As a PM, delivering quality products and results is not enough. You need to singularly improve the company’s trajectory through the products you work on.
This is one of the defining differences between good and great PMs. How do you do it?
Here at Product Growth, we have been studying many successful examples. What would happen if we tried to put together all the lessons across companies?
A 9 -step process:
1. Start with the problem
Breakthrough products start with user problems or user delight. You need to find a user problem or delight that is:
- adjacent to your core business
- shared by your target persona
- complementary to your business model
2. Build your first take
Once you’ve find the right problem, then you work with your designer to better define the space. Then you test prototype solutions to find the right solution. Then you release the MVP.
3. Try till you succeed
A few weeks after you release the MVP, you have the moment of truth. You need to actually decide if it should stay in the app or not. Many times, the answer is no. Move on to the next MVP. Try again till the answer is yes.
4. Once you have PMF, focus
The bright line for you should be product-market fit. Users should be willing to go through a few hoops to experience your MVP. But it’s so compelling, that you too as a PM want to invest more of your career opportunity cost in the feature too.
5. Switch from 0 to 1 to Growth
Now that you’ve found the problem and solution, switch from 0 to 1 PM work to growth PM work. Now, your goal is to think through:
- How can I improve the funnel?
- How can I bring more people in at the top?
- How can I monetize?
6. Execute rapid testing
When you are in growth mode, your goal should be to quickly test out improvements. You should go from MVP to v20 pretty fast. Speed is the essence here. Organize your learnings to double down in to the areas that work.
7. Decide if this is a feature or a trajectory
Eventually, you go from being a feature to a product trajectory for the company. Uber Eats becomes the catalyst for Uber in the pandemic, for instance. You have to decide if, after 20 tests, the idea can be Uber Eats.
8. Build a team
If it’s a trajectory, then you should build out several product teams to work on it. The business case should be clear to everyone. A small team is driving a lot of value. Now, a much bigger team can deliver much more value.
9. Coach the team
Now that you have several product teams, you are in the 9th inning of the game. You have just about created a product trajectory. The last step is to motivate and inspire the team to greatness.
That the simplified version of a 9-inning process:
- Start with the problem
- Build your first take
- Try till you succeed
- Once you have PMF, focus
- Switch from 0 to 1 to Growth
- Execute rapid testing
- Decide if this is a feature or a trajectory
- Build a team
- Coach the team
Craving more detail? Check out the case studies. There are many more to come. In future editions of the newsletter, I’ll also dive into these nine steps in more detail.
