Student Question: You said the three core competencies for internet operations roles are: taking the blame, fighting for turf, and having thick skin. So what are the core competencies for internet product roles?
Master Chi’s Response: What I said was just a joke — it means that operations roles need to know how to compete for resources. (Product roles are the same way.)
Tech roles can achieve high income simply by focusing on improving their technical skills. (I’m not talking about technical management here — those who become managers are always a minority.) Even if the company collapses or the project disappears, someone with strong technical skills never has to worry about finding work. Technical ability can be quantified directly. Post your code on GitHub, and the whole world can see exactly what level you’re at.
But operations roles — and a portion of product roles — are non-technical positions whose capabilities are hard to measure directly.
Think of it this way: line up a group of military officers and have them sit written exams every day. Does scoring the highest guarantee that person will be the strongest commander on an actual battlefield?
Roles like operations and product desperately need external resource support. Giving someone a squad of soldiers for guerrilla warfare, a regiment of artillery for positional warfare, or a million-strong army for a full frontal engagement — these all count as “commanding troops in battle,” but there’s a fundamental qualitative difference between them.
So for roles like product and operations, you must fight to secure as many resources as possible — that’s the only way to achieve bigger results. You need sufficient resources to practice with before you can accumulate real experience and raise your own level.