PMD #12 - on Lenny's Podcast with Marty Cagan and Trending Product Management Debates

Hello, Product Management enthusiasts!

In this issue, we are diving into some hot topics.

• Marty Cagan's latest book has been a major talking point in our field, and I will break down the discussions it's prompted.
• The debate around the Product Ops role—a much-discussed topic with diverse views.
• A battle of ideas about Backlog Management and Estimation.
• The evolution of the Product Manager role(s).

Finally, I will present an overview of the latest trends in Product Management and share tips from influential voices in the field.

Are you ready to dive in?

?? Decoding Lenny's podcast with Marty Cagan: A Dive into Diverse Perspectives

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know Marty Cagan recently came out with a new book, "Transformed". He's been making the rounds on podcasts, with Lenny Rachitsky's podcast being a standout. Toni Dos Santos shared valuable insights from it. The key takeaways include prioritizing outcomes over outputs and valuing experimentation.

LinkedIn has been abuzz with people like Sebastian Borggrewe starting their day with the audiobook, and others like Israel Padilla pairing their morning coffee with a good read.

But it's not all praises and applause. There were some raised eyebrows and critical views, like Mirela Mus cautioning against taking the words of Product Gurus as gospel. According to her, it's crucial to form your own perspective.

Joe Tarragano pointed out that though Cagan's books are highly insightful, they paint a perfect picture that doesn't often match the messy reality of organizations. He emphasizes that these best practices might not apply to all companies due to various constraints.

My favourite view about Lenny's podcast is John Cutler's notes. I appreciate that it challenges the idea of universal best practices, often propagated by Silicon Valley, and emphasizes that they might not apply everywhere.

He also brings our attention to the importance of acknowledging organizational failures, like poor hiring practices, rather than blaming product managers (or as per Marty "glorified overpaid project managers").

Cutler's article is a refreshing reminder that product management is a field shaped by diverse experiences and unique paths. Rather than striving for homogeneity, we should value and learn from the richness of these diverse experiences. After all, the best product management practices are those that adapt to fit unique contexts.

?? The Product Ops Paradox More than Meets the Eye?

Martin Cagan's mention of Product Ops sparked a lively discussion with varied opinions. While some PMs believed Product Ops was a misunderstood hero ????♂?, others argued it was more of a misunderstood villain ?? .

On the advocates side, we have Micha?l Bastien, who insists that Product Ops isn’t just about creating processes. He shared a peek into his daily life, revealing that process-related tasks were only a quarter of his workload. Product Ops is like an iceberg - a lot is going on beneath the surface. Bastien’s role involves a mix of management, communication, handling cross-functional projects, tooling and automation. It's far from the process-pushing stereotype!

Next up, we have Graham Reed, who believes that Product Ops has been unjustly trashed lately. Reed refutes the misconception that Product Ops is all about coordination over collaboration and process over flexibility. He argues that Product Ops offers a range of tools to foster collaboration and efficiency where teams struggle to self-organize. In Reed’s view, Product Ops is a valuable player, especially in businesses lacking in coordination, data , and robust communication strategies. He boldly challenges the notion that perfect product management teams don't need Product Ops.

On the detractor side, we land on David Pereira , who seems to think Product Ops is an unnecessary complexity. He criticizes the role for its focus on rigid processes and tools, fearing it might disempower teams. Pereira believes that instead of spotlighting Product Ops, we should prioritize learning, flexibility, and leadership. His take adds another flavour to this rich debate, reminding us that the product field is a buffet of diverse opinions.

I'm sceptical about the need for a separate Product Ops team or role. Instead, I believe implementing best Product practices and processes should be part of the Product Manager's job.

If the role of Product Ops is to empower Product Managers and their teams to integrate these practices into their process, I would question if the Product Ops role needs to be permanent or more on a consultancy base. The same debate has occurred with Quality Assurance teams and developers. Some companies empower developers to integrate quality as part of their development process, while others separate quality from development entirely - delegating to the QA team. The same parallel can be drawn with Agile Coach and Scrum Master roles. Their role is to ensure the team is functioning efficiently and improving processes. However, if a team is functioning perfectly, is there a need for a Scrum Master? Although this scenario never exists, it sparkes the same type of debate.

?? Backlog Management and Estimation: The Battle of Ideas

Kicking off this month's debate about Backlog Management is David Pereira , who's all about that Marie Kondo life, preaching to toss your backlog in the bin and make way for the new. Pereira insists that clinging to your backlog is a creativity killer and a progress obstacle. So, do yourself a favor, ditch your backlog, and embrace agility!

On the flip side, we've got Evan Rollins advocating for the KISS principle – Keep It Simple, Stupid. He suggests we should keep our backlogs but with a minimalist approach. Test before you invest time and resources, calculate the impact and consider the number of users of specific features. Numbers talk!

Dr Bart Jaworski also joins the discussion with a practical approach to backlog management. He recognizes the struggle of having too many ideas and limited resources. His solution? Divide and conquer! Separate development and idea backlogs, ramp up transparency, communicate better, prioritize like a pro, and scout for additional funding. You want to make sure you continue innovating.

