<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This post is a summary of a series of \u201cMentoring\u201d and \u201cAdvisory\u201d calls I did with some early stage startups, over the past 6 months. Most of the time, one of the founder ideates, one builds\/leads the build. But, they want to go fast and think they need a Product Manager. Unfortunately, most of them don\u2019t need a Product Manager. If you are at a similar juncture, read on to find out more..<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The title is a controversial question, I know! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Off lately, Product Managers have to wear too many hats, leaving the role vague and blurring the boundaries of their area of responsibility. This ultimately leads to diminishing the value of the product manager\u2019s core functions. Product Management is a strategic, cross-functional, front-line role that brings great value to the product and business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, it commonly gets abused by many fast-paced organisations expecting product managers to fill in the gaps in various disciplines. This may be process, pricing, unit-economics, partnerships, product-marketing to name a few. They can definitely do that due to their broad professional background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Admittedly, product managers do have a broad background, otherwise they would have a hard time to be able to effectively collaborate with the stakeholders, lead the product and make the informed decisions. But this definitely should not end up with the product managers becoming de-facto \u201cdeciders\u201d or \u201cdoers\u201d originally intended to be done by other roles in other functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any problem, there are two approaches, if an intellectual debate is more to your taste, continue reading on. If it is more of a rational \u201cdoer\u201d approach, head straight down to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are a founder or a\u00a0 leader or a decision maker,\u00a0 before hiring a Product Manager, question yourself as to your expectations from the product manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n I recommend that you go through this checklist and answer Yes\/No to each of its questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you answered \u201cNo\u201d to more than 4 questions, you probably need a Product Manager, No doubt in that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But the reality is, that hiring a highly capable Product Manager won\u2019t magically change the DNA of your organisation. I have seen multiple orgs regress into a worser situation than before. Because, the person responsibl has delegated the product decisions to that Product manager with a shiny belt, without enabling\/empowering him\/her.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a CEO, founder, or senior leader considering hiring a PM, check this list and see if you need one. Lets play a guess and eliminate game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can see your organisation is reflected in this article, don\u2019t bother hiring a PM \u2014 save some money and hire a cheaper role. You would also spare a PM some misery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You already know what you want to build, you just need somebody to build it. You\u2019ve hired some engineers. You need somebody to gather the requirements from you and the team, and maybe manage the back-and-forth of different requirements from many stakeholders. This person then passes the requirements along to the engineers and makes sure they deliver on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You need a <\/em>Project Manager<\/em><\/strong>, not a Product Manager.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You have a handful of big clients and you\u2019re ready to bend over backwards to deliver what they need, including building custom features. Your Sales team knows best what to build, surely, as they\u2019re the ones talking to the customers all the time. Now it\u2019s just a matter of writing the stories and prioritising them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You need a <\/em>Delivery Manager<\/em><\/strong>, not a Product Manager<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You have some very-important-people as customers and their time is precious. You don\u2019t want the new person you just hired to talk to them directly \u2014 may be they will say something untoward?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know what you need, but you certainly don\u2019t need a Product Manager. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You know <\/em>that product managers should be given a problem to solve, not a feature to build. Heck, you were probably a Product person yourself, who has now set up your own startup. You have the vision and the strategy and you know exactly how to get there\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s left for the Product Managers to do, then? Maybe hire an <\/em>Engineering Manager or a Tech Lead<\/em><\/strong>?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n An easy way to assess this: How much of your company budget is dedicated for product\/technology\/innovation? If you\u2019re not willing to invest significant resources to staff the product\/technology team properly, they\u2019ll be left firefighting all year long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t hire a Product Manager \u2014 yet. Assess how you see technology plays a role in your company\u2019s vision. Set aside a proper budget, hire a strong CTO or CPO, and let them build their team. Only do that if you\u2019re willing to listen to them though \u2014 or don\u2019t bother doing it at all.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Sum and summary, Hire a Product Manager only if you believe you can delegate authority, and can come to a rational decision based on data. If not, hire a Project Manager, Engineering Manager or any of the other roles. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This post is a summary of a series of \u201cMentoring\u201d and \u201cAdvisory\u201d calls I did with some early stage startups, over the past 6 months. Most of the time, one of the founder ideates, one builds\/leads the build. But, they want to go fast and think they need a Product Manager. Unfortunately, most of them … <\/p>\nThe State of Product Management:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How do you decide if you need a Product Manager or Not?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Intellectual Approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ask yourselves some questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Think hard on what you want them to do:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you are still unsure about whether or not you need a product manager \u201cin the house\u201d, <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Rational Approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t bother hiring a PM\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you have a fixed idea of what to build<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If your Sales team or clients are dictating what to build<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If they won\u2019t have access to your customers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re not ready to delegate authority<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you see technology as a support function<\/h3>\n\n\n\n