Product Management Continues To Be An Enigma — But A Critical Skill As Amazon Comes to The DC Area
Amazon coming to National Landing is exciting news for the DC, Maryland and Virginia (DMV) corridor. It was also a hot topic at the recent DCA Live event, BIG DC Growth Summit.
Technology and business leaders lauded the engineering talent in our area. But, it should not be surprising that they also lamented the lack of product management talent.
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Many companies, particularly in the DMV, overlook and undervalue the role of product management.
Impacts of poor product management occur throughout a company’s growth journey.
- Initial growth from early adopters mask broader product/market fit issues
- Funding dissipates and time is lost focusing on customer inputs versus customer outcomes.
- Customer engagement suffers as product complexity increases (multiple persona disorder).
- Inconsistent and unreliable product delivery creates employee frustration and lowers customer satisfaction
The impacts of the current product management identify crisis are devastating. Millions of dollars lost. Valuations decrease. “Cram-down” rounds are common. Employee and customer retention decline. Companies run out of money.
Disciplined product management overcomes these challenges by clearly defining:
- Target audiences, including user personas, with critical process or workflow challenges
- Product definitions that delivers valuable and measurable customer outcomes
- Processes that align internal teams with targeted customer experiences
- Requirements and user experiences that maximize customer lifetime value
It is a great time to be in technology sector in the DMV.
But, challenges in attracting and retaining customers and employees — especially with Amazon coming to town — are growing.
Successful enterprise and customer value creation demands clear product management leadership. If this is not part of your approach, it is never too late change.
Good luck.
