PB 11/6: Introducing the Vital 9
The ingredients of a product career that works for you..
Last week I talked at a high level about the framework I’ve been working on to help people decide what they should do next: The Vital 9.
The purpose of this is get people thinking about what they really want and need from their career - and then decide what they need to focus on in their next move.
This week I’m laying out the 9 themselves: the ingredients that will give you a career that works for you.
I’ve based these on a mix of my own experience, academic research about motivation (especially Self-Determination Theory, if you’re curious), and countless coaching conversations I’ve had over the years.
In the background, I’m building a set of tools that let you do an evaluation against the ingredients; and develop and track an action plan. (You can join the beta program for this and get an early bird discount here).
OK…so let’s walk do a walk through the 9 ingredients..
⚡ Catalysts: The Things That Spark Great Work
Catalysts are what make the difference between just doing your job and absolutely loving it. They're the environmental factors that energise you and help you perform at your best. Without them, you can still be successful, but everything becomes harder and less fulfilling. The challenge with Catalysts is that they're difficult to assess before you join an organisation and even harder to change once you're there.
Talent Boosters represent the people who actively develop your capabilities—your manager, mentors, and colleagues who challenge and inspire you. These are the relationships that accelerate your growth through meaningful feedback, development opportunities, and creating environments where you can thrive.
Lived Values capture how well your organisation's actual practices align with your personal principles. It's not about the carefully crafted mission statement and corporate purpose. It’s about the organisation you experience: how it actually makes money and treats staff, customers and other stakeholders. Above all though it’s about the role you play in that, and how you feel about it.
Work-Life Balance is about whether your job allows you to maintain your health, relationships, and interests outside work sustainably. At times we can be prepared to sacrifice this, at other times it comes ahead of everything else. Overall we want to feel that success at work doesn’t need to be at the expense of happiness at home.
Professional Agency reflects how much control you have over your work. It’s something that’s both given and taken. Can you make decisions that match your level? Can you shape what you work on and how you do it? Or are you constantly seeking approval and executing someone else's ideas?
🛠️ Achievements: The Engine Room of Your Career
Achievements are what propel your career forward. They're the accomplishments you'll put on your CV, discuss in interviews, and use to demonstrate you're ready for the next level. Without meaningful achievements, careers stall—regardless of how good the working environment might be.
They are very much the connective tissue between Catalysts - which help you achieve; and Rewards…which are (or at least should be) what you get as a result of your achievements.
Meaningful Impact is about delivering measurable results and outcomes that you can confidently explain to others. Your impact should be visible, well-understood, and something you can use to strengthen your case for promotion or new opportunities.
Skills Growth focuses on your sustained competence as a product professional. It’s not how good you are now, but how much better you're getting. It's about building core product capabilities like discovery, strategy, delivery, and stakeholder influence, and having clear examples of how you've improved.
Domain Expertise represents the experience you've built across different sectors, company types, and product areas. Whether we like it or not, it's how the market tends to 'badge' us, shaping both the roles we're seen as suitable for and the ones we're ready to grow into. Right now of course the hot domain is ‘AI product management’
💰 Rewards: What You Get in Return
Product roles are generally well-paid, but there's a difference between having a decent salary and building genuine financial security and the options that that gives. Rewards require strategic thinking beyond today's pay packet—considering both your current financial progress and your future earning potential.
Financial Progress examines how your career has supported your personal financial goals through salary, bonuses, equity, and total income. More importantly, it's about how well you've managed that income to create stability, security, or freedom in your life.
Market Value looks at your future earning potential—how likely your career trajectory is to lead to better-paid, higher-impact opportunities. It reflects the status you've reached and the signal your career sends about what you're worth next.
Making It Work for You
The power of the Vital 9 lies not in trying to optimise all nine ingredients simultaneously—that's impossible. Instead, it's about understanding where you stand today, what matters most to you right now, and what you need to focus on in your next move.
If you want to do a very quick bit of self assessment - try just grading each of the ingredients Red/ Amber/ Green for your current role and/or your career to date. Think about what that’s telling you…and what it means you should focus on.
I’ll focus on Catalysts next week..in the meantime - feel free to sign up for the Early Bird List. If you feel you’d benefit from some 1:1 coaching - just book a call.