Many Facets of Product Management: A Deep Dive Across Organizational Landscapes

This post in the PM Career Insights Series addresses the question, "What have been the biggest differences in approaches to Product Management at different companies?"

In the realm of Product Management (PM), the adage 'one size fits all' finds little resonance. The kaleidoscopic nature of this field arises from a confluence of factors that span the spectrum from a company’s size and stage to the geographic locale of its operations. Every PM navigates a unique landscape, often marked by a distinctive blend of challenges and opportunities. This post, part of the PM Career Insights Series, delves into the multifaceted nature of Product Management, exploring the array of factors that shape its practice across different organizational settings. Through a lens honed by personal experiences, I aim to provide a nuanced understanding of the diverse approaches to Product Management and how they morph across various companies and markets.

Company Size and Stage

Startups

Agility and Versatility?

Reflecting on my tenure at Diffia as a Co-Founder, an early stage startup of a mere six members with only three engineers, the necessity for PMs to don multiple hats was abundantly clear. My role transcended the conventional boundaries, extending into realms of business development, sales strategy formulation, marketing—from social media to PR and influencer engagements, and even customer support. A similar narrative unfolded at Kahoot! in its nascent stage, where the dearth of a substantial marketing department had me, alongside other PMs, crafting the initial drafts of blog posts aimed at market outreach. The marketing personnel would then refine our drafts. As the marketing team expanded, this dynamic gradually reversed, yet the essence of multitasking endured.

Quick Decisions

The startup milieu, characterized by its brisk pace, mandated rapid decision-making. At Kahoot, despite a two-week sprint cycle, the exigencies of the fast-evolving landscape often precipitated mid-sprint alterations. This led me to truncate the sprint cycle to a single week to better adapt to the market feedback and other emergent demands, such as new customer requirements or revenue generation imperatives stemming from our pre-cash flow positive status. The scenario starkly contrasted with my experience at Telenor , a larger entity, where the luxury of time afforded a more measured approach to decision-making. Even in its early-stage ventures, the absence of acute survival pressures that startups like Diffia contended with, translated to a comparatively leisurely pace of operations. The market pressures at Telenor, albeit present, didn't emulate the existential immediacy encountered in startups, thus allowing for a more deliberate pace in decision-making processes.

Large Corporations

Specialization

Transitioning to a behemoth like 微软 after stints at startups like Diffia and Kahoot was a reminder of the luxuries large corporations extend to Product Managers. With dedicated teams for various functions, the PM role morphs into a more specialized one. An incident that underscored this shift was when I inquired about a competitor that wasn't covered in a competitive analysis report. Within a couple of hours, the research team furnished a detailed analysis of the overlooked competitor—a task that would have rested on my shoulders back at Kahoot or Diffia. This level of specialization allows PMs in large corporations to delve deeper into specific areas without being encumbered by a plethora of other responsibilities.

Process-Oriented?

The contrast in decision-making processes between startups and large corporations is palpable. At Kahoot, when it housed less than 50 employees, decision-making was swift and involved a small cohort of key stakeholders. A pricing or go-to-market decision merely required a sit-down with a few other PMs, the VP of Product, CEO, and occasionally the Head of Marketing. This streamlined process facilitated rapid decision-making. Conversely, at Telenor, even a small pricing alteration entailed a meticulous analysis, followed by multiple rounds of reviews with various teams before reaching the CMO for approval. Each gate in this extended decision-making journey, although instituted for valid reasons, invariably slowed down the velocity at which decisions were made and executed.

Industry and Market

The industry and market a company operates in can significantly influence the approach to Product Management.

B2B vs. B2C

The dichotomy between B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) market dynamics often necessitates divergent approaches in Product Management. My stint at Kahoot exemplified a hybrid scenario where although operating in ostensibly B2C markets, the buyer-user dynamics mirrored B2B paradigms. For instance, in the Kahoot at home segment, while students were the end users, the buying decisions rested with their parents. This bifurcation extended to the school and work segments as well, demanding a nuanced approach to meet the needs of both end users and buyers. The crux, as I've discerned, regardless of the B2B or B2C setting, is to relentlessly optimize for the end user, albeit navigating the tension this may cause is often challenging. Transitioning from a B2B to a B2C market can be particularly strenuous for PMs, whereas the reverse transition, armed with a user-centric ethos fostered in B2C markets, might be smoother.

Regulated Industries

My tenure at Diffia, a healthcare-oriented entity, and Kahoot, operating in the education sector, illustrated the constraints imposed by regulated industries. Compliance isn’t merely a box to tick but extends into ethical considerations. For instance, despite having the capability to deploy a certain feature compliantly in the school segment at Kahoot, we opted against it, confining it to the business segment instead. The underlying concern was the potential misuse by malicious actors to extract unwanted information from vulnerable users like students. Such scenarios mandate a higher degree of cognizance and ethical deliberation from PMs, underscoring the unique challenges posed by regulated industries.

