Oliver Palley

Something I've learned over the years: your impact as a PM grows most when you deeply understand what you can't control, not what you can. Many product managers naturally gravitate toward refining processes and perfecting frameworks—the tools directly within their control. While these help, the greatest leverage comes from understanding the things outside your control: the market dynamics, technology shifts, and industry forces that shape the playing field. The internal processes are the game plan, but the external forces dictate the rules of the game itself. Master the rules first, then optimize how you play. The best PMs I've worked with tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on these three areas. 🌎 The market. Dive deep into how your market dynamics actually works. Study your customers' businesses—their earnings calls, regulatory challenges, competitive landscape, and strategic initiatives. Know the latest trends shaping decisions. Understand the differences by segment. You'll spot opportunities others miss. 🔬 The domain. Learn your customers' craft. If you're building developer tools, study system architecture. Marketing software? Learn campaign analytics. Financial products? Understand accounting standards. You don't need to become an expert, but you should speak their language fluently. Innovation comes when you truly understand the challenges of their craft. 📊 The business. Know your company P&L. Understand GTM motions and where the gaps are. Build strong opinions by studying pricing strategies, go-to-market trends, corporate finance, and diving deep with your customer-facing teams. These fields help you think about product problems in a more tangible way, and you'll more naturally align with company strategy.

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The title may appear intimidating, but the core message is actually very encouraging and exciting. We are entering an era of creators, whether we refer to ourselves as designers, engineers, or product managers. By mastering the power of AI, we can unlock a new level of autonomy in our ideation and creativity.

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The north star metric isn't just a compass guiding us; it's a window into the soul of our product, reflecting the core value we deliver and the profound impact we aspire to have on our users. #NorthStarMetric #ProductManagement #ProductValue #Impact #UserFocus #StrategicDirection #ProductVision #ProductStrategy #MetricsThatMatter #CustomerCentric #ProductGrowth

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And it is so easy to do — after a cutoff, new ideas are fine, but they belong in the NEXT release, not the one committed and in dev/QA execution. Why are the folks paid the big bucks always missing the obvious? Well, usually they are paid to. Meaning they have to strive for more (“raise the bar”). HOW they raise the bar is what differentiates the great c-suite genius from the incompetent dingbat.

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"In product, we're bombarded by high-level concepts like empowerment, data-driven, product-led, customer-focused, accountability, getting into the details, and high agency. But teams have trouble putting these ideas into practice. Why? And what can you do about it? When I ask people to describe the behaviors these things might entail—what I would observe (see and hear) if these things were happening—I often get blank stares." https://lnkd.in/gFCpYZ7A

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Ed’s post resonates deeply with me because I’ve seen this dynamic play out firsthand, multiple times in my career. His insights on the challenges product teams face and the misconceptions surrounding their performance are spot on. I’ve recently had close friends and colleagues impacted by the kind of short-sighted decisions Ed describes—where leadership concludes that replacing the product team is the solution, rather than addressing the underlying environment that’s limiting their success. It’s a painful cycle to witness, especially when the real issue is often a lack of consistent goals, poor communication of context, or unclear risk management from leadership. Ed’s point about minimizing distractions particularly hit home for me. I’ve worked in environments where the number of competing priorities left product teams paralyzed, unable to focus long enough to deliver meaningful results. Conversely, in places where leadership was disciplined about setting clear priorities and shielding the team from noise, the same PMs thrived and delivered incredible outcomes. The idea of involving PMs in understanding the business financials is another standout for me. In one of my roles, a lack of visibility into the financial drivers behind decisions made it nearly impossible for the team to align on priorities or make informed trade-offs. Once leadership started including us in those conversations, we saw a massive shift in productivity and impact. Ultimately, I think Ed’s advice to CEOs to focus on fixing the environment before replacing their PMs is crucial. Creating a space where PMs can focus, understand the “why” behind their work, and feel empowered to take calculated risks doesn’t just drive better results—it creates a stronger, more motivated team. Thanks, Ed, for articulating this so clearly. These are lessons every leader needs to hear.

