When I started as a product manager at the last startup I worked for, I remember taking an approach to preparation that was reminiscent of the one LeMay describes in the preface of his book. I did some coding prep, reviewed the company’s Pitchbook profile and org chart, studied the product and researched the competitive landscape. What I noticed over the first week of the job was that these skills were failing me – that this was not nearly enough to do the job I needed to be doing. I was coming to meetings with rigorous agendas and well-conceived specs, but something was missing.
What struck me most in LeMay’s chapter reminded me of this experience, in which I learned early on that my critical missing skill was proactive teambuilding and leadership. It took me a few weeks to get to know my team personally, to gain their trust, and to understand how they thought of the business and its needs. I needed some time to understand how the org chart actually bore out in day-to-day work, and which team members were most knowledgeable about different parts of the business and the tech stack. This holistic understanding of the team and how they work was essential to reframing how I worked; after all, how else could one steer the ship without being the captain?
I wonder how LeMay would advise new product managers to start new jobs so that they can avoid the experience that he and I seem to have had. How could we have approached the first few days and weeks better? How could we have allowed ourselves some grace in navigating the uncertainty that is a young and malleable organization?
