Adjusting to your situation’s reality is a PM superpower.
Good PMs can run the playbook they read about and have run well in the past. Great PMs adjust the playbook for the cultural context they are in.
Situation adjustment separates good from great PMs.
3 examples of adjustments:
1. How empowered of a team you are on
It’s easy to dream of doing PM like in the books and cases. The reality of PM is that there are compromises: tech debt, other team’s requirements, exec pet projects, inherited roadmaps, bad cultures.
2. How agile your situation really is
We want to be able to ship whenever, and change our roadmap anytime. But commitments are a part of product development, so: design, eng, marketing can plan; execs can make promises to the street; sales can tell customers.
3. How product-led your company is
Product leaders might believe the company is product-led and say so in the interview process. But, in reality, many environments are engineering or design-led. PMs can still make an equal impact, but they have to adjust to the environment.
Takeaways
The books focus on an idealistic world that has:
- empowered teams
- agile environments
- that are product-led
But, most situations require compromises. The best PMs still make an extraordinary impact.
They adjust.