Now, for the controversy of the Month, enter Nicolas ADAM. He stirred up a storm in the comment section with his strong advocacy for sprint estimation. Adam outlines seven reasons why estimation is your friend, not your enemy. But the real drama unfolds in the comments, with many Product Managers passionately arguing for and against estimation. Benjamin DANEL (Product Ops ??) takes center stage, advocating for a shift from precise estimations towards more flexible planning #ClashOfTitan

Rounding up our backlog chat is Jason Knight , who advises us to stop treating development like a factory production line. He warns against micromanagement and urges focus on product goals and metrics instead of velocity and story points. And @james jor drops the mic with a reality check - if your CPO is just managing backlogs and writing JIRA tickets (again Marty's "glorified overpaid Project Manager), they might not be giving their 300K salary justice. Ouch!

???? Navigating the different Product Manager roles and realities

Ever been puzzled by the multitude of roles and titles in the world of product management? Well, so am I! In this section, I include posts that attempt to clarify the different roles within product management, how they compare, and how they should be understood.

One person who made a notable contribution is Afonso Malo Franco. In his post, Afonso notes that there's a great deal of confusion between product managers and product leaders, especially in Europe due to the English terminology. He also asserts that product leadership requires a very different set of skills than product management and that is why using the right terminology is so important.

This is something I experienced in my career when I transitioned from a product manager role to a product leadership position. As a product manager, I was in charge of a team and product delivery. However, as a product leader, I also had to oversee other Product Managers, ensure they were performing well, and align the product strategy across different Product teams. So while performance as a Product manager is still important, product leadership requires a different set of skills.

Here are a few other posts from Product Managers aiming to provide clearer insights into the Product Manager role and its various aspects:

• Stefano Rinaldi asserts Product Management is not all about tech expertise. He reckons that Product Managers need to get the market, the business, and even marketing strategy. So, a top-notch Product Manager should have many skills that you'd normally see in Product Marketing Managers
• James Jordan plays devil's advocate, arguing that both technical and non-technical PMs are essential to the product ecosystem.
• Nicolas ADAM opens up about why the first PMs join a company (surprise: their expectations won't always match what the company has in mind for them)

• Jason Knight takes a jab at a Product Owner job post that misses the mark on what product management is all about.
• Richard King breaks down the multitude of product marketing deliverables according to your Product Marketing role. Spoiler alert: there's a lot!
• Rémi Guyot pulls back the curtain on the role of a Product Manager at Amazon, hinting at the importance of decision-making documentation.
• Andrea Saez clarifies the difference between Product Marketing and Chief Marketing Officer. No, they are not the same!
• Alexiane Gilbert provides a sobering account of sexism in the tech industry, reminding us of the challenges women leaders face.
• Mehdi Bargach unveils the diverse faces of product management with a list of nine distinct PM types.
• Beno?t Rosier boldly thinks the term "Product manager" sucks.

• Claire Vo and Audrey Pedro give us a glimpse into the life of a Chief Product Officer, looking at the first few weeks in the position and how to balance work and life in the product world.

?? Top 20 LinkedIn Insights from the Product Management World

Welcome to the Trendy Bites section - your one-stop-shop for all the best tips and trends from posts on LinkedIn

• Le Ticket ?? got us all intrigued with their insights on the seven hottest trends in Product recruitment.
• Rachael Larsen firmly believes that product marketing skills are fast becoming a must-have for all product managers
• Jér?me Granon unveils the 12 key traits of companies boasting a rock-solid Product culture.
• Lorena Salgado ?? makes a compelling case for being an expert in nothing.

• Zoélie Adam-Maurizio isn't quite sold on the idea of getting oat milk delivered in 2 minutes - sparking a debate on the kind of products we're pushing into the market.
• Ant Murphy is juggling not one, not two, but three different roadmaps – talk about multi-tasking!
• Timothé Frin is sharing his top tips on how to use chatGPT for product managers.
• Product Inbox is dishing out the best advice they've gleaned from CPOs.
• Radhika Dutt is championing the concept of "Divergent and Convergent Thinking" as a dual approach to enhance product management skills.
• Sam McAfee is questioning the wisdom of having your development team build internal tools.
• Benoit Machefer wants to make sure you never overlook Product Market Fit when launching your startup.
• Victoria Rubanovich is all about networking at big companies – so don't skip that coffee break

• Shravan Tickoo is offering tips on crafting the perfect PRD.
• Alisa Haman gives a (sponsored?) review to SkipLevel as a way to buff up your technical skills as a PM.
• Andre Albuquerque thinks managing your manager is a skill every PM should master.
• Oji Udezue advises you to listen to your customers, and Hugo Geissmann cautions not to do it too much.
• Romina Kavcic is all praises for a new prototyping tool.
• Carl Vellotti shares strategies for better collaboration with engineers.
• Tim Herbig offers a handy guide to avoid the 5 common pitfalls while setting your Q2 OKRs.

I hope you enjoyed the knowledge and insights of this edition. See you in the next one in April!