TEI 044: The 2015 Challenges in Product Management Findings – with Brian Lawley

Global Product Management Talk is pleased to bring you episode
044 of... The Everyday Innovator with host Chad
McAllister, PhD. The podcast is all about helping people involved
in innovation and managing products become more successful, grow
their careers, and STANDOUT from their peers. About Our
Guest: Brian Lawley is the CEO and Founder of the 280 Group, a
company that provides product management and product marketing
solutions. Brian has a long history in product management,
including product manager for the Apple Macintosh OS. He is also
the author of “The Phenomenal Product Manager: The Product
Manager’s Guide to Success, Job Satisfaction and Career
Acceleration.” Brian and his 280 Group team recently conducted a
research project titled the “Challenges in Product Management
2015.” We discussed the key findings from the study. How is the
role of product manager viewed in companies?  61% are viewed
as leaders in their company but 57% are too tactical and not
strategic enough. The challenge of product managers is to free up
at least 30% of their time to work on strategic activities. Product
managers spend too much time managing feature lists and
requirements instead of holistically managing the product to
optimize value for all stakeholders. What did participants say
about improving the product management process their company
uses?There was clear recognition that improving processes would
increase product success and organizational profitability. How do
product managers feel about their competency in the role? Most
product managers receive no formal training in their discipline.
Across teams, product manager skills vary greatly. Some product
managers have very advanced skills. Most respondents shared that
their knowledge was average or below.