The Complete Zen of Product Management

“When your product fails, your relationships will save the business.” — Alex Turnbull, Groove.

2014 was the year Product Management arrived in earnest. Thanks to a host of great blogs, community platforms like Medium and the good folks at Mind the Product, the volume of high quality content about the nuts and bolts of digital Product Management has ballooned in the past year. As a result, we’re now well served by in depth descriptions of what skills you need to be a PM, what your day will be like and what distinguishes the great from the merely average.

In this post, I’ll be focussing on what I call the Zen of Product Management: dimensions of the role that are rarely, if ever, discussed thanks to their non-tangible nature.

Part 1: EQ and Social Capital.

In his book, Zero to One, Peter Thiel outlines his belief that the biggest insights in life are ‘hidden in plain sight’ — concealed only by our preconceptions or tendency to accept things as they are. So fond is Thiel of this theory that he makes a point of asking candidates about it during interviews. The question goes something like this: “Tell me something that’s true, that almost nobody agrees with you on.”

It’s a deliberately gnarly thing to ask. I should know. I got caught out by it myself in an interview once. I don’t remember what I said but I’m pretty sure I fluffed my response. Looking back, I wish I had said:

“Google’s full of shit. Hiring ‘really smart people’ isn’t actually that important.”
The fact that there were at least 2 ex-Googlers on the panel would have made the response that bit more punchy.

But it’s true. It’s received wisdom to parrot the line that all you need to do is hire the ‘smartest’ people around, put them together and let the magic happen. The Tech Illuminati have said it so often that now every founder of any pedigree repeats it as gospel: “We only recruit the smartest people.”

But only testing for IQ, by looking at academic records, resumes and letters after your name, or by asking questions about how many people in the USA are eating pizza right now, won’t help you assess whether or not that person can cut it as a Product Manager over the long term.

Which is why it’s refreshing to read this excellent interview with Sam Lessin, former Head of Product at Facebook, in which he observes that: “EQ is more important. People don’t talk enough about it. Product Managers get huge value from being highly empathetic with the team, not just with users. There are plenty of smart people, but not enough with EQ.”

EQ (or Emotional Intelligence) is a comparatively new concept that reached mainstream attention when Daniel Goleman published his book of the same name in 1995. Without getting too deep into the biology behind it (neuroplasticity, anyone?) it refers to the extent to which someone can manage their own emotions, empathise with those around them and to their self-awareness.

Lessin also remarks that he has ‘never successfully trained empathy.’

Despite being well-established as a term, it still remains at odds with the culture of most corporations and some of their smaller counterparts. It’s also wholly absent from the recruitment process of almost any organisation of any size, most of which focus exclusively on trying to determine IQ even at the expense of experience.

But high-IQ is critical in some environments and of diminishing value in others. In software engineering, where logic and induction are fundamental, it is undoubtedly an asset. Likewise, in fields like strategy consulting where evolving abstract models designed to impress is key. Extremely intelligent people love models. They have a simplicity and purity that implies the world is black and white. One in which problems can be definitively solved.

But Product Managers work at the interface between groups of people, often people from very different backgrounds, and work through influence rather than logic. There are no definitive solutions in this world. Just an endless array of ‘Coulds,’ ‘Maybes’ and ‘It depends…’

Product Managers inhabit the grey areas of human irrationality and, as such, the best ones over-index in EQ. More often than not this means they are distinguished by the following:

• Total control over their lizard brain, especially fight or flight emotions like anger and fear
• Unfailing courtesy and impeccable manners
• A deep-rooted empathy and concern for those that they interact with
• Understanding that excellence is a habit, not an act.

Conduct informed by EQ is guided by the notion that “you get out what you put in.” Call it karma, call it ethics. I prefer the term ‘social capital’.

What is social capital? Wikipedia defines it as ‘the expected collective or economic benefits derived from the preferential treatment and cooperation between individuals and groups’. Components of social capital include reciprocity, trust and values. If these are shared between individuals within a network then the community will function as an organic whole.

If they are broken then the system breaks down.

Much of this thinking goes against the stereotypical grain. Product visionaries like Steve Jobs, notoriously low on empathy for others, are lionised as men with vision. People whose drive and commitment to excellence compel them to eviscerate product teams and fight political and personal battles with rivals. So what if there were casualties along the way?

But retrospectively his biographer, Walter Isaacson, has concluded that Jobs would have achieved even greater things, and been a better person, if he had better understood the value of social capital. The nasty edge to his personality, he concludes, ‘hindered him more than it helped him.’

When I was Head of Product at a large UK media company we were encouraged to treat suppliers and agencies like dispensable pawns. They were there to serve our needs and nothing more. Development partners with whom we had built relationships would fall from favour overnight and be fired. Contractors and long-serving freelancers were treated in the same way. No explanation was deemed necessary. Like a royal court, you fell from grace and you were dismissed.

