2.  The leader presents a short (20-30 minute
max) informative topic, open-ended
question or premise and opens the fl
i i d h floor
for expansion, comment, questions and
generall di
discussion.
i
 But first
› Who is our timer? Call out every 10 min.
› Who is going to gather surveys?

3.  What is the role of a product manager?
 Is there a chasm to cross?
 What phase is your company in?

4. Geoffrey A. Moore & Regis McKenna
Innovative
The Early The Mainstream
High-Tech
Product Market ? Market
The
CHASM
ervatives
matists
naries
ptics
Pragm
Skep
Vision
Conse

6.  Do the job of everyone except those
already defined.
 General Manager, Owner, CEO of the
Product
 Hub (Expert or Voice) of Market and User
Knowledge

7.  Detailed responsibilities differ BUT
 Most believe they
drive strategy for products.
 Therefore, strategic product
managers:
› Understand market needs
› Directing product activities to meet
needs
Source: Michael Ray Hopkin, Lead on Purpose PM Blogger, UPMA President
http://leadonpurposeblog.com/2008/04/14/leadership-and-product-strategy/

9. Geoffrey A. Moore & Regis McKenna
Innovative
The Early The Mainstream
High-Tech
Product Market ? Market
The
CHASM
ervatives
matists
naries
ptics
Pragm
Skep
Vision
Conse

11.  Not
N t small vs. large, it is culture of the company. Any company
ll l i lt f th A
can be PM incompetent
 There is a tension. It can be anywhere.
 Chasm can come from externalities. Chasms appear as
pp
companies change. Size is just one variable.
 As the company figures out who they are, and move from
reactionary to proactive, chasms appear and disappear.
 Chasm is the difference between a Good PM and a Bad one one.
 In a smaller company you know you are successful faster.
 Chasms appear when responsibility lines blur and disappear
when that becomes clear.
 The
Th verticall axis is how serious the company takes PM.
ti i i h i th t k PM
 Regardless of company, the understanding of the PM role is a
key factor. And the evolution of that understanding is key to the
PMs evolution.

12.  What are phases in a companies
evolution?
› Knowing those phases can help a PM know
how cope, uhhh, compensate.
 What
Wh t are the corresponding phases iin
th di h
product management
› P h
Perhaps a better question iis what are th PM
b tt ti h t the
responsibility priorities as you cross the
chasm?

14.  The Seven Stages of Business Life
› Seed: A thought or idea
› St t
Start-up: The idea in production
Th id i d ti
› Growth: Expansion ideas competing for
resources
› Established: Improvement, process maturity
› Expansion: New markets & distribution
channels
› Decline
› Exit

15. © Adizes Institute LLC. http://www.adizes.com/corporate_lifecycle.html

16. © Adizes Institute LLC. http://www.adizes.com/corporate_lifecycle.html

17.  Acknowledgment that you and others need to change.
A k l d t th t d th dt h
Get new skill sets.
 Each person needs to understand their limitations, and
either need to change or step aside.
 Plenty of PMs are migrating from other places (eng,
support, marketing) but don’t focus on the PM craft.
 You must know your methodologies both for the current
company phase and also f th f t
h d l for the future phases so you can
h
help your company scale (and scale your influence also)
 PMs need to be domain experts of both technology and
human behavior
behavior.
 Two challenges for startups and established PMs, finding
your market and then finding the product in the market.

19.  Face reality…

22.  Pragmatic Marketing Zealot
 Good to Great: Level 5
 Crucial Conversations
 PM Manifesto

23.  Not everyone has the perfect company,
the perfect boss, the perfect eTeam
 “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking
When Stakes Are High”
› www.vitalsmarts.com

24.  Work on Me First
› Choose What and If
› M t My Stories – Di id Fact from Story
Master M St i Divide F t f St
 Master own anger, fear or pain, thoughts
 Confront With Safety
› Mutually describe gap of what actually
happened and what expected to happen
pp p pp
› Listen carefully
› Change view of consequences
› Stay Focused and Flexible

25.  Focus
F
› Leadership and self deception
› Know what things are critical, know what shouldn’t be done. Let the
middle squeak and you will know which side of the fence it sits.
 Celebrate Failure, R
C l b t F il Ryan Money
M
› Failures are opportunities for improvement
› DON’T shoot the person who finds the failure
› INTROSPECTIVE is a key attribute of PMs and evolutionary companies.
 PMs Prioritize all the time. The cost of failure is the measure.
Innovate around the items that have acceptable cost.
› Thomas Edison had the fortitude and the cash flow to continue to fail
until he could succeed.
 Cultivate i
C lti t innovation, then PM, manage that innovation
ti th PM th t i ti
 Innovators Dilemma
 As a PM you are asking for the bulls eye on your back. Live for it,
,
train for it,

26.  PM is not well understood.
 PM is one of the most
interesting/important jobs
 “I believe that PM is one of the toughest,
g
yet most rewarding jobs in the world….
Therefore I will do whatever it takes”

27.  “Search others for their virtues, thyself for
thy vices.” Benjamin Franklin
› PM, Know thyself
 Know your strengths and weaknesses
› Mutual Understanding i
 Role(s) definition
 Prioritization
› Mutual Willingness to Change
› Regular and Often Review

28. Was this session worth your time?
y
Do you feel more prepared to cross your chasms?
Or did you just not feel comfortable voting with 2 feet?
It’s feedback time!