Successful Project Manager and Product Manager relationship — Think Rally Racing

Every Project Manager will encounter the mythical Product Manager (PM) at some point in their career. These are the infamous “Product Owners”, “Mini-CEOs”, “Roadmap Drivers”, and a few other labels we all love to hate. Now, I don’t have a dislike for PMs. I think they are a valuable asset to any project but much like Project Managers there are the good and the bad. The purpose of this post is not to dissect what makes a PM good or bad but rather how we, Project Managers, must work with them.

Carrying on the theme from my previous post — a PM sets the direction while a Project Manager focuses on project velocity — a successful relationship between these leaders looks much like rally car racing. Both of you must be in complete sync in order to ensure the project doesn’t crash and burn. If you don’t know rally racing then check this out. See how the Navigator is telling the Driver much in advance the direction allowing for appropriate speed adjustment. They are in perfect sync. Be warned, it takes effort and time to get this in sync. You get back what you put in.

For reference, this is what an out of sync partnership looks like. You both have your own skill sets. Stick to them otherwise, crash and burn!