been more wrong. They were too far removed from real product usage — that was their only crime.

My takeaway here is to ask more questions. When turning your frustrations into questions, you will look smarter and more considerate. Plus, people will be more willing to share and collaborate on solutions.

When the Product Team responded to my social media post, I felt like hiding. It embarrassed me. Even though they responded in kindness, I had never anticipated that outcome.

It is often scary when opportunity finds you. The risk and reward aren’t always clear at first. But, personal growth is almost always assured. That does not mean success is around the corner, it means you will learn something. You’ll be wiser for the experience.

In looking back over those 10 years, I’ve had so many opportunities present themselves. I’ve traveled extensively, started multiple businesses, sold a business, and now pay it forward every day. Yet, if I hadn’t taken the first one, none of the others would have been likely to appear. Enjoy the journey.

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