The Power of a Point of View
I was talking recently with a product manager who was preparing for a strategy discussion with his leaders.
He had blocked two hours to think through his product line. Instead, something unexpected came up that demanded his attention. By the end of the day, he had only spent about thirty minutes on the work he originally planned.
As I read his update, I thought about another conversation with a leader who shared that her product team was also struggling to think strategically.
Most product managers understand the importance of strategy.
What they struggle with is finding the time for the level of deep thinking strategy requires. It means stepping back and peeling back the layers of customer insights, market trends, business performance, and competitive activity until a point of view begins to emerge.
The challenge is that today’s work has a way of consuming the time needed to think about tomorrow’s growth.
When I responded to the product manager, the first thing I told him was, “Let’s count this as a win.”
Thirty minutes wasn’t what he had planned, but it was thirty minutes invested in thinking about the future of his product line.
Then I encouraged him to keep pursuing his ideas and go a level deeper.
I wanted to hear his point of view on:
- What is happening in the market?
- What are customers telling you?
- What is the data pointing toward?
- Where do you believe the greatest opportunity for growth is?
Those are the kinds of insights leaders are looking for product managers to bring to the table.
CEOs already receive plenty of updates. What they’re really looking for is someone who can interpret what they’re seeing, support it with evidence, and recommend a direction.
If you walked into your next leadership meeting, would you be bringing updates or a unique point of view?
