Product Managers as Business Leaders
(This blog post was originally published on the Boston Product Management Association (BPMA) event site as part of a panel discussion of which I was honored to be invited.)
In a nutshell, all Product Managers (no matter what stage of their career) should seek opportunities to expand their horizons beyond their immediate area of focus that delve deeper into their company’s business and strategy.
What makes Product Management interesting and challenging is the variety of experience it offers across different industries, technologies, and within companies of different stages and cultures. While this multifaceted aspect of the job itself requires diverse set of skills, Product Managers must develop a common, core set of skills over time, that involve a strong business acumen - their ability to think broadly and strategically across all facets of the company - in order to be much more effective business leaders.
In a nutshell, all Product Managers (no matter what stage of their career) should seek opportunities to expand their horizons beyond their immediate area of focus that delve deeper into their company’s business and strategy. Depending on the company, this could mean many different things: from learning more about how distribution and supply chain works, to learning about customer acquisition and marketing strategy, to learning about company financials and how margins and bottom line impact strategic decisions, etc. Product Managers who invest the time to expand their business acumen can benefit in several ways - what follows are just a few examples.
Ability to make better decisions with the team
Product Managers who base their decisions with the bigger strategic picture in mind are able to make better decisions in that lead to positive and more productive outcomes. By expanding one’s horizons beyond features, functionality, and UX into business-centric areas such as efficiencies of acquisitions / conversions, company financials, market trends, the competitive landscape, etc., the Product Manager has a more comprehensive set of inputs to aggregate, synthesize, and leverage to make decisions.
Ability to positively impact the effectiveness of company execution
By taking the time as a Product Manager to come to a broader understanding of business objectives and needs, one will not only be able to shape the roadmap execution of the team(s) he/she works with directly, but will also be able to establish a more cohesive collaboration with other departments in the organization (i.e. marketing, sales, business development, finance). Eventually, this approach results in alignment across teams about the end goal as it related to the company’s broader strategy and vision, leading to effectiveness in execution and achieving the targeted growth. This, leads to a more sustainable performance of the company in the market, which benefits everyone.
Ability to advance in leadership roles within the company, or entrepreneurially
Product Managers with increasing business acumen position themselves for more leadership opportunities within their companies, or even externally as entrepreneurs. PM’s who expand their perspective from tactical execution within a primary area of focus to broader strategic impact and results gain an increased ability to communicate with much more gravitas, which increases their influence and visibility. Simply put, their career options multiply - they can decide to rise up the ranks of their company’s leadership positions; they can decide to go out on their own and start a company; or they can decide to hone their craft in/around very specific domain expertise.
At the end of the day, the great thing about Product Management is how much variety and flexibility there is at every step of the way of one’s career journey. That said, every Product Manager should commit to advancing his/her business leadership skills and experiences - not only does this benefit the individual and his/her team(s), it can be a “tide that raises all boats” in terms of the benefits the company itself realizes.