I’ve seen it twice in two different organizations. It’s very difficult to make a change in a scenario where the top management knows better than data, evidence, and the product team.
What’s the cure?
Leave.
How to avoid this in the future?
I think once you experience it, you will start asking in interviews how much power do the product people in the organization have. If they speak to the customers. If they are the ones to make calls. If they can do more than just shift tickets in the backlog.
Sadly speaking most of the problems mentioned in this article do not happen to product management only. It happens to all departments in an organization when the management adopts top down approach.
Excellent piece. One warning sign I’ve seen of BS management is organizations with too much hidden criteria for decision making, when you either don’t know or are not allowed to explain the real criteria behind a product decision. It’s self destructive but too often prevalent.
Appreciate the raw and real nature of this commentary. Shadow organizations, cross department in-fighting and sabotage pop up when the respective leaders aren’t decisive and direct about Product’s purpose. It’s a massive energy drain for all involved.
Lovely piece and I fully share the notion though its obviously not so easy to implement the ideal model when working within a bigger organisation that constraints the independent decision making of a product manager.
I’ve seen it twice in two different organizations. It’s very difficult to make a change in a scenario where the top management knows better than data, evidence, and the product team.
What’s the cure?
Leave.
How to avoid this in the future?
I think once you experience it, you will start asking in interviews how much power do the product people in the organization have. If they speak to the customers. If they are the ones to make calls. If they can do more than just shift tickets in the backlog.
Sadly speaking most of the problems mentioned in this article do not happen to product management only. It happens to all departments in an organization when the management adopts top down approach.
There is nos better word than: Sensacional!
Excellent piece. One warning sign I’ve seen of BS management is organizations with too much hidden criteria for decision making, when you either don’t know or are not allowed to explain the real criteria behind a product decision. It’s self destructive but too often prevalent.
Appreciate the raw and real nature of this commentary. Shadow organizations, cross department in-fighting and sabotage pop up when the respective leaders aren’t decisive and direct about Product’s purpose. It’s a massive energy drain for all involved.
Lovely piece and I fully share the notion though its obviously not so easy to implement the ideal model when working within a bigger organisation that constraints the independent decision making of a product manager.
I explain the role in one sentence:
Product Manager = mini-CEO