ISSUE #9 - SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
Navigating in fast-paced environments as a Product Manager
What is the definition of a fast-paced environment? How does this affect your routine? How (if at all) your approach be adjusted based on that?
The vast majority of today's job ads in tech companies list the "ability to work in a fast-paced environment" as a requirement. Especially in product management roles, I struggle to remember the last time when I saw a job ad without this requirement.
What does this requirement mean, in any case? In particular, what is the definition of a fast-paced environment? How does this affect your routine? How (if at all) your approach be adjusted based on that?
The purpose of this post is to answer the above questions, mainly from the perspective of a product person within an organization.
Defining the environment
Before we jump into the "fast-paced" aspect of things, let's define the term "environment" when it comes to a business. To do so, we should split between the internal and the external environment.
The former refers to all those factors affecting your job from the inside. That would be the company itself, meaning your team, your stakeholders, the company needs, and the company resources.
As you can easily guess, the latter refers to external factors such as the market, competitors, your users, or even regulators (if you're in a regulated industry).
Naturally, the internal and external environments are not isolated from each other. On the contrary, they very much interact with each other. Usually, this interaction is directed from the external to the internal side of things.
The element of rapid change
So, since we have a high-level picture of the elements that comprise our environment, what's a "fast-paced environment"?
It's self-explanatory that a fast-paced environment is one where its components alter frequently. As a result, as a business, you have to respond and adapt to those changes.
However, not all businesses are as sensitive to change. Usually, younger companies are more susceptible to external changes than well-established ones. The less established you are in a market, the more likely you will be affected by a change. For instance, a new competitor could appear, or a major successful release from an existing competitor could alter the landscape. Or even there could be a significant change in your users' needs. In such cases, you will have to respond and do this fast.
The risk with fast-paced environments
"So, is that all? Fine, we need to respond to change". Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The main problem with today's business is that not only (many) external factors change rapidly. In the vast majority of the cases, you are also running a sprint every single day. Speed is of the essence. You are in a constant mode of running: to deliver the roadmap, hit the KPIs, prepare that important BoD presentation, to hire people so that your team can grow. And none of the above can wait.
The highest risk you are running here is to lose track of your reality. What does that mean? Your internal and external environments have changed significantly, but you did not manage to realize that on time. The consequence is that you are probably wasting resources on the wrong things and following the wrong direction. Needless to say, this could have devastating results for the whole company.
Taking control of a fast-paced environment
The first step is ensuring you are always in sync with your reality. The "hack" I am personally using is that I do my "reality check" biweekly. I take a couple of hours to study the internal and external environment and, based on my findings, answer the questions:
- Is my environment still the same?
- Is my strategy still valid?
- Are my company's / product's most critical problems still the same?
If the answer to the above questions is a "yes," you can return to your regular schedule. But unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Managing rapid change
Once you realize that your reality has changed, there are specific steps that you need to take to respond effectively.
1. Understand the new reality
First and foremost, it's paramount to understand the new reality deeply. What elements have changed, and at what level has this affected you? Is it something vast that affects your whole strategy or something less significant that requires only tactical changes?
2. Adjust your plan accordingly
The obvious next step here is to adjust your plan. The word "plan" here has a broader meaning, referring to any potential change you need to make. For instance, in cases of significant change, that could be product strategy adjustments, which is something with an extended impact on the company. Obviously, this cannot happen overnight or without careful consideration and evaluation of the situation.
However, you might not need to apply significant changes. In some cases, only tactical changes can be required—for instance, roadmap adjustments.
At this point, it is also essential to involve anyone necessary. Especially in cases where significant changes are required, you need to bring this to your peers' attention. The goal is to make them aware of the situation and allow them to assist you.
3. Keep everyone else aligned
Given that you identified the changes and made (or are in the process of making) the necessary adjustments, keeping everyone else in sync is important. Not only for alignment purposes, but those changes might also affect other aspects of the business. The company must know why those changes are happening and their full effect.
4. Manage your team's psychology
This part is a bit more generic but highly relevant. Teams in general, and product teams in particular, do not like change. Especially when change messes with their roadmap and their plans, people get frustrated way easier. In fast-paced environments, changes are frequent, which means more frustration for the team or even feelings of lack of direction or a clear strategy.
You need to be prepared for that and help your team cope with this. You must be proactive and transparent with your team to do this effectively. Explain why those changes are happening and are inevitable. Don't be afraid to get into details. The more information you share, the easier it is for everyone to get on the same page. If your team understands the necessity and the validity of the change, then it will be easier for them to manage it and even embrace it.
For better or for worse, the way business is conducted today is fast. So many things are happening, and our reality is changing in ways that we often struggle to follow. This will probably not change. However, we can adapt our approach and respond to those rapid changes in our environments effectively.
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