IPG-Creation of an Actionable Community
Before we go any further, let’s first talk about the need for creating a community. Why are we so inclined to create communities? What benefits do we derive from creating these mini social utopias? By definition a community is a collection of people who are aligned to a common cause although diverse in their opinions. It’s a mesh between diverse and contradictory opinions through which common objectives are realized. This is the sole reason why a community is diametrically different from a cult where a singular person’s ideological capital is enforced by the entire cult without rationalizing or questioning it. Community on the other hand is a precursor to a revolution that uses intellectual prowess, constructive discussions(contrarian if needed) and ruthless execution to carry forth the said objectives. Unfortunately in my last 2 decades of experience being part of various communities what I have realized is that, the part which is missing is the execution part where most of what is being discussed backfires due to lack of execution. Most communities cannot create an everlasting impact because they fail to execute on the said agendas.
Having said that most successful communities on reddit or facebook or LinkedIn or Whatsapp are built on utilitarian causes where the impetus is on giving more than getting. That makes it more than a zero sum game. That can only happen if the overarching theme of the community is modeled on execution. Most communities I have been part of or am part of are based on models where everyone talks about changing the world and I can’t deny there are some really interesting discussions that happen sometimes. However they all suffer from execution paralysis. When it comes to owning tasks and ruthlessly executing them, most community members back off citing several reasons, professional or personal. That is what makes a community successful or just a talking group where everyone wants to launch a mini revolution but no one wants to become the foot soldier. Well the utmost need in a community is to be the foot soldier when the need be. So today most communities seem to lose focus and become a digital graveyard which loses steam overtime.
At the same time most active communities also aren’t that successful because then they become a means of entertainment and most folks when they are bored turn to these said communities for some momentary gratification. There are conversation threads from every denizen of these mini digital utopias on technology, politics, business, management, psychology and anything remotely similar. People talk and debate around creating an impact and then they leave only to reappear after some time to talk about changing the world again. One of the biggest reasons that happens is due to the lack of a sense of direction.Second could be the quality of the crowd that forms the basis of a community. If we don’t have folks who are aligned to the overall objectives of the community, then the community just becomes a way to kill time. Above all if the community doesn’t reflect the values of capitalistic altruism then it goes for a toss since everyone is solely focused on getting more and more without giving. BNI or Business Network International is a billion dollar entity that works on the singular principle that one has to give a lot in order to get from the community. Most BNI members have benefited tremendously from the various events that they have organized for BNI over the years. Similarly a community where a lot of community members believe in giving becomes an eventual success.
Keeping all of the above in mind, I decided to create a community where we focus solely on execution with the help of people who also want to change the product ecosystem of the country. I wanted to create a community of changemakers who could have a profound impact on the nascent product ecosystem of the country. So with all of the above in mind, I along with a lot of folks started the Indian Product Group. The IPG will focus on some of the following issues that we have identified.
1. What should a new PM or a Product Leader do to fit in over the first 30,60 or 90 days. For the interview preparation part Product School PM School #ProductFolks are doing an incredible job. Kudos to their efforts.
2.How do we create India centric product management stories? Almost every literature on product I have read comes from the West which might or might not apply at all. So how about we create our own product stories?
3.How can we create a sublime interview process for product management? The current process is broken and riddled with bias. Can we fix it?
4. How can we create a referral mechanism through which people who we are familiar with in terms of their work get referred easily which will solve the talent crunch in products?
5. How do we evangelize product management across the country and make it as popular as data science or programming jobs?
6. Can we create case studies on Indian Product Management B2B/B2C alike for people to consume? There is a dearth of it. Technically this point is connected to point 1
7.Can we run internships for having more n more talent inside companies? This is a long shot but there is no harm in trying.
What is also noteworthy is that product management, which is a novice discipline, has changed drastically over the last decade or so. What was relevant toward the start of 2010 isn’t relevant anymore. What Reforge or Pragmatic Marketing is talking about today on products is at par with what is relevant in the market today. However most of what they are talking about is in the context of what works out in the West. We don’t have adequate literature on product management when it comes to India. What does that mean? Let me try and explain. There isn’t sufficient literature around products that were built in India and became successful catering to the domestic market in the case of consumer tech or products that were built in India and became successful catering to local businesses in the case of B2B. We don’t have stories about Indian products that found a global market and how they overcame obstacles that came their way. InMobi can be a great example. We don’t have career paths for folks who are product managers and wish to go up the ladder. What kind of skills do they need to have to grow and do well in their jobs? There isn’t any great mentorship mechanism that has been put in place to deal with the same. For folks eying a leadership role or an executive role there isn’t anything other than reading Nikhyl Singhal’s blogs and his Product School’s videos. For product aspirants, who are either students or working in different professions there is no program through which they can make this transition. There is a tonne of content out there that is teaching everyone product management but the practical aspects of product management are missing. It’s all theoretical gyaan picked up from everywhere and converted into a course being taught by a professor who has never really sold a thing in his life. Doesn’t that seem a little disturbing?
Now let’s talk about evangelization. So as long as one goes out of the top 8 metropolices and talks about product management, one gets those blank stares or worse,most folks think it’s project management. The clever ones actually think it’s program management. The picture is so bleak that for the rest of the diaspora, product management does not exist as a job as much as a data scientist job or a full stack programmer’s job. Most of the awareness programs have miniscule reachability. There aren’t any blogs written or any webinars or AMA sessions happening in different vernacular languages. where people could learn a thing or two about product management. The level of awareness people have about product management is almost zilch. The IPG as we are calling it now, plans to do a series of activities which will trigger a mini product revolution in the country and if everything goes well, we might be able to transform India into a product nation. Our utmost belief is that active participation and ruthless execution are the only two drivers that will take us places. With this intent we have chosen some really outstanding individuals from the product space with diverse backgrounds to introduce diversity in the collective think tank of the group. Over the next few months, we plan to organize AMAs, webinars, failcons, masterclasses, workshops, courses, product hackathons, policy discussions, essay competitions, case study compilations(on India specific stories and get a book published), internship programs to create a mechanism for people to enter as product interns, start discussions with Government to create CoEs for product management in India across various cities to spread the word around products extensively through all the nook and corner of the country. Let’s write our own product management story. ‘India karega tabhi to India badhega’.
We welcome like minded individuals to help us with our revolution. We don’t need gyaan but action. We don’t need mute spectators who can sit and do absolutely nothing but entertain themselves. We don’t need folks talking 30000 feet statements but not partaking in any active role in implementing our agenda. So if you are as passionate as we are, do join us or watch from the fences. The choice lies with you- you wanna change India or watch us change India?
