21: The Tent Is Flat and Everyone Is Wet
Rob Mitchell, recently transitioned from systems engineering to management at Lightro, discusses his unconventional career path from technician to manager at companies like LeapFrog, Palm, and Validus. He details the challenges of writing performance reviews for senior engineers and the difficulty of shifting from peer to boss, particularly with former colleagues like Phil King. Mitchell emphasizes the importance of product management, hard deadlines in consumer hardware, and leveraging professional networks over formal degrees for career advancement.