Today, Toby, Amy, and I sat down to discuss some of the future features and functions of Kumquat.

Okay, I can hear you already.

“Wha…? Why don’t you get the first one out the door before you go planning 18 months down the road?”

I get that. I do.

But here’s the thing: You can’t work that way.

You have to know where you’re going, even if the here-and-now isn’t exactly concrete. You’ve always got to be thinking of the next version. The next upgrade. The next feature.

Because it’s what keeps the product exciting.

Your career is no different.

I’ve said it once. I’ll say it a million times. Everything is a product management problem.

I don’t care if you’re happy as a pig in slop right now. I don’t care if you’ve hit rock bottom.

You need to be thinking ahead.

You need to be looking at your career road map.

What features and functions can your current gig help you add? When you hit your next gig what features will that add? Where do you need to go to get to the next version? Can you accomplish it with the current resources? If not, what’s going to give? Employer or version?

Even if you’re working the best possible job right now, you need to be thinking about your career. Because that job isn’t going to last forever. You’re not going to retire from there.

You need to be thinking about your career management.

So how is that career road map coming along?