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I'm not sure I agree with the author's view of product management or of how singular control of the product strategy and execution is useful. Good product manag

I'm not sure I agree with the author's view of product management or of how singular control of the product strategy and execution is useful. Good product managers don't insist on having things done their way, they insist on understanding what users want and managing a team towards solving the hard problems related to those user needs. The only reason Steve Jobs is successful in how he approaches product development is because he is the CEO. No other product manager I know of wields that sort of control over the product and the paycheck of those he works with. Success comes from having the right people do the right things at the right time. I'd rather hire kick-ass product managers to help the rest of my product team do kick-ass things than insist that the team does it "exactly my way". I'd probably quit if I worked for someone that forced the team to do it exactly his way...

egiva 15y ago
If you were taking a simplistic view of a small company working on their first few products, I might agree with the poster. Usually you wear a lot of hats when you start. However, I've worked as a project manager and later, as a CEO. I can definitely agree with you that your job runs more akin to being a "captain" of the boat, rather than a dictator who pulls all the lines and sets all the sails by him/herself. Also, any good product manager (or designer, or creative, etc) will do quality work orders of magnitude beyond your own capacities - your job as CEO when working with other collaborators is to choose the right people to get on the bus with you, and make sure they have the right mix of order, incentives and other elements necessary to be successful. You could help determine some comon goal, but usually the execution changes greatly from what you originally expected as your collaborators bring their own skills and interests to the table. It's a beautiful (and hard!) process, really. CEOs or leaders who fail to control costs, pricing, sales, promotions, etc and instead focus all their energies on product, usually will ruin their businesses in the medium to long run. A CEO makes sure all of those bases are covered, while a product manager does not.
betashop 15y ago
I believe in the collaboration of the team being critical to building great products. And, I believe in getting input and creativity from all parts and players. BUT, in a startup, I do believe that the CEO has to feel direct responsibility for the user experience, and that cannot be delegated. It can be influenced, but not delegated. And, I believe that it is very, very hard for a startup to succeed when someone beyond the CEO is directing the product. That means the CEO is managing someone else's creation. I look to Google's return to product management running the company as critical to that company's success. And I think Zuck and Jobs are also testaments to this theory.

egiva 15y ago

If you were taking a simplistic view of a small company working on their first few products, I might agree with the poster. Usually you wear a lot of hats when you start. However, I've worked as a project manager and later, as a CEO. I can definitely agree with you that your job runs more akin to being a "captain" of the boat, rather than a dictator who pulls all the lines and sets all the sails by him/herself. Also, any good product manager (or designer, or creative, etc) will do quality work orders of magnitude beyond your own capacities - your job as CEO when working with other collaborators is to choose the right people to get on the bus with you, and make sure they have the right mix of order, incentives and other elements necessary to be successful. You could help determine some comon goal, but usually the execution changes greatly from what you originally expected as your collaborators bring their own skills and interests to the table. It's a beautiful (and hard!) process, really. CEOs or leaders who fail to control costs, pricing, sales, promotions, etc and instead focus all their energies on product, usually will ruin their businesses in the medium to long run. A CEO makes sure all of those bases are covered, while a product manager does not.

betashop 15y ago

I believe in the collaboration of the team being critical to building great products. And, I believe in getting input and creativity from all parts and players. BUT, in a startup, I do believe that the CEO has to feel direct responsibility for the user experience, and that cannot be delegated. It can be influenced, but not delegated. And, I believe that it is very, very hard for a startup to succeed when someone beyond the CEO is directing the product. That means the CEO is managing someone else's creation. I look to Google's return to product management running the company as critical to that company's success. And I think Zuck and Jobs are also testaments to this theory.