Opinionated Product Management

AI generated by Canva’s Magic Media (almost spelled Decision correctly)

We’ve all had this conversation:

Person 1: “I am starving, do you want to go out to eat?”

Person 2: “Oh yeah, that sounds great!”

Person 1: “What are you in the mood for?”

Person 2: “Umm..whatever, I don’t really care.”

Does person 2 push your buttons? Do you wish your partner would just tell you what they want instead of waffling on a decision? What you are looking for is an opinion. Now put yourself in the shoes of your development team, and instead of asking about a restaurant imagine they ask about an interaction with a new feature under development. Don’t be like person 2. Have an opinion.

In a previous post, I stated that "The core function of Product Management is to be the constant and consistent voice of our user in the product development process.” The trust your developers have in you is directly related to their belief that you truly understand what the customer needs. They look to you for this information because they are heads down on trying to determine the best implementation - one that is scalable, stable, and simple.

Now, I am not saying a product manager should be an unwavering dictator. Having an opinion is not mutually exclusive with listening, learning, and modifying the plan. Back to the date night analogy, you also do not want a partner that says “we are eating Italian food tonight and I don’t care what you think”. Throughout my career, I’ve tried to always embody the three Cs - compassion, compromise, and commitment.

Compassion

In my every day interactions, I try to always have empathy for others I am talking with (emphasis on try). There are many idioms about this, like “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes”, “give them the benefit of the doubt”, “you can’t judge a book by its cover”, and my favorite “give a shit”. The reason these idioms exist is to give us a constant reminder to think of others in our daily activities. Arguments abound about how humans evolved to be selfish when altruism is much more beneficial to the survival of the group, but here we are. Most of us have to fight off the bias to think of things through our experiential lens.

This means we need to work with extra diligence to consistently think of others in our decisions. But why do I have this as a key to great product management? Because as product managers, we are not building plans to develop a product to solve our needs, we are building it to solve someone else’s mission. And there is no way you can truly understand the mission or goal of your user without the compassion for their challenges. I mentioned active listening in a previous post, and I think that is key to building empathy for your users and customers. When you truly listen to not just what they are saying, but to the why they are saying it you are building the product manager muscles that will make you an amazing voice for your customer (and you know how much I like to talk about building muscles).

In summary, give a shit. If you are not passionate about what you building, about the problem you are solving, this is not the position for you. When you do care (deeply) it shows to your internal team and to your users. After all, you can’t spell compassion without passion.

Compromise

Congratulations, you are now a compassionate and empathetic product manager. You truly understand the plight of your users and are articulating them to your team by focusing on the why. But as we discussed above, you cannot be unwavering in your vision. In fact, the first pitfall is to think it is your vision. Yes, you are the bastion of the product strategy - but you are not the lone arbiter of the strategy. The best plans come from collaboration and iteration. I really dislike the fan service paid to some leaders as if they, on their own, lifted a company to greatness. People like Steve Jobs were visionary, but to assume he alone carried Apple to success downplays the work of thousands of others that executed, iterated, modified, and pushed back on that vision.

Be opinionated, and be open to the fact that you will need to adjust the opinion. You will be amazed how showing this collaborative approach will quickly win the hearts and minds of those working with you. The gotcha here is not to enter into analysis paralysis, meaning you must make a decision at some point. But you need to give others the time to offer their ideas. Something I learned when working with the Medici Group was the heartbeat analogy, and it has served me well in ensuring I provide time to brainstorm while also ensuring decision are made so we can actually ship something in the release.

In the heartbeat analogy think of brainstorming as a cycle of a heartbeat. In Diastole the heart is in the “fill” stage, expanding to accommodate the influx of blood. Similarly, in this stage we are open to an influx of ideas and receptive to the opinions of others. Then the heart contracts - the Systole stage - pumping the blood across the body. Here we are contracting to a decision and “pumping” the decision to our team. If you try this thought experiment, ensure you set timeframes for each phase based on the complexity of the challenge you are brainstorming. And when you “contract” ensure it is clear to everyone that you’ve left the brainstorming phase and are moving forward with the decision.

Of course, great product managers are open to the fact that the decision may not be perfect and could require iteration. This is why a feedback loop with users is critical, and we will cover that another time.

Commitment

Our job exists because our customers are successful. If they don’t win, we don’t win. This direct tie between your career progression and the success of your customer is one of the reasons I love what I do. Through the above two Cs, you have shown your customer how much you care - you’ve actively listened to their challenges and shown empathy to their concerns and you’ve shown your team you are open to others ideas on how to solve these challenges while also demonstrating a strong opinion. The third C may be my most coveted because this one captures why you wake up and do this job every day. I am not here for revenue, or popularity, or analyst recognition. Those are symptoms of doing this job well. I wake up every day with a commitment to my customers’ mission. I care deeply about their ability to succeed. You’ll continually see this phrase across these stories - I give a shit.

And believe me, people recognize that sincerity almost instantly. There is a reason so many of us dislike the car buying process. We know when we get to that lot the only thing that sales person wants to do is get us into a car - any car - because commission drives them (not one of the three Cs). There are many ways to demonstrate your commitment to your users, and here I will talk about one of my favorite - look for the fast no. What you are building will not solve every problem every customer has everywhere across the globe. There will be times when you are in a conversation with a customer and they are looking to stretch your product to solve their problems, and you will probably be with an account team that is also looking for a way to stretch to solve their problem. And the first thing I do in that situation is think “can we actually solve this challenge with our product in a way that does not compromise the integrity of their business?” If the answer is no, I have an honest conversation with the customer explaining that I want to help them but I feel they may be better served with a solution purpose built for their challenge.

This may seem strange, as people often think product managers are part time sales people - and we are. But sales does not have to be about selling no matter what. It is better to build a lasting, trusting relationship with someone than to get the one-time sale and have them fall on their face during implementation. I’ve spent over 20 years in cybersecurity and I have often told a customer that I can partially help them, but I would not feel right giving them the impression that my product best reduced their risk of cyber attack. When I can solve their problem I am full throated in my support for our offering, and when I cannot I am honest and forthcoming. This is really easy to do when share the same goal as your customer - their mission is your mission.

Conclusion

I love being a product manager and refining the art of the product management discipline. Much of these three Cs are disciplines I had to learn (usually the hard way) and adjust over time. There is no manual on how to be a perfect product manager, in much the same way there is no document on the perfect partner. However, I think we can improve day to day by always looking back on these three areas. Try this, at the end of your week look back and ask yourself - where could I have been more compassionate, been more open to compromise, had a clearer commitment to my customers. None of us are perfect, we are all doing the best we can in this evolving world around us. If you take the time to consider these you will already have a leg up on your peers, and would definitely be welcome in my product organization.