Although I wasn’t then familiar with the term, this was a textbook example of how to destroy social capital. The whole environment was characterised by fear, suspicion and threat. Needless to say, it wasn’t conducive to shipping greatness. In fact, output virtually stopped dead as one supplier after another was dismissed forcing the Product Manager to start over with a new team. It was about power and positioning over product.

The most successful social capitalists, like the most successful financiers, take a long term view. They understand that investments they make now will not vest for many years. But they will compound over time and grow into something immensely valuable.

Part 2: Soft Power

If you happen to be British, you may well be familiar with the TV phenomenon that is Wolf Hall. For everyone else, Wolf Hall is the latest hi-brow period drama from the BBC. No one does period drama like the Brits and Wolf Hall is no exception. Charting the rise and rise of Thomas Cromwell within the sharkpool that was the court of King Henry VIII, it’s an excellent primer on surviving the most brutal environments. Of low birth, Cromwell is blessed with no intrinsic authority, and must survive on his wits and work through influence. Like a Product Manager, he must exercise what is known as Soft Power.

Coined by Joseph Nye in the late 80s, Soft Power is typically defined as

“the ability to persuade others to do what you want without force or coercion.”

Soft Power, as Nye admits, is hard to wield and unpredictable — difficult to apply to specific situations but most effective at creating a favourable environment for you in the long term.

Soft Power is more than just a fancy way of describing influence. It’s a complex strategy that projects your values, culture and ideals in a way that convinces through rational choice and by tapping into individual aspirations. The Hollywood film industry, disseminated globally, is the most oft-cited example of Soft Power.

Lots of companies overstate the importance of technical knowledge as pivotal to success as a Product Manager. Whilst technical knowledge is certainly a key pillar of a Product Manager’s credibility, it is their ability to influence and lead that defines them. The Carnegie Institute have a great term for this: “Human Engineering.” In a study conducted in 2012, they found that 85% of financial success is due to one’s ability to communicate, negotiate and lead with technical expertise a mere 15%.

I’ve learnt the hard way that Soft Power is the only effective weapon a Product Manager has. Soft Power means listening more than speaking — 2 ears and 1 mouth etc — and being so goal oriented that you avoid the need to ‘win’ every debate or impose your will on every situation. To paraphrase Jeff Bezos: it means being stubborn on vision but extremely flexible on detail.

Just as political Soft Power is all too easily undermined by military and foreign policy blunders, likewise for Product Managers: it is your actions which will ultimately define you. Superhuman patience and forbearance are arguably the most important qualities you need to cultivate. Not only do shouting, losing your rag, threats, demands and other forms of ‘Hard Power’ achieve little or nothing, they undermine your credibility and authority at the same time.

Sam Lessin, former VP of Product at Facebook, articulates it well:

“A bad day is when you see something clearly, but you can’t get others around you to see it. You work through other people, so it takes a lot of convincing.”

When deadlines loom and you’re not ready to ship, when requirements you thought had been clearly stated aren’t met, when customers are blowing you up on Twitter it’s easy to let emotions guide you and fall back on Hard Power tactics. It’s your ability to maintain your composure during these moments that will mark you out as either a rookie or a vet in the eyes of the team.

If attempts to convince fail, Lessin recommends going for a run or ‘pounding sand’ as a means to release endorphins and overcome frustration. Resorting to Hard Power tactics is never the way. If you lose it once, that’s all people will remember.

In Wolf Hall, Cromwell’s ascent eventually requires him to deploy Hard Power tactics to maintain favour with the King. Is this inevitable or avoidable? This is the subject of the next chapter of Product Management Zen.

Part 3: Swimming with Sharks

How many of us have sweated blood for months building out a new feature or even a whole new product, only to see it shelved halfway through development? How much of your carefully crafted product roadmap do you actually execute? It’s less than most of us care to admit. The failure rate of software initiatives historically ran at 60+%. The reasons are diverse but we all know from bitter experience that what is commonly known as ‘politics’ plays a major part.

It’s easy to assume that in the days of ‘big data’, decision-making with regards to product has become a scientific, analytical undertaking. This is what is supposed to happen. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Product Managers are motivated by shipping great product (fast) and delivering value to customers. Most of us cut our teeth working as engineers or UX practitioners. We tend to come from a meritocratic background, succeeding via technical expertise and measurable outcomes. But we are outliers.

Not everyone in a corporation (or even in a startup) is motivated by this. In fact most aren’t. Most people are motivated by self-advancement to varying degrees. At the extreme end is the Political Animal.

An excellent (though strangely anonymous) post on Quora summed up the mindset of this beast as follows:

“Manage perception rather than reality. Since real success is difficult, focus on appearing successful rather than being successful. Remember that your company’s customers, finances and mission don’t matter except as a score in the game. Treat it as a game and do what it takes to optimize your score. Always appear to be everyone’s friend until its time to stab them in the back. Recruit good people and take credit for their work. Blame suppliers, staff and competitors for your failings.”

