I now proudly hold the title of VP of Product Success. However, as I stand here, basking in the glory of the title I fought for, an intriguing question lingers in my mind: 'What, exactly, do I do here?'

Defining the role of a product manager is like nailing jelly to a wall; it's a task that's both elusive and multifaceted. We all concur that it demands a diverse array of responsibilities, resulting in constant context-switching. And here I am, introducing even more layers of nuance to it.

One of our foremost challenges is the nebulous nature of job descriptions. They often leave us bewildered, failing to provide a clear roadmap of tasks and expectations. As someone with an artistic inclination, I thrive on visualization. So, here's how I wrestled a chaotic and unique role into submission:

Mapping a chaotic role into submission

I started by creating a mind-map for the role, a map designed to complete the sentence:

'My job is a _______. I focus on _______, _______, and _______. I do this by _______, _______ and, _______. Daily, these are the tasks that make up my job: _____.'

I started with the broader bubbles, the overarching components of my role: Team, Customers, Product, Sales, and Legislation. While these were significant facets of the role, they were still somewhat nebulous and lacked detailed prioritization.

Subsequently, I delved deeper, breaking down the responsibilities within each of these spheres. For instance, I specified aspects like customer input and outreach, product strategy, planning, execution, and marketing. Now, the role was taking a tangible form, with precise areas of focus and methods to achieve the primary objectives.

The result? A concise sentence that encapsulated my role:

'My job is to ensure product success. I focus on my team, our product, and our customers. I do this by making sure that my team is happy and productive, that I am constantly in tune with our customers, that I influence legislation to set the right boundaries for the product to be the best that it can be. Daily, this is what my job looks like.'

From there, I branched out into specifics—defining specific actions and tasks that I intended to undertake. Yet, even with the map complete, the challenge of prioritization still loomed large. The process appeared neat and orderly now, but it's worth mentioning that it was messy for quite a while. I even had to trim away some excess on the far right as I shared this across the organization, especially where I found myself encroaching on the responsibilities of other teams.

In summary, I highly recommend this exercise:

Creating this mind map was an enlightening journey for me. It not only clarified my immediate tasks but also ensured alignment between Bob (the CEO and my boss) and me regarding my priorities. Beyond that, I'm confident that I'm dedicating my time to what matters most for our team, our customers, and the business. That sense of purpose is immensely satisfying.

As you can see from this map, there's an abundance of work to be tackled—a workload too vast for one person. So, my next task is to dive into prioritization. To aid in this endeavor, I'll employ a simple 30-60-90 day plan.

While circumstances may shift and evolve, the 90-day horizon typically allows for relatively stable planning, but we'll always remain agile and open to adjustments when necessary.

Stay tuned for more on that in future posts.