Think like a product manager
It’s a good idea to apply product management thinking to all parts of the organization.
As a product manager I often feel like the challenger, especially in bigger organizations. The role of a product manager is still quite new in organizations with business models that are not SaaS or PaaS. While the product manager is the business in SaaS companies, the product manager works with the business in other organizations. So when talking with the business, it happens quite often that I can almost read the mind of my counterpart thinking: Why is she asking all these questions? Didn’t I just say how I want it to be? Big irritation. Which is good, it means we are on the right track towards a different thinking and a new approach.
How to think like a product manager
I put together five points which I believe are the essence of product management thinking.
1. Customers first
Why should I build this feature or product? It will increase revenue. That’s a common answer I get. But no, that’s not the answer to the question. The purpose of many businesses is to generate revenue and profit. This is an outcome, a result of customers demand based on customers satisfaction. The answer should be something like: It will solve a customer’s problem. Always put the customer first. With every decision you make, ask yourself: What does it mean to the customers? What is the impact? What problem is it solving?
2. Question the status quo
For me the point 1 Customers first leads straight into this point: Question the status quo. This might be because for some customer-centricity is a big thing and mind shift. What I mean with questioning the status quo is actually that you shouldn’t be satisfied with answers like It will increase revenue. Or Our Head Of thinks it’s a good idea. You have to dig deeper and ask more than one time WHY to really get to the core problem. Challenging what is today will ultimately lead to a more innovative and visionary thinking.
3. Focus on value & strategy
In the busy-ness of our everyday jobs, we sometimes lose overview or drawn in a lot of different things. Many requests, wishes and feedback come in, which could easily fill up a roadmap of many years. The only way to navigate through wild waters is to stay focused. In product this means to focus on value and the strategy. You should build products with the highest value for the customer (back to point 1), that are serving the strategy of the business. Let value and strategy be your compass.
4. Prioritize relentlessly
You might already guessed: To focus on value and strategy you have to prioritize relentlessly. Saying no to things that are not valuable enough or don’t fit into the strategy is tough, but really the only way to stay focused. If you find yourself firefighting, be conscious about the difference between urgent and important. Breaking news: Urgency is fake. Deadlines (are we dying?) are fake. Yes, there are some opportunities that are only available in small time window. But most of the time urgency is artificial. Prioritize importance over urgency. Value and strategy (back to point 3) belong to the importance category. That’s where you should spend your time.
5. Empower teams
This point is more on the leadership side. Product Managers don’t have formal authority to lead, but they are informal leaders. Which for me is the true form of leadership. It requires a way more delicate skillset than just delegating tasks. It requires the ability to create trust and inspire others, so they look up to you. Part of that skillset is to acknowledge your own lack of knowledge and skills and embrace the fact that others will do it better. By empowering and trusting as well as receiving others input, you will achieve a greater value and outcomes. Move the power to the source of information and knowledge.
Why all parts of the organization should apply product management thinking
Honestly, I don’t believe that the mentioned points are only applicable for product management. I even wonder why this kind of thinking seems so new for some organizations. I would argue that this is a mix of business acumen and good leadership.
Let’s take the Marketing department as an example: Have you ever questioned the value or reason behind sending a message to the customer? Why is this message relevant and what value is it providing to the customer? I think you should start doing exactly this. Don’t focus on the potential revenue opportunity, focus on the value for the customer. You will be surprised how much your engagement rates will increase and opt-out rate decrease.
What if everyone would just start to prioritize the important things over the urgent, how sharp and focused would an organization become?
For me it makes total sense to apply this kind of thinking to any part of the organization. Simply because the outcome will be a customer-centric and mission- and value-driven organization.
