This Week in Product – May 24, 2019

WHY???

Why does every group want #prodmgmt to report to them?

I’ve seen arguments that ProdMgmt should report to Eng, Mktg & Sales. Recently I saw a call for PMs to report to #CustomerSuccess!! Not joking.

Clearly people still don’t understand what #prodmgmt actually is.

Why???

— Saeed Khan (@saeedwkhan) May 23, 2019

This is one of the first debates we ever ran on ProductCraft, and this question continues to be a thorn in many sides. More than a year ago when we first ran this debate, it seemed still plausible that someone would argue that PM should report to engineering, but it feels like we’ve come a long way since. Report to sales? Really? Saeed, we’re with you. This calls for three question marks.

Always Be Moving

First, when you’re operating, particularly in a product function, you are always making tangible progress from “Point A” to “Point B”. For example, releasing a new feature.

— Sarah Tavel (@sarahtavel) May 19, 2019

This thread by product-person-turned-VC Sarah Tavel on her career pivot is a good, succinct reflection about the differences between being an operator vs. being an investor. I hate to TL;DR a (not very long) tweet thread, but basically, if you love a tangible outcome, stick to your day job!

Don’t Sing to Cows

Are you trying to go to market by reaching out to as many people as possible? Christine Zhu cautions you might be singing to cows. Meaning, you’re probably straining your vocal cords unnecessarily, and in the process wasting time and resources. Instead, she wants you to use psychographic segmentation to win early adopters — focus on quality over quantity in your GTM plan. A great short guide on how to conserve your energy!

Skepticism Corner

You know how we feel about AI. Well, that’s our bias anyway. If you’re considering a tool that touts AI, look more closely. If you’re claiming your product uses AI, be honest — is there another way to phrase it that’s closer to what it actually does?

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