Comments on: Guest Post: The Cranky Marketer Part 3 – The Problem with Product Management

By: working girl

working girl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:32:33 +0000

You’re kind of assuming marketing thinks they need any help or input. Sure, they may want you to review the 2 page data sheet their professional writer took 6 months to write but do they want your input on go to market strategy? The marketing teams I have worked with have been full of great people but pretty ivory tower in outlook. I’m just saying.

By: gander2112

gander2112 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:53:45 +0000

@casual observer: We have a new rule for our program meetings. Each group comes with one slide, and it lists what they need to move forward.

The meetings are smooth, the actions are always direct and easy to grasp, and everyone gets their part and moves on.

Your first paragraph after the quote shows why this work, at least for us.

By: A casual observer

A casual observer — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:17:10 +0000

@A truly cranky marketer

I find your first post rather humorous because it is essentially the problem people have with marketing.

Then myself and other attendees (support, training, legal, etc) start to ask questions, and THEN AND ONLY THEN is information meted out in careful measure. Such important topics are: who is going to sell it, what is the ideal market, who are the competitors, what are the key value props for this shiny new toy.

I am not firmly on either side of this argument (all communication is terrible communication) but why the emphasis on THEN AND ONLY THEN? You are basically saying “My questions only get answered when I ask them.” Well of course, it would be lovely to arrive at a meeting and have someone hand you a little packet titled “Everything marketing needs to know to do their job” but maybe the PM isn’t an expert in what questions a marketer will have.

Instead of getting our panties in a collective knot, why don’t we all sit down and write out some very simple, very short notes on what we expect from one another on a project? If your questions are always generally the same, why not write them up and send them as soon as you see the meeting on the schedule? Do you expect the PM to become a marketing expert or even to memorize your standard list of questions?

People constantly have unstated expectations from one another. Why? If you want something from someone, tell them. The ol’ “if you don’t know what’s wrong, I’m not going to tell you” syndrome is the most childish, self-destructive behavior I can imagine.

By: SensoryMetrics » The Product Management Magic Quandrant

SensoryMetrics » The Product Management Magic Quandrant — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:02:14 +0000

[...] makes a successful product manager? With no apologies to Gartner, The Cranky PM blog offers this amusing “magic quandrant”. How many of these do you [...]

By: A truly cranky marketer

A truly cranky marketer — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:08:49 +0000

Best comment from Hakan: “You need a clean, simple way to convey knowledge, you need to align members early and often, and ultimately you need a team that is willing to work together on important matters.” All of our petty business problems would be solved if teams were willing to improve communication & collaboration — this is the #1 concept that would improve organizational success today. And likewise, lack of communication & collaboration is the #1 barrier to achieving success. I guarantee that, for every company where several teams are not collaborating or communicating, the person at the top is either unwilling to take steps to encourage good behavior among his/her employees, or is modeling bad behavior for everyone to see and to perpetuate.

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:49:07 +0000

... actually I was thinking of Angels with Angles. Sorta a heavenly protractor thing... BTW: the first person who comes up with a spell checker that actually knows what you REALLY are trying to spell instead of blindly accepting correctly spelled incorrect words will have me as a lifetime customer! - Dr. Jim Anderson The Accidental PM Blog "Home Of The Billion Dollar Product Manager" Subscribe to The Accidental Product Manager Newsletter now: Click Here!

By: gander2112

gander2112 — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:32:03 +0000

Sgt. Angle, I presume…

By: Saeed Khan

Saeed Khan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:00:32 +0000

Jim,

Would that be “Angle” or “Angel”? :-)

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:33:33 +0000

MISFITS (as in people) = have little knowledge of anything aside from their own opinions… http://bit.ly/19AFoG

By: Dr. Jim Anderson

Dr. Jim Anderson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:28:37 +0000

So I think that the Cranky Marketer makes some good points - at different points in my career I've probably occupied each of the four quadrants (at least I hope I've been an "Angle" at some time). The real question is not who's right or who's wrong, but rather how to fix the problem. Yes, yes - better communication will go a long way, but who has the time? Ultimately it's got to come down to motivation on both sides - what's in it for me. Marketing needs products to be a success because that's what they get graded on. PM's need THEIR product to be a success because that's what they live and die by. Setting up a process where both parties exchange information on a regular basis is the first step in solving this problem. Can anyone say lunch date? Pick a way to make it happen and the problem can start to fade away... - Dr. Jim Anderson The Accidental PM Blog "Home Of The Billion Dollar Product Manager" Subscribe to The Accidental Product Manager Newsletter now: Click Here!