Company Culture

Company culture significantly influences how Product Management is approached within an organization.

Innovation-Focused

Certain companies foster a culture where PMs enjoy a higher degree of autonomy, enabling them to venture into uncharted territories, akin to the '0 to 1' scenario. My experience at Kahoot, while spearheading the Kahoot Courses project, epitomizes this aspect. The endeavor was aimed at creating a live instructor-led training tool, diverging from the prevalent distance learning model that the e-learning industry had been engrossed in for over two decades. Despite the scant quantitative data, my conviction, rooted in meticulous market research and interactions with our predominant user base of trainers in the business segment, propelled the project forward. This innovation-centric culture allowed for the exploration of new frontiers, driven by primary research and strong convictions, even in the absence of extensive quantitative data.

Data-Driven Culture

Conversely, some companies engender a data-driven culture, urging PMs to base their decisions on robust analytics. This culture is conducive for incremental innovations, leveraging existing data from current users and markets to substantiate decisions. The emphasis here is on sustaining innovation by meticulously analyzing data to ensure that every decision is well-grounded. While this approach may not be conducive for radical innovations, it ensures a level of certainty and risk mitigation in decision-making.

Resources and Budget

The availability of resources and budget can significantly shape the scope and scale of Product Management, manifesting differently across startups and large corporations.

Resource-Abundant

Large corporations, buoyed by a steady revenue stream from their core business, are often well-poised to tackle long-term, challenging problems. My experience at Telenor Pakistan exemplifies this aspect. Despite the nascent internet penetration in the country, I was able to spearhead a multi-year investment aimed at developing self-service and e-commerce solutions, anticipating a surge in internet usage. This long-term vision, endorsed and funded after extensive deliberations up to the CEO level, showcased the potential for substantial projects in resource-abundant settings, underlining the ability to plan for a distant future and tackle complex issues.

Resource-Scarce

Conversely, startups, operating under the perpetual shadow of funding runways, often find themselves prioritizing short-term gains to ensure survival and meet the incessant growth expectations. This was manifest during my tenure at Diffia and Kahoot, where projects with longer gestation periods were invariably deprioritized due to the urgency to showcase growth, be it to secure the next funding round or satisfy public market expectations post-IPO. The ever-looming pressure to exhibit triple-digit growth often relegated substantial but long-term beneficial projects to the backburner.

Geographic Location

The geographic location of a company and its target market can markedly influence Product Management approaches, particularly in terms of market needs, consumer preferences, and legal considerations.

Market Sensitivities

My tenure at Telenor Pakistan highlighted the primacy of price sensitivity in emerging markets like Pakistan, contrasting starkly with the quality-centric ethos prevalent in Scandinavian markets. Despite orchestrating the development of an app for emerging markets from Gothenburg and Norway, the imperative was to attune the product to the local price sensitivities of target markets like Thailand, Malaysia, and Pakistan. The quest was not merely to maximize the return on investment for consumers but to assist them in saving money. This paradigm shift led to the inception of personalized pricing using machine learning, offering time-bound internet access which resonated better with consumers accustomed to time-based internet access, simplifying their cost management.

Consumer Behavior and Legal Considerations

The variance in consumer behavior extends to payment methods as well, with prepaid services in emerging markets primarily serving as a cost-control mechanism, contrasting with its association with freedom from contracts in western markets. Moreover, legal and compliance considerations, such as privacy concerns, hold a higher pedestal in European markets compared to emerging markets, necessitating a nuanced approach to product management based on geographic location.

Contextual Awareness

The geographic variance underscores the necessity for PMs to cultivate a contextual awareness, transcending the often siloed perspectives that might emanate from exclusively engaging with literature or practices emanating from a specific geographic or cultural milieu, such as Silicon Valley or the Nordics. The essence is to foster a nuanced understanding of the distinctive market needs, consumer preferences, and legal frameworks that prevail in the geographic locations a company operates in or targets.

The tapestry of Product Management is as diverse as the markets and organizations it serves. The nuances delineated in this post underscore the imperative for PMs to foster a profound understanding of the various factors that influence their role, be it the size of their company, the industry it operates in, or the geographic location it targets. As PMs, the capacity to adapt to these variables, to glean insights from different market dynamics, and to tailor strategies accordingly, is indispensable. This post aims to serve as a vade mecum for PMs striving to thrive in the multifaceted arena of Product Management, encouraging a more expansive, globally attuned approach to navigating the distinctive landscapes they encounter in their practice.