The nice thing about being a product manager is that you get involved in all kinds of stuff. The bad part of being a product manager… is that you get involved in all kinds of stuff! There’s more work to do in a given day than there is day in which to do it. Everything is important. Even urgent. This is where a product manager has to be careful.
When managers, engineers, or sales people are pinging you for help immediately, it’s easy to get caught up in the “need asap” mode. Unfortunately, there are times when someone’s “need now” is not as important as the overall health of your business. As a product manager, you’ve got to think longer term. Many of the requests you receive, which seemingly must be addressed today will, by next week, be nits.
Conversely, items which don’t appear critical today, may become infinitely more so in a month. By putting off those activities because the deadline isn’t immediate may leave a product manager too little time to act on the greater need. The result could be a product “short” of the resources required to succeed.
The moral of this story? Consider your options. Weigh the opportunity cost of engaging the urgent need at the expense of the critical activity. If you don’t, you may become entangled in a never-ending loop of urgent requests, monopolizing your time like a tyrant pillaging a country even as your product dies.
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