Good ideas... Hard choices

In big company parlance, the land of good ideas is sometimes known as corporate row or the C Suite. This is the ethereal plain on which grand strategies are hatched and good ideas propagated downward to the masses. It’s also the area which suffers a disconnect from the realities faced by the rest of the business. And the rest of the planet, come to think of it.

While some ozone level ‘good ideas’ may have merit, others do not. A few actually sound reasonable. There’s a logical flow to them making use of fuzzy connections and various lapses which, without reflection, allow ‘good ideas’ to grow, prosper, be repeated, and eventually implemented.

Unfortunately, in the implementation stage, ground pounding product managers are tasked with pulling together pieces of the product value chain to bring the ‘good idea’ to fruition. This is known as the point where the rubber meets the road. It’s also the point where the wheels tend to fall off.

C Suite people are big picture people. Not a bad thing to be. Many visionaries and artists are big picture people. Take Monet and his work for instance. At a distance, it’s beautiful. It’s not until you get close that you realize it’s also rather messy. I sometimes wonder if “C” row folks fancy themselves as business Monet’s. Paint a picture that looks great from a distance, but don’t inspect it closely.

Product managers, however, have to inspect the picture closely in order to make it a reality. Upon peering closely at the ‘good idea’ from above, PM’s begin to see not just messy brush strokes, but real flaws. Some of which may be fatal. For instance, it’s a good idea, but service can’t support it. It’s a good idea, but not for this market. You get the picture. At this juncture, PM’s are faced with difficult choices.

A) Take the ‘good idea’ and implement as best they can, hoping something good will happen.
B) Push back with sound reasons for making changes to the ‘good idea’ so that it becomes an idea that works.
C) Find a new job.

If you choose “A” you are a ‘yes’ man product manager. You’ll agree to anything management passes down. You have become a passive product manager. The success or failure of your product is no longer within your sphere of influence. You are corporate fodder.

For those selecting “B”, you could be viewed as an unreasonable dissenter – depending on the predilections of the corporate wigs. Or you may be viewed as a worthy PM with the strength to see things through. Either way, at least you have a shot at influencing your product for better or worse. You are a player. (Possibly for another team if the “C” folks are ticked off, but a player non-the-less.)

Choosing “C” means you may not be long for product management. You don’t like being a “yes” person and you’re not fond of conflict. You are unemployed.

The truth is, every product manager will face this scenario along his or her PM career path. The question is, how will you respond when it happens to you?