# Lessons for an Engineer from a Corporate Vice President of Product

At my workplace, we have an internal career guidance fair where you can book one-on-one sessions with senior folk from various disciplines. I was fortunate enough to secure a session from a CVP (Corporate Vice President) of product.
I wanted to understand software engineering from the perspective of a product person and this was an opportunity I couldn't miss. I have noted few of the questions which I had asked in the session and I'm glad to share these insights with you.

> Quick housekeeping before we begin: My idea of a "product person" is vague and for the purpose of this article I will borrow the definition [from this article by Noah Weiss](https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/five-dangerous-myths-about-product-management-d1d852ed02a2): "Great PMs [product persons] live in the future and work backwards, focus on customer and business impact, and amplify their teams."

Now, let us begin!

### What are the traits you have liked, disliked, and wanted more of, with the engineers you have worked with?

**Liked**
- Curiosity
- Sharing ideas

**Disliked**
- Apathy
- A fixed mindset

**Wanted More Of**
- Open-mindedness

### How can an engineer communicate better with a PM?

- Read, and learn from, the book [Nonviolent Communication](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71730.Nonviolent_Communication)
- Empathy

### What methods have you found to be the most effective to deal with setbacks and failures?

- Explore your own failures to learn from them
- Overcome them by sharing and confronting

### What are the things you would like me to keep in mind for a successful career?

- Develop desired skills
- Work on something you're passionate about
- Find a good manager
- Seek mentors outside your hierarchy
- Do side quests, build relationships to power through work

Let me know in the comments if you would like me to expand on any of these points!