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🫠 Slow Decision-Making = Slow Death: Japan's Case 🫠 "Wow, I'd always read about quarterly business planning cycles but never realized there were companies that practiced them..." I recently spoke with an up-and-coming leader from one of Japan's most profitable companies. He was curious about quarterly business planning cycles. This involves leadership setting the vision, defining OKRs, assigning project owners, setting plans, and delivering results – and the value is that you can move fast as a large org. Weekly planning = even faster but better suited for smaller startups. However, the handful of legacy organizations I've spoken with in Japan operate under a different model. These companies, often over 50 years old with 15,000+ employees, tend to have a Gemba ("site of work") approach. A common trait of Gemba models is bilateral decision-making, where folks on-site get to decide whether to adopt top-down decisions. This is related to Japan’s strong labor laws favoring employees. It creates an ecosystem where top-down enforcement doesn't hold much power (albeit top-down orgs tend to run with higher anxiety and fear over job security). In this system, getting consensus alone can take months or even years in extreme cases. While this model ensures autonomy, job security, and a sense of ownership, it carries significant risks. Over time, the consequences of slow decision-making are dire. We are already seeing it: - No decisions made = no changes pushed at the rate the world is evolving - No changes = kills the fire in people (especially younger generations) - Low engagement & motivation in people = lower talent brand / less likely to hire well - Can’t hire well = lack of talent to push the system to change - System won’t change = company heads towards slow death We've sadly seen cases of former legendary companies from the 80s and 90s disappear into the abyss. Japan owned the hardware era back then; in the age of software and new technologies, these Goliath systems aren’t calibrating fast enough. The bottom line is clear: For transformation, companies here must reassess their operating models and prioritize decision-making. I would not recommend copy-pasting other decision-making models, as they don't take the culture into account. The solution should incorporate Japan's consensus-driven decision-making culture and identify the fastest way to a decision amidst these cultural nuances. Solutions could look extreme, like hiring new talent aggressively to define the new order; or it could be experimental, by starting with a single business unit. The inevitable is that leadership and company need the conviction for a little bit of a shakeup – and most importantly, the commitment that rocky waters now can lead to a more optimistic future. -- If you enjoyed reading about org strategy in Japan, DM me for any particular topic you'd like to know more about! #Leadership #BusinessPlanning #Gemba #ChangeManagement #JapanBusiness #Innovation

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I think it's right that there is a dip in manager comp -- it reinforces the right behaviors if you say "managers" are different from "ICs" not better. I'm assuming there are more than 3 ICs levels (Lenny Rachitsky?) What I'm seeing more and more of, and what we advocate for is more pay parity between the IC and Manager paths, up to Sr. Director level. That's putting your money where your mouth is in terms of "there are two tracks" -- if individuals can make as much as managers all the way up until exec track, then there are actually two tracks. Love the data Lenny, thanks for sharing. It's good that Sr. IC is on pay parity to somewhere between Sr. Manager/Director level, but fully aligned would be my vote!

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For a community that is all about preaching outcomes over output, I cannot help but note the irony in posts similar to this one, claiming that "product management is dead". Well, that would mean that the product management outputs (PRD, priority matrix, etc) are the only components of good product management. I believe that the outcomes that good product management generate is what matters, not the tools / frameworks used to achieve such outcomes. Getting better tools to get there is part of the equation. The solution space will always evolve much faster than the problem space. There is a great article from Saeed K about it, please read it before falling to the 'fear factor' of AI taking your job. AI will not replace product management. But product managers using AI will replace those who don't. https://lnkd.in/dBfy79nk

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In my weekly conversations with product leaders, the desire for impactful PM-driven training often surfaces, highlighting a real need to empower teams. Hoda Mehr, our CEO at Products That Count, shares her thoughts below. 🤔 Here’s a question for all you product management pros out there: What kind of training do you think makes the biggest difference in accelerating a PM's career? #ProductManagement #ProfessionalGrowth #ProductCareers #ProductsThatCount

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Delivery-focused. Execution-oriented. Not Strategic. Or (my new favorite internet slur) ZIRPM. In a startup context, getting stuff off the production line IS strategic (despite what the haters say). Here are a few reasons why: Read this post and more on my Typeshare Social Blog: https://lnkd.in/dPDuKYQb