I’ll wager that most of you find this outlook unsettling. Product Managers are makers. Like a football coach or Premiership manager, our fortunes are intrinsically bound up in those of our product. We pour passion and craft into our work. We don’t have the luxury (or the inclination) to distance ourselves from it if things go badly.

As Sam Lessin once observed:

“Optics are hard to overcome when there is failure. In the end, it’s a fail if the Product fails.”

The notion of allying yourself with a ‘Product’ or being motivated by solving customer problems is alien to the Political Animal . They regard their boss (and their boss’ boss) as their customer, their team as suppliers and their peers as either competitors or allies.

Every blog post should have a human story. This one is particularly close to home. I’ve ridden the waves of good fortune and opportunistic circumstance when product was momentarily in the ascendant in the eyes of the CEO. I’ve subsequently crashed on the rocks of ill favour thanks to a sea change at the top that saw Product Teams marginalised and ultimately forced out; ostensibly because we were deemed to have had too much power previously.

At the top, corporations often resemble royal courts, populated by Political Animals clamouring for the monarch’s attention and hanging on his every word.

To be a Product Manager in this environment means trying to ship in a world where most don’t care about product, the customer experience or even the customer themselves. Meetings can feel like an encounter with a Dementor: your maker’s soul sucked from within you.

[caption id=”attachment_1342" align=”aligncenter” width=”900"]

Thanks to Adam Brockbank[/caption]

Here’s a few lessons from someone who has learnt (and is still learning) how to be a maker amongst the moneymen.

The most important thing is to acknowledge that politics exist and that you are part of it. Don’t be that person who thinks (or worse, announces that) ‘I don’t do politics,’ then finds themselves routinely outplayed by those that do.

Next, always remember that it’s never personal. A maker’s disposition means you may struggle to differentiate the rules of social relationships from professional ones. You don’t need to like someone to work with them.

As software eats the world, those in the digital driving seat represent an insidious threat to those in more traditional (and now challenged) roles. Not surprisingly, the challenged are disinclined to sit back and watch you marginalise them out of their livelihood. Many will hit back in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. This is pure self-interest. But it’s business, never personal.

Bear in mind that acknowledging the game doesn’t mean you need to shaft people. This is another common mistake informed by the ‘nice guys finish last’ school of thinking which says that you can only get ahead at the expense of others. Again: not true. If shafting people doesn’t come naturally then you’ll never compete with those to whom it does. And once you’ve started down that road it’s hard to come back from with your credibility intact.

Instead, do the exact opposite and compete through EQ and Social Capital. Apply as much empathy as you can. If you understand someone’s motivation then it’s far easier to align your goals with theirs.

Smug but relevant quote #1:

“Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

Help make others look good and they will be grateful. Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather’ remains one of the most insightful books on social relations ever written. Vito Corleone establishes a business empire that extends throughout the United States. He achieves this not through fear and intimidation (in the main) but through helping others, thereby creating a vast network of people in his debt. The bonds of reciprocity are much stronger than you think.

It may not seem immediately obvious, but as a Product Manager your biggest advantage is that you have a higher purpose. You stand for something more than just crass self-interest. Ironically, even the most archly-Political Animal may respect you for it. They will envy you as they can’t be like you.

Above all, make sure you always play a long game. Realise that most people around you are thrashing endlessly. Constantly reacting to the latest comment or email from the boss. Passion for product gives you a ‘true north’ to aim for beyond the day-to-day.

Smug but relevant quote #2:

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road’ll take you there.”

Next up, it’s worth bearing in mind that being right isn’t important and being smart is irrelevant. Despite the recruitment PR, organisations are often the dumbest, least objective environments imaginable. The playground writ large. Often you will find yourself expected to carry the can or pick up the pieces for events way outside of your control or worse: take the hit for the mistakes of others. Take it on the chin and never complain. And do everything you can to reduce dependencies on others.

Right now, Product Management usually reports into the CTO, CIO or even the CMO. If Product Managers are destined for a role at the top table in the future, we’ll need to master the art of swimming with sharks. Convincing yourself you can rise above corporate politics is naive and unrealistic. As an ex-colleague was once advised by his boss: “You’re run of the mill and junior until you realise it’s all about the politics.” But remembering that you’re a maker will help you hang onto your soul.

Part 4: Good Product Managers are never busy!

Previously, we looked at how Product Managers in large organisations often spend the majority of their time not managing product at all. As Ben Turner observed in response:

“It’s the work that gets in the way of the work that is the real work.”

Great line. And so true. As a Product Manager, it’s common to find oneself spread thinly and overwhelmed by tasks that don’t feel like ‘real’ work.

