Run the Problem, Not the Update - Follow Up Story
The builder PM's approach to keeping executives engaged across complex, evolving work
What happened after writing a recent Product Management IRL article? These insights are for paid subscribers to Product Management IRL.
This week’s backstory is about keeping leaders involved while working on a product initiative:
What Prompted This Article?
This started with constructive feedback: “You need to present in office hours more often”. This means I need to present complex, in-progress product initiatives to my boss’s boss.
Doing this kind of thing is different this year:
AI-assisted product management means I’m handling bigger initiatives
Increased delivery pressure means fewer chances to collaborate with others
A flatter organization means office hours are key to advancing product initiatives
My challenge is preparing for the update without having details because the initiative isn’t finished.
One of the partners I handle changed their terms of service. As a result, senior leaders asked for a risk assessment of every new customer sale with this partner.
I needed to present a point of view in office hours on the situation. I had to present quickly so senior leaders could decide about long-term handling.
My calendar was filling up with many teams wanting to understand the partner situation. There was a lot of noise that the senior leaders didn’t need from the point of view.
I separated the work into
a) leadership communication
b) team exploration
I presented in office hours a few days after posting the article. I learned a lot from the experience of presenting an unfolding situation to leaders.
