Musings on product gaps, one topic at a time.
I come from a mixed background of practicing in construction and automation engineering and, later, scientific, hypothesis driven exploration. Strangely, I landed in product.
I arrived in a product role through a series of revelations about myself and how people access innovation. Much of the world’s innovation is delivered through the capitalist vehicle of “the company”. I went through scientific training because I wanted to make health care delivery better. After this type training, most people in Canada would continue their career within academia. However, I only felt able to fully realize my goals through joining a company that was committed to getting health-related products to market.
I have been in a lot of organizations. Some recruiters would argue that it was too many. I choose to view it as a quest to find the right one. Its been a long and winding road but life’s choices can be a great teacher. I am reflecting on my experience hoping that it may ripple and help make changes in the right direction.
What makes a product company good to work for? To be brief I can list my values, as context tags, if you will, for my ideal company. The tags would include respect, quality, purpose, just to name a few.
But this would be too superficial and I think I can go a little further. Here are some concepts that I think matter in a good product organization:
- Company values that don’t impede people and product development.
- People who are passionate about the purpose of the product(s).
- Awareness of the competition but without a desire to imitate.
- Recognition that buyers and users are different and equally important.
All seem reasonable, right? However, I have worked for some shitty companies that claimed to buy into these ideas. So what? Time to dig a little deeper here.
Item 1. Companies may claim to have values, post them on the walls and even go so far as to get special certifications (thinking B Corp. here). However, if the people and culture behavior is such that the stated values feel more like marketing, then that’s a huge issue for me. Also, what happens when the going gets tough? Does the top just apply pressure below? Are the resulting long hours and bad behavior just sweep under the rug?
When a company is struggling with its P&C, values, and tolerates passive aggressive or other bad behavior, then people leave. Especially the good ones. Why? Because they can. Unless you have pristine documentation and processes (rarely seen), the knowledge gap that occurs (even temporarily) impacts the product. In my experience, a company struggling with its values will deliver a product that is less than its potential.
Item 2. When I started working as an engineer, I worked with a large number of people that regularly referenced the number of years left until they retired. This isn’t ageism, as I observed the same beaten down, low moral in young employees desperate a job. They were no longer engaged or felt passion for their work. Without being engaged, people are only working for paycheck.
Lack of engagement can be caused by many things. A crappy work environment or limited opportunities to grow area are some reasons. But these things can be tolerated, at least temporarily, if your employees feel excited about the work and the value being offered. In my experience, people who are passionate about the product will help drive change in the organization so that it will be a better place to work. So if you want a better company, don’t forget to tap into people’s passion.
Item 3. I worked for a leader that didn’t want any product manager to look at the competition’s products. They felt that mimicry was likely and we were unlikely to know if we were mimicking the good, bad or ugly parts of the competitors offerings. I think this restriction was over the top but the intention was sound. If you are designing with the goal of catching up, then you are always following. Good products include innovation.
The same thing can be said about the culture, hiring, marketing, and other dimensions of a company. Having other’s decisions as a reference can be helpful, but assess your own scenario. Reflect and think about what your own challenges are. Challenge your company to be its best, finding its own unique solutions.
Item 4. There are many situations where the buyer and the user are different people (or even departments). It may be temping to only think of one half of this group. Product managers often focus on users, while sales are often thinking about the buyer.
Good product companies take the interaction with customers from a more holistic view. Why? Buyers close the deal. Users cancel the subscription. I can’t envision a successful product company that doesn’t have repeat business.
These are my thoughts on mays to improve a product company but I am sure you can add to this. Please do and share. There are so many companies offering below their potential or succeeding in spite of themselves. We can do better.
