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Overcoming Product Management Challenges

through Leadership Skills

Russel Horwitz

MICA Management Resources

Presented at the Vancouver Product Mangement Association Meeting

17 November 2004

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Product Management Defined

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The Reality for Many...

“I don’t have time to be strategic – I’m too busy fighting fires!”

“My organization does not understand product management.”

“Sales drives product strategy – there is no appetite for strategic thinking...”

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I am a Product Manager – what is my career path?

“Product management is one of the most common training grounds for senior executives. Many VPs and CEOs were formerly product managers. The joy (and

sometimes pain) of product management is it’s horizontal nature, working with Sales, Development, Marcom, Finance, Professional Services and senior Executives. Product management is where we learn

to lead through influence rather than mandate.”

Barbara Nelson, Pragmatic Marketing

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The PM’s Role

Product Manager

CustomerService

R & DLogistics

Advertising

TopManagement

Sales

Purchasing

MarketingResearch

Legal

Customers

Finance

Production

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Product Management Paradoxes

Taking responsibility without authority

Making unpopular decisions while preserving relationships

Tactical task overload vs. the need for proactive (strategic) work

Generating enthusiasm while taking criticism

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Taking Responsibility without Authority

The responsibility for your product line is neither shared nor conditional – it’s YOUR baby

The PM’s positional authority is typically low

Therefore, taking responsibility for your product line requires the ability to influence others

Having the right answer is not enough

Having the right answer and a good argument is also not enough

The ability to influence others requires excellent relationships

Developing excellent relationships requires excellent “people skills”, especially conflict management

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Making Unpopular Decisions

You cannot lead effectively without the ability to do what’s right in the face of many opposing views

The key is to have buy-in from key stakeholders

Getting buy-in requires the ability to influence others

You can preserve your relationship with those negatively affected by drawing on solid relationships built over time, and by properly managing the fall-out of the decision

The above requires excellent “people skills”, especially conflict management

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Conflict Management - Tips

Degree of focus on your own

needs

Degree of focus on the needs of the other party

Compete

Avoid

Compromise

Accommodate

Collaborate

Low High

High

Low

The trick is to know when and how to operate in the 5 modes

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Balancing Tactical vs. Strategic Tasks

In the long run, you will be measured on the strength of your strategy

In the short term, expect to be swamped with tactical tasks

Tactical task overload must be managed to create the time and space for strategic work

This requires two important skills, namely

- Delegation

- Time management

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Delegation & Time management - Tips

Top priorityfor PM’s

Dump Dump and explain

Important

Not Important

Not Urgent Urgent

Delegate if tasks can be done satisfactorily by others, or else do yourself

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What can be Delegated?

Don’t delegate:

MRD generation / product strategy

Feature prioritization

Internal build/buy decisions

Reseller agreements

Sales collateral

Pricing

Major customization decisions

1st line sales support

Think about delegating:

Project resourcing

Resolution of serious bugs

Prioritization of non-critical bugs

Engineering change orders, BOM changes

Quoting

Software release planning

Sales forecasting

Internal purchases / Logistics

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Delegation & Time management – Tips Cont.

If you are a perfectionist – STOP today!

“Enough” is when the desired outcome is assured

Anything beyond that only contributes to dropping other balls and your own stress!

Experience and good intuition can save A LOT of analysis

When delegating, focus on the goal, and not how others get there

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Delegation & Time management – Tips Cont.

Don’t attend firefighting meetings, unless others do not have the ability to solve the problem at hand

- Try: “please make your best call on what to do”… and then get out of the way

Limit your use of e-mail, both sending and reading

Commit yourself to running excellent meetings – ask for feedback

Take long vacations (at least 3 weeks)

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Generating Enthusiasm While Taking Criticism

As a decision maker, you should expect constant criticism

You have a leadership position – your team will only be as positive as you are

Dealing with this paradox effectively requires self-awareness

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Self-awareness - Tips

Admit it when you don’t know something – and get help

Remain non-defensive when attacked

Know when to say “Sorry – I screwed up”

Forgive others an move on

Ask your biggest adversary for feedback

Reflect often!

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.”

Steve Jobs

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Suggested Next Steps

Get a 360 degree assessment to help surface your strengths and weaknesses

- Identify one weakness that presents a barrier to performance

- Develop an action plan to overcome it

- Consider how your strengths may assist

• e.g. Strong relationship skills can be leveraged to drive unpopular decisions

Get a mentor / coach

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Thanks for your time … and good luck!

www.micaworld.com

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Part 2 - About MICA

Material on the following slides was not presented at the Nov 17 Vancouver Product Marketing Association meeting

It has been included here to let you know who we are and what services we offer that may assist your company in achieving success

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MICA is a consulting firm that helps clients - select, align, develop and advance - the people required to achieve measurable business results.

We call this Strategic Talent Management.

Who are we?

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Our Strategic Talent Management Services

We help you:

Articulate your talent needs

Frame your thinking against world-class standards

Assess your people and identify gaps at the individual and organizational level

Align and develop your team to deliver against your strategy and goals

Accelerate the development of your leaders at all levels

Evaluate and improve your HR systems and practices to create a platform that supports and grows talent

Develop and embed these organizational capabilities

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Performance and profit start with the right people. MICA helps you make smarter people decisions.

Our selection experts:

Define talent requirements

Conduct in-depth assessments of executive, management and sales candidates

Develop customized behavioural interview protocols and training

Design and implement assessment centres

Validate selection systems

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Aligned and engaged teams outperform. MICA helps you build a winning team.

Our consultants have the know how to:

Align talent management strategy, policies and practices with business goals

Implement performance management systems

Measure and improve employee engagement and satisfaction

Align culture with strategy

Optimize teams

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Strong businesses are built by strong leaders. MICA helps you develop these leaders - at all levels.

We have the expertise to help you:

Define leadership requirements based on your strategy

Implement 360° assessments and feedback

Create and execute development plans

Coach and train

Design and facilitate Action Learning

Conduct Best Practices research

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Sustainable success requires a pipeline of talent. MICA helps you get the right people ready.

Our team has the expertise to:

Facilitate talent reviews

Identify and accelerate the development of next generation leaders

Assess candidates for promotion

Distinguish top talent from the rest

Implement, assess and improve succession planning processes

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Selected Clients

AT&T

Boeing

CREO

Hewlett Packard

Honeywell Video Systems

IBM

Kraft General Foods

Pivotal Corporation

Microsoft

Motorola

Netcom

Rogers AT&T Wireless

Royal Bank

Sierra Wireless

United Way

Xantrex Technology

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End

If you have any further questions about this presentation or MICA, please contact:

Russel HorwitzPh: (604) 642-5241rhorwitz@micaworld.com