Product Management Consultant: Plans, Marketing, Business, & Product Strategy Build Credibility

www.lifecycle.us.com

By Greg DiCillo

Two of the more common questions I get asked by Product Managers about their roles are, "How do I get executive management to give me more authority to manage my product line? Why is it so hard to be taken seriously by executive management and my peers?"

Usually after further analysis we find that the source of these questions usually points to an underlying issue of credibility (or the lack thereof) of Product Managers.

My usual response is to begin by saying; Product Management is a leadership position and as such has a level of authority that is intrinsic to the responsibilities associated with the title. Product Managers are expected to manage their product lines as a business, develop plans and strategies for management approval, coordinate activities with functional areas to implement and execute the approved plans, and continually assess markets and customer needs.

As you can readily see, the mantle of authority that comes with the Product Manager title is exceptionally high already. The real question a Product Manager should be asking is, "What do I have to do to leverage the level of authority the company has already given me to manage my product line?

The answer to this question is for Product Managers to effectively leverage this authority and in fact increase their influence within the organization you must enhance your credibility within the company. The most effective way to enhance credibility is for Product Managers to make themselves the "resident experts" for their product line and markets. Become the "go to" person in the Company for all things related to their product line.

Four competencies High Performance Product Managers must develop or improve that will make you the "resident expert" and "go to" person in your organization are:

1. Business Owner. If you are not already doing so, begin to manage your product line like an independent business within a business. Start tracking the financial performance of your products. Analyze sales trends and track changes on a regular basis.

2. Planner. Develop annual plans and product road maps that outline a vision for your product lines for new product development, enhancements to existing products, and elimination or de-emphasis of older and non-performing products.

3. Strategist. Analyze your marketing mix strategies on a regular basis to make sure you are achieving the results you expect from your products and the markets you serve. Markets and competitors are constantly evolving and your strategies need to be adjusted and evolve as well.

4. Marketer. Take time to look outward to assess existing and emerging market opportunities. A key to enhanced influence in the organization is your ability to effectively identify changing customer and market needs and providing the recommended plans and strategies to leverage them.

So, rather than worrying about getting more authority, product managers should do everything possible to ensure that you leverage the authority you already have. Your ability to leverage this authority is going to depend on how much you know about your business and how effective you are at using this knowledge to develop and sell strategies and plans that will move the business ahead. One thing is for certain, High Performance Product Managers are those that have the functional areas in the company looking to them for product line leadership. They are the ones that have the "facts on their business" and the credibility and influence to drive growth.

To learn how to enhance Product Manager credibility and influence visit us at www.lifecyle.us.com

Life Cycle Strategies, Inc.

Email: greg@lifecycle.us.com

Phone: 1-(877)-212-7569