Managing Product, Vision or Execution?
Amidst it’s countless definitions in the tech industry, let’s all agree to one point — product management can either be vision-driven, or it can be execution-driven.
Of course, there are overlaps and there’s no rule that makes the two exclusive — but in terms of ideology, as a PM, you will either be driven by a greater good that your product aims at serving, or you will be driven by smaller, tighter, one-step-at-a-time executables that your product arms solves your customer problems with. Either way, both approaches require you to understand, assess and act according to the situation your business might be in, at any given point in time.
In other words, ‘good’ product management is a degree of ‘street-smartness’ with which you’re driving your organisation towards it’s business goals.
A Traffic Jam
Unfortunately, product management does not come with a handbook. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way of doing it (unless you count business misalignment as a wrong, in which case, yes it is totally wrong). You may have read the best books, the most popular articles, spoken to veterans, maybe are even a thought leader. But when you hit ground zero, you almost always have to fend for yourself.
I often compare product management with that view from the flyover where you’re driving, descending and can see a huge traffic jam. The first thoughts are always those of frustration and disgust — how the hell am I supposed to wade through this? But once you’re a part of it, you always find a way.
Do you see handbooks on ‘how to navigate through traffic’ that go beyond driving etiquette and into realistic situations?
No.
Output? Outcome?
There is an underlying dichotomy when it comes to the two most popular measures of human performance. Despite leading into one another, one indicates a certain ‘what’ or a ‘how’, while the other leads to a ‘why’.
When I first started running, I, like any other beginner, overstepped and twisted my ankle. Adrenaline and the slight twist got me back on my feet and I ran another 2k. This was one of the best 2k I have run — both psychologically as well as physically. In other words, my output was great!
I was out of action for 2 weeks after that.
Output — 1; outcome — 0.
Did I do the right thing? Maybe yes. Did I do the smart thing? Probably not.
As a PM, every decision will be a matter of prioritisation. Do I focus on code quality, or should I just get it shipped out? Should I just focus on meeting timelines, or do I see where the larger picture is heading? Is the larger picture a good solution to my customers’ problems? How do I solve problems, and at the same time, also meet smaller targets?
Project or Product?
This has to be one of the longest standing debates out there. Where does your product stop being a project? Conversely, where does it stop being a product? Especially in early days, the feedback across your customers will always vary. Or, you may want to serve each customer differently. Where do you draw that lowest common denominator line that makes a bold statement — “this is my product, and anything above or beyond is work that will generate more revenue”.
Every product manager (aspiring or established) works towards the same dream — to drive a set of processes that are repeatable, scaleable and can be used to onboard new customers with ease. This set of processes is what will etch your name in your organisation’s growth story.
But the ground reality? A different story altogether. It takes businesses years of evolution and maturity to reach such a stage.
In other words, it might take tens or hundreds of projects to reach a product.
Where Do You Fit?
Short answer — where your business fits.
The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter what product management school of thought you belong to or have come from. Your business is either being built on customer money or on investor money — and (un)fortunately, there’s no secret option C that doesn’t involve a combination of A and B. Carrying baggage from one school to a business being built on another is a road towards failure. Maybe not in absolute terms, but then, there’s nothing ‘absolute’ in a qualitative role such as this.
Hence the reiteration — in the end, your success as a PM will come down to how smartly you break down vision into strategies, strategies into goals, goals into milestones, and milestones into executables; and do so with an impeccable culture fit within your organisation.
The rest are just tools of the trade.
Cover photo by Craig Garner on Unsplash
