Integrating the Marketing and Engineering Functions at Technology Companies

Happy Holidays to all! I hope the Holiday Season has been good for you. As this is the last edition of the newsletter this year, I wish all my readers the best of fortune in the coming new year. On to the newsletter!

I find the admission that different departments or operational functions aren't working together well happens infrequently at the Executive level. Of course, professional people can get along at work. We're all adults, right?

But we're all human as well. And conflict at work is not only common, it can be toxic to the company's performance in certain circumstances. Marketing and Engineering are two key functions in tech companies where a natural tension will often exist.

This tension can come to a head in the key activity of new product planning. If things go too far, it will badly hurt a software or hardware company. That's especially true of the early-stage variety of companies, where there is little room for error with this type of friction. I've seen it nearly kill a few early-stage software companies.

So what is a CEO or senior management team to do? I've written an article that discusses how to avoid, or at least minimize this thorny issue. Including how to best react if you do encounter it. Please take a look at the full article on optimally Integrating the Marketing and Engineering Functions. I'd love to hear about your own experiences or thoughts!

#productplanning #tech