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I'd just like to call out Hostfully for absolutely _nailing_ their product integration strategy, at least as far as I can tell from the outside. Here's what I think they got very, very right: 1. They clearly mapped out their customers journey and painpoints, and understood how their product fits into the lifecycle and "jobs to be done". There are a few frameworks you can use to map this, but almost certainly you've already done some of this when building out your core product. So when you're planning your product integration strategy, do what the Hostfully team did and map tools to journey points, then figure out which ones are the most critical path. 2. They built quality integrations (or coordinated to have them built, TBD). This is table stakes, but it's obvious when you look at the documentation etc. 3. They documented them incredibly well! Look at the 1-7 steps in the journey and how they break it down. *chefs-kiss* 4. I can't guarantee this, but I'm willing to bet anything that everyone there in the GTM team knows about this. Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, and likely any agency partnerships they may be brewing up. Just a thing of beauty. I don't often get excited by a marketplace and integration strategy. But gotta give them roses when they're due!

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"Chris - Here’s my take: you’re entering the product management profession here in 2024 at a point where the craft is dying" After 10+ years doing product, I want share my thoughts about the craft and provide advice to folks on their path. I'm starting a series of writings called "letters to a young PM" to share my thoughts on the profession in an artistic but compelling way. Leave me your thoughts and comments! Let's start a new conversation about our craft of building products

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This is great advice especially as you grow your business many want results asap and sometimes putting blinders to your own culture doesn’t help. Look within first, and give people a chance to make real changes and contribute. Setting clear goals and sharing financial KPI’s are key to foster an open and sharing environment where people want to move that needle. #productstrategy

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One of the most challenging parts of the fractional product role? Navigating expectations around what “success” looks like for an engagement. It turns out, the reality is (most almost always 💯) different on the ground than what was originally scoped at the outset of the partnership. While this reality can make the “what does success look like” conversations with a partner tricky, I ultimately view it as a feature of working with a fractional product leader. I view it as an essential part of my role as a product leader to, once I arrive, help drive the definition of success for my engagement (and ultimately for my teams and products). This also makes it crucial to have regular, direct, and transparent conversations with your partners around what your mutual definition of success is...and how that’s changing based on your work. And a final, related, 🔥 (hot) take: if success for your engagement isn’t changing, it’s a signal that you could likely be driving significantly more value for your partners.

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A/B testing is not product design. In recent years, it’s become fashionable to use lots of small A/B tests to try to build and refine products and experiences—even though there is no evidence that this actually works. I've worked with companies that went all in on A/B testing over all other methods and are now in deep trouble. While A/B testing can be a powerful tool in the right hands, it can also be an incredibly dangerous tool in the wrong hands. And I think most product and tech teams don’t have the sophistication to pull off A/B testing properly. I've written in the past that you can’t A/B test your way to product transformation, and Tony Fadell explains why in his book Build: “A/B and user testing is not product design. It’s a tool. A test. At best a diagnosis. It can tell you something’s not working, but it won’t tell you how to fix it. Or it can show you an option that solves one hyperlocal issue but breaks something else downstream.” — Tony Fadell. That final point is so critical. A/B testing done poorly will result in runaway butterfly effects, where these small tests lead up to big, unknown changes long term in your products. A/B testing is what you should do once you know the product design — once you have the vision. If you don’t know the vision and why you are building something, you shouldn’t be anywhere near A/B testing. What becomes really dangerous is when a company starts doing multiple hyperlocal A/B test experiments on the same page and then tries to slam together the results from multiple tests into one vision. Fadell also talks about how user panels/focus groups aren’t very useful. You can’t ask users what to build (but you can ask them about their pain points). Why? Because they can’t conceive of what has never been built before. I highly recommend Fadell’s book Build to anyone looking to either learn how great products and experiences get made or to learn how to get better at product development. It’s one of the best product and business books I have read in years. #productdesign #ux #abtesting #testing #data #userresearch

