The Intersection of Great Products and Culture: A Path to Success

The Intersection of Great Products and Culture: A Path to Success

In the world of product management, there are various approaches that can be taken. However, only one of them truly leads to success. The first approach involves escalating every issue and decision up to the CEO, essentially turning the product manager into a backlog administrator. This model has been proven to be ineffective and does not yield positive results. Many CEOs have acknowledged that this approach is not working for them.

The second approach is design by committee, where the product manager calls a meeting with all the stakeholders and lets them fight it out. Unfortunately, this approach often leads to mediocrity as it lacks a clear direction and decision-making process.

The third approach, and the one that leads to success, is when the product manager does their job effectively. They collaborate with design and engineering teams to solve real problems for users and customers while meeting the needs of the business. This requires intense collaboration and a deep understanding of all aspects of the business, similar to the role of a CEO.

One example of successful collaboration is seen in the case of Netflix. The team at Netflix faced the challenge of creating a product that would attract and retain customers. They knew that the service needed to be better in order to convince people to change their media consumption behavior. One solution they explored was moving to a subscription-based model, offering unlimited movies for a monthly fee. This innovative approach addressed the challenge of making the product "better enough" to drive customer behavior change. It required collaboration across the entire company to develop both product and business solutions.

Another example of successful collaboration can be seen in the case of Google's self-service advertising platform. The idea initially faced resistance from the ad sales and engineering teams. The sales team was concerned that the platform would diminish the value of their offerings, while the engineering team worried about user confusion and frustration. However, a product manager named Jane advocated for a solution that addressed these concerns and provided small businesses with an effective advertising solution. This required overcoming objections and building bridges across functions to achieve success.

In the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, we see a different kind of culture emerging. The crypto movement is a durable culture in search of its mass-adoption product. While bitcoin and Ethereum have achieved mass adoption, the culture surrounding crypto is constantly trying to spin up new technologies that augment its culture.

However, it's important to distinguish between a culture and a durable, important culture. The existence of a culture does not guarantee its significance or longevity. Cryptocurrency has attracted venture capital and talent, but it has yet to deliver on its promise of improving lives and making new discoveries. People are drawn to the potential for wealth that crypto offers, often at the expense of truth and integrity.

Furthermore, the language and terminology used in the tech industry can be problematic. Words like "innovate," "disrupt," and "platform" are often overused and lack substance. Being deemed a "tech" company has become a brand boost, allowing companies to avoid scrutiny and enjoy high consumer favorability ratings.

In the realm of fintech and speculative assets, it's important to separate functional technology from the generation and manipulation of speculative assets. Many products in the fintech space are marketed as functional pieces of technology, but they may not actually offer any real value or improvement over existing solutions. It's crucial to remain skeptical and demand tangible evidence of functionality before buying into the hype.

In conclusion, the path to success in product management lies in effective collaboration, deep understanding of the business, and the ability to lead and overcome obstacles. Great products require the smart use of technology, creative problem-solving, and persistence. A successful product manager must possess these qualities and strive to be the best version of themselves. It is through these qualities that great products are born and businesses thrive.