Mission-Driven Product Management
Almost every company dreams up its own mission statement, but it is rare to work for a company that actually lives by theirs.
At Guild, our mission is to unlock opportunity for America’s workforce through education. We connect the world’s largest employers and their employees with high-outcome online learning providers. We’ve flipped the traditional education benefit model in ways that alleviate the financial strain on students. Fulfilling our B-Corp status depends on us keeping the best interests of our students in mind.
Our mission doesn’t talk about disrupting an industry or using a new technology to do something. That’s the difference between legitimately mission-driven companies and other startups who simply have a mission statement: Guild doesn’t succeed unless our students do.
It feels pretty great to work at a company like this, but it also poses some unique challenges. Here’s my take on how product management is different in an environment like Guild.
Stakeholders Galore
All stakeholders must participate in the gains and losses of any particular situation.
— Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank
Guild sits at the intersection of the world’s largest employers, their employees, and online learning providers. It takes an army of different departments to make that model work.
Most product managers are used to the struggle of having to coordinate with colleagues across various departments like sales, support, and marketing. At Guild, that challenge is exacerbated by the sheer number of different departments that make this company run.
With so many stakeholders, it’s a constant challenge to make sure we’re solving the right problems and doing what’s best for our students. Each department has its own unique challenges. This means we’re being pulled in many, sometimes competing, directions.
It also means we’re going to miss people in our internal communications about product changes. We can try to over-communicate, but then you have to remember that our stakeholders are also receiving a pile of communications from all of the other departments. If you spam people with emails all day, they start to ignore you. This balancing act has taught all Guilders the value of discretion and succinct communication, and it’s something we’re continuously trying to improve.
We Can’t Solve Everything
The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.
— Michael Porter, Harvard Business Review
This is probably the toughest part of joining a mission-driven organization. We all want to solve all the world’s problems, but we have finite time and resources. Ensuring that we’re working on the most important problems at all times means saying “no” to problems that could be impacting someone’s access to a better life.
That’s a lot of weight to bear. For example, which is more important: getting more students into programs that will improve their lives or ensuring that those already enrolled in the programs are succeeding? They’re both extremely important, but prioritization is necessary. While we’re fortunate enough to have teams dedicated to both of these challenges, we’re dealing with mini versions of this dilemma on a daily basis.
It’s hard not to take these problems home with you. Don’t get me wrong: the wins at Guild are great. Knowing we’re helping people makes the bad days good and the good days great. It’s important to keep these wins in mind when we’re making the tough decisions.
The other issue is that technology just can’t solve some of the problems we’re dealing with. Sometimes the data from partners isn’t there, or we’re trying something that no other company has ever done. Having to deal with limitations when peoples’ livelihoods are at stake is even more soul-crushing than having to say “we’ll get to it later”. “Soul-crushing” might be a bit dramatic, but it’s not easy.
Fewer Shiny Things, More Solving Real Problems
That last one was heavy, so I’m going to finish on a positive note. In my experience, Guild is a great place to be a product manager. We have a team of leaders who are experienced in avoiding common product management pitfalls. Having an organization centered around an inspiring mission doesn’t hurt either. A lot of our common language is centered around helping students, rather than making money.
Product organizations, especially young ones, often run into a trap of “future selling” or sales-led development. In other words, they sell their product on the possibilities of what’s coming down the pipeline, rather than selling the product on the merits of its current value proposition. This leads to a lot of building features that don’t solve actual user problems but make for great sales pitches. Product managers loathe this type of thinking.
We try to avoid sales-led development at Guild, but we also avoid guiding key metrics that are sales-related. In fact, our yearly company-wide goal isn’t a revenue number like it might be at most companies; it’s the total number of active students enrolled in a program. This is done intentionally so that we don’t guide students toward a program just because it brings in more revenue or has a higher margin. Our annual goal is a product of our B Company status and our mission to focus on student outcomes.
This all means that we’re not a feature factory. We aren’t churning out features as quickly as possible without measuring the results. I’ve been told on multiple occasions to focus on the problem, rather than the product. These are signs of a healthy product organization. I feel lucky to work in a place that gives us the freedom to solve real problems and to do it the right way.
Product management in a mission-driven environment is both rewarding and challenging. I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience both. Once you change your mentality from “how do we make more money?” to “how do we help more people?” it’s hard to imagine going back.
My suggestion for anyone looking for a product job, starting their own business, or looking to motivate their staff is to find a mission that inspires. Build a team of missionaries around it and go all in. Look into becoming a B-Corp. At the end of the day, if you’re going to be devoting your blood, sweat, and tears to something, you may as well make a difference while doing it.
