E48, Why Strategic Product Management (SPM) is Important.
Sep 27, 2022
auto_awesome
Product failures often occur due to insufficient research by product managers. Strategic product management involves understanding customer needs, prioritizing problem-solving, and building products that sell themselves. Guest Steve Johnson discusses the lack of defined product management plans in many organizations and the importance of reducing friction for customers. The podcast also emphasizes the significance of seamless customer service, the changing behavior of seeking information, and the need for data science skills in product management.
Strategic product management involves determining the right products for the right markets.
Product managers must prioritize curiosity and ruthless prioritization for successful product management.
Deep dives
Defining the Scope of Product Management
In many organizations, different departments define the scope of product management. Sales expects product managers to be sales engineers, marketing wants content creation support, and development needs help with user stories. This lack of clear definition leads to a disconnect between leadership's expectation of a business representative and the actual role of product managers.
The Importance of Strategic Product Management
Strategic product management involves determining which products to introduce to specific markets. However, many product managers get caught up in tactical responsibilities, becoming project managers instead. The key to strategic product management is representing the business as a leader, identifying the right products for the right markets.
Overcoming Tactical Work and Embracing Strategic Planning
Many product managers find themselves overwhelmed with tactical work and struggle with strategic planning. To address this issue, the first step is acknowledging the problem. Organizations must clearly define the scope of product management. Product managers must assess how they spend their time, distinguishing between product work, solution work, and sales work, to prioritize and focus on their core responsibilities.
The Role of Curiosity and Ruthless Prioritization
Curiosity is a key skill for product managers, driving them to understand customer problems and build products that address them. Ruthless prioritization is also crucial, as product managers must learn to say no and focus on the most valuable initiatives. Both curiosity and prioritization contribute to successful product management.
Product managers often get blamed for failing products. But the truth is, most product failures happen because the product manager didn't do enough research before making decisions.
In order to make sure your product succeeds, you must first understand the customer. This means understanding what customers really want from your product and why. Once you've done that, you can begin designing a solution that will satisfy these needs.
This is where strategic product management comes in. Strategic product management is the art of knowing what the customer wants before you build anything. It's the difference between building something great and just another mediocre product.
In this episode, we have guest Steve Johnson, Chief Product Office at Product Growth Leaders.
Key Takeaways:
- Your goalie should never be your top scorer in soccer.
- Don't love your product, love the customer's problem and make the product do what they want.
- The goal of product management is for us to know our customers so well that we build a product that sells itself.
You can reach Steve on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjohnson717/
or twitter:
https://twitter.com/sjohnson717
For more content like this, subscribe to Mind The Innovation on Apple or Spotify, or wherever you like to listen.
You can find Sannah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sannahvinding/
or visit this Website: https://mindtheinnovation.com
Thanks for listening!
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode