TEI 044: The 2015 Challenges in Product Management Findings – with Brian Lawley

Global Product Management Talk is pleased to bring you episode 044 of... The Everyday Innovator with host Chad McAllister, PhD. The podcast is all about helping people involved in innovation and managing products become more successful, grow their careers, and STANDOUT from their peers. About Our Guest: Brian Lawley is the CEO and Founder of the 280 Group, a company that provides product management and product marketing solutions. Brian has a long history in product management, including product manager for the Apple Macintosh OS. He is also the author of “The Phenomenal Product Manager: The Product Manager’s Guide to Success, Job Satisfaction and Career Acceleration.” Brian and his 280 Group team recently conducted a research project titled the “Challenges in Product Management 2015.” We discussed the key findings from the study. How is the role of product manager viewed in companies?  61% are viewed as leaders in their company but 57% are too tactical and not strategic enough. The challenge of product managers is to free up at least 30% of their time to work on strategic activities. Product managers spend too much time managing feature lists and requirements instead of holistically managing the product to optimize value for all stakeholders. What did participants say about improving the product management process their company uses?There was clear recognition that improving processes would increase product success and organizational profitability. How do product managers feel about their competency in the role? Most product managers receive no formal training in their discipline. Across teams, product manager skills vary greatly. Some product managers have very advanced skills. Most respondents shared that their knowledge was average or below.