The Challenge and Opportunity of the Product Manager

February 17, 2009 By 2 Comments

Note from Art: this post came about through my on-going research with a colleague into best organizational practices in product management and product manager career development.  For additional information on this topic, check out my recent podcast interview with Michael Ray Hopkin at The Product Management Pulse and stay tuned for future posts.  

Product Managers face significant organizational challenges in their quest to expand their roles and increase their value-creating contributions to their firms.  

Through a recent and on-going series of interviews with senior executives as well as product managers across a variety of technology and manufacturing organizations, it is becoming clear that more and more organizations recognize the potential for product management to create tremendous value.  It is also clear that enlightened executives increasingly recognize that the professionals that work in product management roles are a ready-made source of high potential contributors and emerging leaders.  

Consider:

  • The Product Manager has the difficult and unenviable challenge of leading and influencing others across the organization without formal authority. The nature of the role requires the development of the lateral influence skills so critical to driving cooperation and execution inside organizations. 
  • Product Managers are charged with shaping market and offering strategies and are critical links to the Voice of the Customer.  The best product managers learn to interpret and translate this sometimes confusing “voice” into offerings that solve problems and create value for stakeholders.  
  • All too often, product managers and product management organizations struggle to transcend the persona of taskmasters and move beyond the never-ending, highly tactical activities.  Organizations that treat this function tactically are wasting remarkable opportunities to create value.
  • The role of product manager is a remarkable training grounds for a firm’s future leaders.  These professionals see the organization from all perspectives; survive and prosper on their abilities to educate, motivate and inspire action and are at the epicenter of driving strategy and execution. 

It’s encouraging to see that some senior leaders and leadership teams are beginning to “get it” when it comes to expanding the involvement, accountability and authority of product management teams and professionals. However, from the school of “be careful what you ask for,” product  managers also need to step up their game several levels in order to fulfill their expanding missions. 

Part of the feedback that my colleague, Joe Zurawski, and I are hearing from executives is that that the core functional skills that product managers have honed over time must be augmented by the development and expansion of a set of senior leadership skills that will allow for increased contribution.  

Senior executives are looking for their emerging senior contributors in product management to bring more advanced skills to the party, in the areas of: Leadership, Strategic Thinking, Executive Presence and Process Optimization.

Core functional/vocational skills are critical, but not enough to allow well-intentioned product management professionals to expand their contributions.  Nor is the “make it so” mandate from senior management that has decided it is time for this function and these professionals to provide more. 

To survive and prosper as senior contributors and emerging executives, product managers must:

1.  Strengthen lateral influence skills (the ability to lead and motivate without authority and across the organization).

2.  Develop the ability to recognize emerging patterns in the marketplace and translate that recognition into ideas (strategy & strategic thinking skills)

3.  Improve their ability to articulate and command credibility with senior executives (executive presence).

4.  Work relentlessly to improve execution and continuous improvement around value creation activities across the organization (process optimization).

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Developing the abilities and skills in those areas is no small task.  A deliberate focus by executives and their high potential product managers on developing skills and gaining experience in those four areas is essential.

All parties must engage in a focused development initiative that emphasizes exposure to diverse situations and ever-increasing levels of ambiguity and challenge.  Education and training are a part of the process, but mentoring and coaching should earn the lion’s share of focus.  Only through deliberate and focused action will organizations derive top value from their high potential product management assets. 

Anything less is a formula for same-old, same-old. In this economy, no one can afford to stand pat on the bad old practices of the recent past.  

Filed Under: Career, Leadership, Management Innovation, Product Management, Professional Growth Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“If I had asked customers what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

October 2, 2008 By 1 Comment

Students of business history might recognize the quote above as coming from Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company and one of the early management innovators.  Mr. Ford’s quote raises a profound issue of when and how to listen to customers, or perhaps the more challenging flip side: when not to listen to customers.

The notion of not asking customers what they want and responding directly to their needs may seem like heresy to those individuals and organizations consumed with improving customer satisfaction and creating customer loyalty.  In fact, you should always listen and importantly, observe.  The real art in this process is understanding what customers really need, what problems they really would like to solve and what approaches and experiences that you can create that can surprise and delight them.

Harvard Professor, Clayton Christensen, seized upon this issue in his Innovator’s Dilemma/Innovator’s Solution books, where he suggests that a well-intentioned business may do everything right by listening and responding to customer requests, and ultimately fail as disruptive offerings upset the status quo.  

In my own work in the technology space over the past two decades, it is easy to look back at product development cycles driven by a never-ending desire to cram in customer-driven features, without a good understanding of why those features were needed and whether they were solving key problems or attacking symptoms.  It always felt like we were doing the right thing, but in hindsight, it was blind marketing. As Product Management systems improved and requirements development received more scrutiny, this situation improved.  Nonetheless, it is hard to see how the forest is changing when you are staring so intently at the trees. 

Christensen’s classic scenario is the company that dutifully enhances its offerings based on client input, ultimately creating bloated offerings with capabilities far exceeding what might be required of many or any buyers.  In the interim, a disruptive offering…something perhaps with fewer features and priced much lower (not always the case) can easily swoop in and…well, disrupt the market.  In essence, the well-managed, well-intentioned company created a vacuum that was filled by someone who understood the essence of the client’s problems…not just the features they were asking for.  (Think “Faster Horses” versus a new mode of transportation.)

The authors of the recent book, Tuned In, tackle this important topic by suggesting that a firm focus on developing Resonators, products or services that practically sell themselves.  Their six step process for creating a resonator and for Tuning In is in my opinion, a framework for avoiding the Innovator’s Dilemma that Christensen warns us about.

The design firm Ideo in their famous Deep Dive segment on ABC News showcase a process for design innovation that is what you might imagine a sociological dig would look like, as they follow and observe the various “buyers” of shopping carts in pursuit of understanding how this classic device could be grossly improved to better solve real problems.  While there is a fair amount of criticism of the “made for TV” nature of this episode, it offers some classic lessons in looking and observing to identify significant and perhaps even disruptive improvements.  Just asking a store manager or a customer about what they would like to see improved in their shopping cart may be insufficient for identifying what a shopping cart might actually be able to do.  Think cell phones and the iphone. 

The Bottom Line for Now:

My message here is intended as a cautionary tale.  It is good and right and noble to pursue increasing levels of customer satisfaction in your framework for operational excellence.  However, it is also easy to be misled by false signals, and sometimes those signals come from your customers.  Remember, they know you in a narrow context, so when they engage with you to talk about improving the Widgets that you make, they are thinking about you only as the Widget Company and as users of your widgets.  Their context is to give you ideas to improve your widgets. Just remember that it is quite possible that they don’t need a better widget or a faster horse. 

You need to build the institutional intelligence, the systems and of course the talent that truly focuses on understanding the unstated needs of buyers.  Of course, once you understand this, the real work of meeting and exceeding those needs as an organization begins. 

Filed Under: Decision-Making, Marketing, Product Management, Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Career Growth and the Product Manager

September 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I wear my respect on my shirt-sleeve for the many dedicated Product Management professionals that hold down what I believe is one of the most difficult and one of the most critical roles in today’s fast moving technology and B2B organizations.   (See my post: In Support of the Product Manager as MVP) The individuals in these positions have a tremendous responsibility to provide guidance to the organization, often with little formal authority to translate this guidance into action.

While admittedly biased based on my own PM and PM leadership experience, I firmly believe that these talented and well-rounded business professionals are potentially some of the most valuable assets in an organization’s talent pool.   Of course, realizing value from this talent requires a proactive approach to helping Product Managers develop some of the “softer” skills that we all know are important, but that we as leaders often overlook in our preoccupation with the day to day crises that can rule our lives.

Here’s my short-list of the skills that Product Managers cum Executives must focus on if they want to crack the ranks of senior leadership.  Given the fact that Product Managers are some of the only individuals that see the firm from the outside-in and inside-out, it is well worth it for Product Managers and their managers to steer development, and yes, training efforts towards these areas.

  • Leadership: This is perhaps the stickiest or squishiest of all skill sets and yet developing context for the true role of a leader, understanding what it takes to build credibility and engender trust as a leader are critical lessons on the road to success.  Instead of generic leadership training, focus on an approach that emphasizes the development of key leadership skills and the application of these skills in a series of diverse leadership situations.  Ideally, any leadership development program for Product Managers will emphasize developing the skills and gaining experience for leading as an informal leader, leading horizontally and managing upwards.  (OK, again, I’m biased, but a manager armed with my book, Practical Lessons in Leadership and committed to creating a robust developmental program for their Product Managers is miles ahead of the manager sending their PM to some of the generic leadership training in the marketplace.)
  • Strategic thinking.  Like leaders, strategists aren’t born and in most cases, they are made.  Few positions in a firm have the potential to contribute more to strategic thinking and strategy process creation and sustainability, than that of the Product Manager. I was fortunate enough to enjoy early career mentors that challenged me to constantly think outside of my product, outside of my company and to look at the big picture, tune in to my various audiences and to develop and test strategic hypotheses while growing the business.  That is a very different way of thinking versus “what are the top 10 features that I can jam into my next release?”  Too many Product Managers don’t learn to look beyond their narrow scope (product, market segment) and all too many don’t grasp the importance of their role as a strategist in the overall firm’s plans.  Challenge yourself or your Product Managers to take an active role in educating the firm on the market and customer situation and proposing ideas to leverage the situation for growth.
  • Communications Skills and Mastering the Art of Diplomacy.  Great Product Managers learn to speak the language of executives and they recognize that every encounter regardless of who they are meeting with, is an opportunity to build trust by understanding needs, creating shared perspectives and creating reasons for people and teams to move forward. The recent HBO miniseries, John Adams, based on David McCullough’s biography of the same name, shows the mercurial and aggressive Adams nearly destroying any chance to earn France’s support for the revolution, as he demands action and nearly destroys the hard-won credibility that Franklin had earned in several years of creating an understanding and developing shared-reasons to fight the British. The days of command and control leadership in the corporate world are generally over.  Developing a communication style that creates interest and fosters respect is essential for success.  Diplomatic skills to manage upwards, to manage across and to manage the generations and the various cultures via distributed teams are skills that will carry the Product Manager way beyond their mid-level role.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Rather than coming across as picking on Product Managers for being deficient in leadership, strategic and communication/diplomatic skills, it is my intent to encourage them to proactively develop these skills.  It is remarkably easy to get caught up in the pursuit of day to day business and forget that everyday is a chance to advance your career.  If you are fortunate enough to have a great mentor, that is good.  If not, it’s incumbent upon you to take the initiative to create the experiences necessary for you to develop and fine tune these critical skills.  Your future depends upon it.