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CEO: “We need to replace our entire product team” Me: “Um, ok, let’s talk about this for a moment…” As a CPO and product advisor I’ve met plenty of CEOs and execs who are frustrated with the results they see from their product teams. Often they feel like all they need to do is replace the existing team with more experienced, “better” PMs.  But really they're blaming PMs for some of their own shortcomings as leaders. Results from a product team depend on putting great PMs in a great environment. If you don’t have a great environment, it doesn’t matter how good your PMs are, you’ll still be disappointed with the results. Maybe your PMs really are awful, but before you fire them all and hire new ones, I’d make sure you fix the environment: a) It’s much faster, cheaper and less painful b) You’ll have to do it anyway c) You’ll be surprised by what you can get from your existing team So how do you create a great environment for PMs as a leader? 🎯 Have consistent goals Of course you want to be agile, but try not to change the priorities all the time. Every quarter is ok, but every week or two and your teams will never get going. 🛡 Minimize distractions Progress is inversely correlated to the number of initiatives you have. Make sure your teams aren’t getting distracted by execs’ pet projects, internal requests or customer feedback. Have a very small (1-2) number of priorities for them to focus on. 🗺 Explain the context Spend the time up front to explain your goals and the features you’re asking for. If all you’re doing is demanding widgets from your product team, likely they’ll have a very different idea from you of what they are building and why. 💰 Talk about the money You can’t expect your PMs to make commercial decisions if they don’t have visibility of the business financials. Make this a part of every discussion (but just a part - it’s not everything!) 🛑 Be explicit where you will take risk Teams are usually quite conservative when it comes to risk, because when the site goes down they get blamed. If you want to move quickly, be very clear about the risks that you are willing to take. 👥 Manage their role breadth PMs can be excellent at lots of things - comms, analysis, delivery, user interviews… pretty much whatever you need them to, but they can’t do it all at the same time - there are only so many hours in the day. Make sure tasks as split evenly across design, engineering and data. 📄 Agree a lightweight reporting process As a leader you need status updates. To fly blind would be reckless. But bloated reporting burns many hours each week. Take 1-2 hours up front to co-create a reporting process with your PMs (i.e. tell them what you really need, and let them figure out the best way to deliver it) and you’ll save them huge amounts of time going forward. And if there’s anything I can do to help, give me a shout. We’ve got lots of tools on Hustle Badger to accelerate product teams, and I offer private workshops and advice.

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CEO: “We need to replace our entire product team” Me: “Um, ok, let’s talk about this for a moment…” As a CPO and product advisor I’ve met plenty of CEOs and execs who are frustrated with the results they see from their product teams. Often they feel like all they need to do is replace the existing team with more experienced, “better” PMs.  But really they're blaming PMs for some of their own shortcomings as leaders. Results from a product team depend on putting great PMs in a great environment. If you don’t have a great environment, it doesn’t matter how good your PMs are, you’ll still be disappointed with the results. Maybe your PMs really are awful, but before you fire them all and hire new ones, I’d make sure you fix the environment: a) It’s much faster, cheaper and less painful b) You’ll have to do it anyway c) You’ll be surprised by what you can get from your existing team So how do you create a great environment for PMs as a leader? 🎯 Have consistent goals Of course you want to be agile, but try not to change the priorities all the time. Every quarter is ok, but every week or two and your teams will never get going. 🛡 Minimize distractions Progress is inversely correlated to the number of initiatives you have. Make sure your teams aren’t getting distracted by execs’ pet projects, internal requests or customer feedback. Have a very small (1-2) number of priorities for them to focus on. 🗺 Explain the context Spend the time up front to explain your goals and the features you’re asking for. If all you’re doing is demanding widgets from your product team, likely they’ll have a very different idea from you of what they are building and why. 💰 Talk about the money You can’t expect your PMs to make commercial decisions if they don’t have visibility of the business financials. Make this a part of every discussion (but just a part - it’s not everything!) 🛑 Be explicit where you will take risk Teams are usually quite conservative when it comes to risk, because when the site goes down they get blamed. If you want to move quickly, be very clear about the risks that you are willing to take. 👥 Manage their role breadth PMs can be excellent at lots of things - comms, analysis, delivery, user interviews… pretty much whatever you need them to, but they can’t do it all at the same time - there are only so many hours in the day. Make sure tasks as split evenly across design, engineering and data. 📄 Agree a lightweight reporting process As a leader you need status updates. To fly blind would be reckless. But bloated reporting burns many hours each week. Take 1-2 hours up front to co-create a reporting process with your PMs (i.e. tell them what you really need, and let them figure out the best way to deliver it) and you’ll save them huge amounts of time going forward. And if there’s anything I can do to help, give me a shout. We’ve got lots of tools on Hustle Badger to accelerate product teams, and I offer private workshops and coaching.

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