The Evolving Definition of Product Management

While trading emails with someone in my network (I was asking what is interesting but missing content for PM learning) I was presented with this gem:

“I think that product management remains one of the key mysteries of building a great tech company.”

This person is a C-level exec (not bragging, just context on how this person thinks) and it was enlightening and refreshing to hear their expectations of PMs. Here is the rest of the quote:

“Generally I think there is an important trend going on, where a product is no longer just software. SaaS products consist of software, data, human input, APIs, integrations, etc. So the definition of ‘product’ is changing. Product managers need to see this. They need to think broadly about the product although they are in their work trying to define it narrowly.”

I love this line of thinking, because it jives with many of my biases about the craft of product management.

• iteration » ideation

  • bias for action over talking

• system » sections

  • end-to-end experience understanding

• foundation » features

  • building blocks vs shiny objects

• synthesis » status

  • give me insights vs updates

• outcomes » output

  • move the needle vs a needle

• sustainable » sporadic

  • unpopular, but I don’t think you should “do things that don’t scale” - you should do the bare minimum now to scale properly later

• fluidity » firmness

  • strong opinions weakly held

• planning » plans

  • it’s the habit vs the actual plans that matter long term

• quality » quickness

  • like planning for scale, quality (usability, performance, cost) can’t be a bolt on after shipping

• proxies » process

  • form a point of view on the market any way you can vs sticking to structured feedback / input rituals that don’t provide value

• direction » data

  • love data, but it’s purpose is to provide direction, so worry about the higher order bit

• loops » leaps

  • one-offs are exactly that, moonshots don’t happen by accident, luck is manufactured by being 1% better every day

• writing » winging

  • if you can’t articulate it via an n-page doc, you haven’t thought it through deeply and are just winging it

As always, I’d also love to hear from readers about their leanings when it comes to product building - please chime in via comments👇. And if you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing.

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further reading / references

• I’ve laid out the 2 primary PM archetypes before in PM purists vs tweeners

• I’ve talked before about the shifting nature of PMs in The Product Paradox

• If you liked this post you might enjoy my thoughts on transitioning to PM

• I hit on ideas on how to develop these skills in PM onboarding practices

• CX loops are a favorite topic of mine: post + webinar + slides here

• Some audio thoughts on functional fluidity, which is a trait I admire

• My full list of product leadership principles can be found here

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childish drawing / interpretation