Product Management 101

While at Express Scripts, I had the opportunity to begin to formalize their product management process.  This involved looking at best practices like Stage-Gate and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS).  It involved working cross-functionally to get buy-in within operations, IT, sales, and account management (along with my peers in product management).  It also involved developing and delivering training on product management along with communications.

In a couple of recent interviews, I was asked (a) what is my elevator pitch and (b) what do I think is critical for success in product management.

It took me a while to think through my elevator pitch since I often think of myself as an intelligent generalist who can do anything, but the reality is there are things I enjoy and do very well.  So, here is the pitch…”I am an expert and analyzing and evaluating new ideas and working cross-functionally and with clients to bring them to market.”

It was amazing that once I put that together then I could look back and most of my positions and see how they fell into that framework.

1. At E&Y, I was charged with leading the knowledge management efforts for our Organizational Change Management practice.  This was fairly new back in 1996.
2. At E&Y, my first client asked me to develop a Balanced Scorecard and then link it to a Pay for Performance system.
3. My next role involved developing a framework and whitepaper for how to drive adoption of data warehousing technology and Decision Support Systems (DSS) within companies.
4. My next role was to develop the communication roadmap for ConAgra’s Y2K PMO and a process by which each business unit could implement it.
5. Then, I played an internal role for the managed care practice at E&Y developing staffing tools, databases, and processes to support the rapid growth of that vertical.
6. My last role at E&Y was to develop a Point of View (POV) on how the Internet would affect managed care and then meet with dotcom vendors and MCOs to look at how we could help them transform their business.
7. When I went to Firepond, my biggest project there was to develop a formalized alliance management strategy and program.
8. At Express Scripts, I developed numerous offerings - generic promotion, generic sampling, GenericsWork, step therapy rapid response, mail order promotion, exclusive home delivery, limited retail networks, zero dollar copay.
9. When I left Express Scripts to start my own company (CentralScript), I was most successful at developing the business plan, analyzing the market, evangelizing the offering, and getting buy-in.
10. At Talisen, I have spent 10 months building out a market, developing a team, working with partners, and developing infrastructure to grow a practice.
11. With Silverlink, I have helped them flush out the market needs for a PBM BPO offering that offers significant upside.

So, what I learned is the answer to the second question about what is important for product management success:

• Being qualitative and quantitative.
• Getting out of the ivory tower and embracing the customer.
• Innovating with the customer (i.e., Blue Ocean Strategy).
• Being a generalist - understanding finance, operations, IT, HR, marketing, sales, account management, competitive intelligence, etc.
• Being a strong communicator - written and verbal.
• Be willing and able to take some knives in the back.  People don’t like change and some people will simply think you are crazy.
• Facts don’t lie…but data can be wrong or misinterpreted.
• Understand your true costs (direct and indirect).
• Make mistakes quickly.  Keep trying things versus waiting for the big bang.
• Thing outside the box.  Read things from other industries.  Talk to people.  Don’t be isolated.

The other key that not everyone is comfortable with is that product development and innovation is a process.  Process does not limit innovation, but it creates opportunity for innovation.  We only have so much time.  Manage the little things to create excess time and mental capacity to deal with the strategic issues.