This is ironic as an ability to prioritise, stack rank and focus intensely on a single goal are critical skills that all Product Managers strive to develop.

Product Management means saying ‘no’ to 1000 things. So how come we are often unable to apply this to our own schedules?

Most corporate cultures are ‘Default Meeting.’ If something needs to be discussed, demonstrated or resolved, the first response is to have a meeting. Meetings appear in a calendar like acne, often with a one word subject line and no further details. Many meetings yield nothing more than an agreement to have another meeting.

I’ve dialled into conference calls with 10+ people joining from several continents only to find that no one knew what the call was about. Even the United Nations would consider this wasteful.

Meetings can also serve as an indicator of status. If no one shows up to your meetings then it’s a good sign your product isn’t in the major league.

The converse is also true. If you’re flavour of the month then try keeping people out. I once organised a meeting to kickoff the integration of Spotify into our products thanks to a licensing deal we had just inked. The invite went to 8 people and 40 showed up on the day. I still regret not selling tickets.

In a large company, it’s not unusual for a Product Manager’s schedule to look like this:

If you’re starting out in your career, a calendar like this can be a rush. It says: you’re so busy, look at all this stuff you’ve been invited to. You must be important. A packed schedule appeals to everyone’s inner FOMO. It produces the same dopamine hit you get when you check your inbox to see a stack of new emails.

Dina Kaplan, founder of The Path, describes this affliction as ‘The Cult of Busy.’ The cult of busy infects organisations at scale. Busy is worn as a badge. How often have you requested time with someone only to be told ‘I’m back to back till Thursday!’

Throughout the day, we are constantly making decisions about how to spend our time, says Kaplan. But we approach these decisions far too passively, as if our hand were being forced, our free will compromised. Like anything that is valuable to us, we should jealously guard our time, instead of meekly accepting every claim made upon it.

Ellen Chisa would break her day as a Product Manager at Kickstarter into 3 working blocks of 2 hours each for ‘real’ knowledge work, 2 blocks of one hour for ‘light work’ and only 1 meeting a day, always at the same time. She kept her routine predictable and consistent and acknowledged the creative thinking required for the role. She rejects the popular dictat that ‘there is no average day’ for a Product Manager.

Product Management, she concludes, is not a role that works well if you’re scattered and simply reacting to what comes up. Without consistency, you will get bogged down in work that feels urgent but neglect what’s actually important.

In other words: if you commit to nothing you’ll be distracted by everything.

Of course, we don’t all have the luxury of being able to structure our days into convenient ‘working blocks’ or limiting ourselves to just one meeting. We are at the mercy of forces bigger than we are. Recipients of dozens of invites and rolling ‘catchups’ that seem to come around too quickly.

No one voluntarily crams their calendar with back to back meetings. It just happens.

So what’s the answer?

The first step is to understand why our calendars end up the way they do. Paul Graham of Y Combinator nailed the bind we are caught in when he identified two types of schedule: the Maker’s Schedule and the Manager’s Schedule.

Makers include engineers and designers — basically your Product Team — who require units of half a day to be productive. Managers are the bosses and anyone from a conventional business background. They are people whose standard unit of time is 30 minutes and whose day is often sliced more than 10 ways. The higher up you go within the organisation, the more things skew towards the Manager’s schedule.

The two schedules are not easily reconciled. This is why engineers get so irritated by frequent requests for mid-morning meetings. As Product Managers, we have a foot in both camps. We have work that requires both Maker and Manager units of time. We are constantly interfacing between people on both types of schedule. Not surprisingly, we feel torn between the two.

Once you recognise the different types of schedule, the next step is to acknowledge the impact of switching between the two and arranging your calendar in a way that minimises its impact.

Much has been written about the science of organising one’s time better, a discipline known as ‘lifehacking’; basically the art of getting (more) stuff done. Lifehacking is exemplified by entrepreneurs like James Clear and Neil Patel. Neil manages to publish 8 blog posts a week whilst running 2 companies. Not someone who wastes time.

In a post that all Product Managers should read, James Clear attacks the myth of multitasking. The idea that we can do things concurrently is not only a modern concept but a flawed one, says Clear, we can’t. The switching cost of checking your email can be as long as 64 seconds, meaning we lose a minute every time we check it. As we check email every 5 minutes, on average, that adds up to a lot of wasted time.

Saying ‘no’ to 1000 things doesn’t just mean features, or shiny new ways to develop your product. It means requests on your time and intrusions into your schedule. Calendars are not barometers of your value, neither are inboxes. But they can be a leading indicator of inefficiency and an inability to focus.

Rather than be Default Meeting, treat meetings as a last resort. Instead of trying to ‘get everyone in a room’ whenever an issue arises, try thinking of 10 ways you can achieve the desired outcome without it.

Good Product Managers understand that ‘busy’ is the enemy. They make busy a confession rather than a boast.