Filed Under: Product Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

A Blogging Milestone and What I Learned by Writing 100 Blog Posts

May 31, 2008 By 2 Comments

It was a tough week for blogging.  A perfect storm of business and personal schedule challenges conspired to keep me from spending quality time on the blog.  OK, and the fact that I have been holding steady at 99 posts for a few days, and somehow it seemed like I needed to create something truly remarkable for the milestone, 100th post.  I'm over the "need for remarkable" part, but thought I would take a few minutes this Saturday morning to reflect back on what I've learned in this half year of blogging about all things management, leadership, strategy and project and product management.
 

  • Back a million years ago in the Fall of 2007, I recall being uncertain about whether blogging was right for me, whether it would help me in my business and whether anyone would care what I had to say.  I'm now a zealot, and my friends and associates are likely sick of me raving about what an incredible experience this is personally and professionally. I enjoy and am benefiting from blogging so much, I am starting to incorporate this message into speaking engagements
  • Blogging imposes a discipline that requires that I immerse myself in my subject matter and not only think about it, but put something down on the metaphorical paper.  Call me crazy, but I truly love the business world, love learning about and meeting people and companies engaged in innovative, great practices, and I love writing and talking about these topics. 
  • I am constantly reminded through the comments to my posts and the many e-mails and LinkedIn invites that I've received that there are some remarkably smart people in the world that share a passion for excellence in management with me.  The cross-border dialog has been tremendously rewarding for me.  Thanks to all that reached out.
  • I continue to be surprised the way some posts resonate and spread through the blogosphere and others that I thought would do the same just languish.  Of the 100 posts, the winner by far for page views was: Values Based Leadership: More of What I Learned At Matsushita.  The popularity of this post gave me a true insight to how powerful blogging can be for spreading ideas.


Looking Forward: The Next 100 Posts:

I am a goal-driven person, and I have several that I have honed in on for the next hundred or so posts.  

  • I know that my posts are too long.  Everyone is busy, and the best posts for me are the ones that get across compelling points efficiently.  It is my goal to reduce the average word count of a post from 750 to 500.  I'm working on it.  Bear with me.  I'm starting right after this post, I promise!
  • Somewhere between now and post number 200, I have a goal to announce and begin my next book.  The experience writing Practical Lessons in Leadership with Rich Petro was tremendous and I want to keep writing and publishing.  Given enough time, there are a few books in me that I will bring forth.
  • I struggled with the comment issue on blog posts during the first 100.  I've not been certain whether I should comment on people's comments or just let the conversation run, minus the author sticking his nose back in.  I love the comments, even those that disagree, and I learn from them.  I feel compelled to do a better job acknowledging and engaging with those of you that add your thoughts, so look for more of that.
  • Less preaching…more idea generation.  Many of my first 100 are soapbox posts, with me decrying lousy practices and preaching best practices.  Some of that cannot be helped, but I also want to spend more time talking and writing about the practices of others and offering ideas versus preaching. 
  • Continue to learn how to be a good citizen of the blogosphere.  I will do a better job referencing other great content that is published on a daily basis. 
  • It is my goal to grow this blog into a leading resource for thoughts, ideas and best practices on all things management.  That goal alone drives my desire to improve and to strengthen my ability to put out useful, practical content to help solve the vexing problems that we all face in managing and leading. 

OK, I've already exceeded my targeted word count.  Thanks again to all that joined and hung in there with me through the first 100.  I'm looking forward to doing a better job with this next round and as always, your ideas, input and constructive suggestions are fuel for improvement.

Best to all!  -Art

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Towards an Independent Product Management Organization

March 5, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Product Management’s position in the organization is a topic that invites vigorous debate, usually around whether marketing or development should own the function. (Follow the posts, links and comment threads starting at On Product Management for some other perspectives.) While any debate about optimal organization structure can sound a lot like the radio and television sports shows where people argue fiercely over the greatest running back or quarterback of all time (there is no one right answer!), the PM issue merits some consideration.  Of course, the right answer may be, "It depends."

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Product Management Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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