Aside from executive leadership, product managers have the most influence in the product roadmap. The smaller the company, the bigger the influence and impact on the whole business. It is a role with great responsibility.
As your product vision shapes your companies product, it will shape the companies reputation and at the end of the day success or failure.
Think about it. Imagine a product that comes to your mind. Tesla. When you think about Tesla, the company, you think about the car. The product. The product represents the company to the customer, to the public. If the product is great, the company will be admired. There are countless examples. If the product is not good, the company will suffer. Case in point, Product Managers have a lot of responsibility.
Now, there are two types of Product Managers.
Type 1
Ones that work with visionary leaders and follow their vision. They execute the hell out of that vision and bring concept to reality.
And then there are the ones that are the visionaries. They have a clear future for the product in mind and they know the steps to get there.
In the first role, you will do whatever it takes to help your leader and visionary to make their vision real. For this, you need to stand behind it. Get excited when they tell you their next ideas. Where to take the product next. You can have influence but it will be a challenge if you and your visionary constantly argue when your visions diverge.
Type 2
You know what the product and your customers need. Today, tomorrow and 5 years from now. You see how the market will evolve and where you need to position your product. Build what you know is the right thing to build. Create the vision and make sure you validate it.
Your leaders will have inputs but they will want you to do the work and find out what’s right.
They will also have an opinion and a plan where to go but they will listen if you come with the right arguments. And they will buy into your vision and ideas if they know they can trust you.
When I started out I had no idea what it meant to develop a vision. How do you do that? I had opinions and ideas but nothing felt like I developed a vision.
It is very normal that when you start out and join a company you are more the type 1 PM. A roadmap will exist and you will focus on specific features to deliver.
That’s perfectly normal.
It will take months before you get insights into WHY the roadmap is like it is and how someone else formed a vision.
It is very important that you think about this vision. You understand it and you agree with it when you join.
Don’t join if you think you come in and change it. Maybe you are a customer and you assume others think the same way as you. Product Management doesn’t work like that.
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