Building Great Products – Are you a leader or an arbitrator?
In the last several blogs I shared a broad spectrum of strategic and operational imperatives to manage the product development process using a metrics driven analytical framework based on lean product development framework. Building great products is not just about following a framework, it is also about providing the needed leadership which is not influenced by casuistry. Product decisions are not always about finding the middle ground to avoid a debate on the product strategy, it’s about making the right choice based on the big picture and the data you have at the time. Here is one approach to avoid being an arbitrator and to be a product leader!
Objectively process
strong opinions
Processing strong opinions is one of the key traits for a
successful product leader. How do you respond to strong opinions? Do you
confront or listen? Confrontation without processing the opinion will lead to a
compromised outcome which may even mean that the loudest voice in the room
prevails. As a product leader first you want to find and acknowledge valuable nuggets
in the opinion expressed by an individual and a group. Analyze the scenario
based on the data and metrics you have, evaluate it in the context of the
product vision, and then reach a decision based on what matters most for your
product. For example, you do not want to
invest in an adjacent opportunity just because you see it in your rear view
that your competitor is doing it. You
want to weigh in your company’s ability to execute on the idea and its
strategic fit with the big picture before making a decision. In many product
strategy discussions associating what others are doing seems simple to copy. Avoid
temptation to answer the easy question; think hard before you make your
strategic investment decision.
Get your metrics
right
In my earlier blogs I have shared several product metrics
which can be used to bring in veracity in the decision making. Having said that it’s important, as a product
leader, you always look into the metrics to make sure that you are capturing the
right data set to make strategic decisions. Just because you are using a data
driven model does not mean your product decision would be right. For example,
using online search engine based on a market category to validate whether there is an interest in your
product may not be a good idea if the product does not already have an
established market category (eg. Mobile Device Management, Compliance). Instead you may want to focus on key words which relate to
the primary customers and persons who feel the pain. Analyze and refine your
product metrics, if needed.
Maintain a laser
focus on customer outcome
Never lose the focus on what outcomes you are delivering or
aiming to deliver to the customer – outcomes help create new purchase criteria
for your product. As product evolves, validate and refine the value your product creates for the customer. It’s important in managing product life cycle
not to lose the focus on customer outcomes else you would end up creating a
Swiss army knife that no one wants because it’s a mile wide and an inch deep!
Focusing on customer outcomes, the value delivery chain and
how your product fits into the eco system that your customers already have
matters a lot. It will also help you in dealing with situations where opinion of
one customer could potentially force you to create a custom product with a limited market
potential. Evangelizing the end-to-end value creation within your own company
to deliver the expected outcome would help in dealing with casuistry, and it
will allow you to make a product decisions based on merit vs arbitrating a
schism.
Finally, check with yourself, did you just try to be an
arbitrator or did you lead the decision making based on what’s right for the
product?
