PMs: Purists && Tweeners
the need for both feature facilitators and cross-functional leads
Recently, we ran a retrospective on the evolution of the product org at Box, focusing on how PMs were doing in terms of opportunity, impact, growth, etc. Inevitably, as these discussions tend to, the conversation pivoted to the actual expectations of a PM, and the inherent variability in the role across managers / teams / companies. One telling quote from the discussion:
“If you polled 99 companies in the Bay Area you would get 99 definitions of what a PM is…”
There is some truth in that - PMs have been described as everything under the sun, ranging from “glue” to “bring the donuts” to “high-leverage” to “CEO of the product”. All of that I’m sure has been true for some PM on some team at some company for some product at some point in time. And I’ve seen that play out in my previous career stops (Twitter, Amazon). But if you’re a PM trying to navigate your ambiguously-defined, rapidly-evolving, forever-fluid role, you want to hear more than “it varies…deal with it”.
I have thoughts…there are basically only 2 paths.
Purists (aka feature facilitators)
Tweeners (aka cross-functional leads)
Before I go further, let me establish a few things that I’ve come to realize.
these are operating modes vs. fundamental traits
PMs will generally have a leaning, but can be both
you could have both profiles in the same group
a product area needs both over it’s lifecycle
one is not inherently better than the other
Let’s dig into what each of these looks like in practice.
Purists (aka feature facilitators)
These tend to be folks who either joined an APM program straight out of school (likely at a large company with well-established product lines) or folks who went to business school (and used it to make a career transition). They likely work on iterative products, with a clear set of metrics to drive to, with every release moving the needle incrementally. Their focus is execution and delivery, and writing OKRs is very straightforward. When this role goes sideways, the story is usually something along the lines of “lot of output but no impact”. Note: I labeled this group Purists because they tend to index on their credentials (academic and corporate).
Tweeners (aka cross-functional leads)
These are individuals who arrived at PM-ing through a circuitous route, likely stumbling into in when they started doing the role because there was a vacuum. They play a strong role in messier products, especially innovations, because of their ability to connect dots across disciplines. They are comfortable figuring out product-market fit, but struggle with writing crisp OKRs. When this role goes south, the knock is “strong team culture but no output”. Note: I tagged this bucket Tweeners because they tend to orient on their jack-of-all-trade-ness (multi-discipline backgrounds).
Let me provide some examples from my own experiences to add context.
At Amazon, I worked on the Kindle, and specifically started out tackling the device and accessories sales experience. Let me highlight 2 very different manifestations of my role based on the strategy and my interpretation of it.
A: “optimize the online order pipeline, specifically search result click-through, detail page visits to cart adds, successful checkouts, with reduced abandons”
B: “make the Kindle the preferred, premium reading experience…that’s all”
When my mindset was A, I was laser-focused on feature facilitation. We used customer feedback heavily to tackle issues like international buyers purchasing the wrong device, must-have accessories not being surfaced for add-on, and returns of prior-generation devices purchased right before a next-generation device announcement.
When I began to think in terms of B, we ended up building ads-subsidized devices, expanding to physical retail channels, and tapping into enterprise markets. And I operated more as a cross-functional lead who connected dots across a portfolio of investments.
What was more important for Amazon?
When did I learn more as a PM?
What created more customer value?
Hard to know, because we’re comparing Apples and…Bagels.
When I think back to that time, I’m mostly thankful that the executive leadership team was thoughtful enough to evolve my role over the years based on my skillset and interest, combined with the needs of the business and the makeup of the broader org.
Counter that experience with the situation at Twitter, where (for a period) we had a bunch of PM angst on how to partner with Engineering and Design, because the EPD triad model was deadlocking decision making. I specifically remember a Q&A session with Jack Dorsey, where someone asked him how things worked at Square. His response (paraphrasing):
“We have teams that own problems. We don’t prescribe solutions. And depending on whether the effort is a design revamp or tech change or product feature, the respective functional representative serves as the lead.”
There were blank stares. Jack was trying to explain a cross-functional lead model to PMs that were elbow deep in feature facilitation. The Purist can’t comprehend the Tweener (and vice versa). There are rare folks who can function in both models, but it’s hard to have that meta-awareness when you’re just trying to figure out the basics.
So how does this mental model help you? How can you apply this to your day-to-day?
Open a dialogue with your management chain / leadership team about the product strategy and the type(s) of PM(s) necessary to bring it to fruition.
Introspect on where your strengths lie and where you’d like to take your career (by the way, it’s totally OK to specialize OR move back and forth)
Talk to your PM peers on the Purist / Tweener mix in your org and whether a shift is warranted / possible / inevitable
further reading / references
an overview of the EPD model as implemented at Airbnb
a clear (but incendiary) PoV on feature vs. product teams
signs you’re in a feature factory and how to counter-balance
childish drawing / interpretation