PM anti-patterns

tl;dr — things PMs shouldn’t do: not listen, not learn, be wishy-washy, be overly stubborn, be a jerk.

Today’s goal is to remind myself of things a PM shouldn’t do.

I want to create products that make lives better. I’m listening to Nightcall by Kavinsky today.

This will be a “quick” living list of anti-patterns I’ve made the mistake of running into or that I’ve seen other PMs crash and burn with:

Not reading the room before calling shots.

• Remember: the team needs to be brought along for the journey. Knowing “what to do and why” is just half the job; making sure the team is aligned on it is crucial.
• Example: rushing in and telling people what to do before you demonstrate you understand the product, users, or landscape enough. Or setting the vision and strategy without consulting other cross-functional peers.
• Caveat: in rare urgent circumstances, a SWAT team approach can be warranted for a PM to step in and immediately start making changes.

from Dilbert

Being wishy-washy and afraid to make decisions.

• Remember: the team expects guidance and leadership on what to do and why. You don’t want the team to lose confidence in you. Often it’s better to make fast decisions and learn, than sit in limbo.
• Example: stalling too long on important/urgent decisions or vision/strategy; changing the plan too many times without good reason or data to back it up; being afraid to make calls for fear of getting it wrong.
• Caveat: it is worse to rush a bad irreversible decision. Triage your decisions, then determine the help or data needed to accelerate them.

from Giphy

Being overly stubborn and insisting “it will work.”

• Remember: focus on the user. Users will tell you if it works.
• Example: continuing to sink time and resources into a flailing product/feature without clear validation of product market fit.
• Caveat: in some exceptions, it is possible that you have been testing your product with the wrong target market and just had to change your target users. Note: not usually a good sign if you’ve got a solution in search of a problem/customer.

from Giphy

Being a jerk or highly aggressive to get things done.

• Remember: people may not remember what you did, but they’ll remember how you made them feel. If people don’t want to work with you again, word gets around. Building bridges will accelerate throughput in the long run.
• Example: condescending/publicly shaming someone into doing things; escalating to someone’s manager instead of a direct convo; taking other people’s projects without warning; going around the PM / people’s backs; applying the “because <VP/CEO> said so” too often; etc.
• Caveat: in principle, I’d like to say there’s never a time for this. In reality, there are unique situations when another party is already being aggressive and the best way to counter is to also be aggressive. This is not usually the case, and most people who try this approach will just escalate things more.

from Giphy