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Sunday Rewind: Whose job is it anyway? The rise of Product Ops and why it deserves to be an independent function

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Andres is a freelance writer and digital marketer with a background in engineering and a keen interest in the latest technology advancements. He currently helps tech companies and startups tell their stories by turning their complex ideas into easy to understand material. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn

Andres Phillips

<p>In this <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/producttank-about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ProductTank</a> Berlin talk, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjkeyser/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Benjamin Keyser</a>, VP Product at Contentful, explains the importance of decision-making in taking a company from the startup stage to the scale-up stage. </p>
<p>The key points of his talk include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Consequences of poor decisions</li>
<li>Decisions during the startup period</li>
<li>Decision styles</li>
<li>More effect and less affect</li>
</ul>
<p>Watch the video to see Benjamin’s talk in full or read on for an overview.</p>
<h2>Consequences of poor decisions</h2>
<p>Benjamin explains that startups typically fail for two reasons, a lack of <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/category/productmarket-fit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">product-market fit</a> or an inability to get teams to relate to each other. These problems can occur as a result of poor decision-making. Poor decisions can lead to wrong investments that waste time and money, erode teamwork, and lead to a lack of accountability, which erodes teamwork.</p>
<h2>Decisions during startup period</h2>
<p>For companies and product managers in startup mode, the goal is to keep your head above water. This means acquiring customers, keeping those customers, and making money. During this startup period, the decision-making process is crucial for those that want to achieve growth. Teamwork is essential at this stage, but a large customer base can lead to recency bias and create an oversized influence when making decisions. Also, some product managers may find themselves cherry-picking anecdotes instead of valuable data. When under stress, teams may even find themselves only leaving that decision up to the leader &#8211; for better or worse.</p>
<h2>Decision styles</h2>
<p>Benjamin highlights a few typical decision styles that are prevalent in startups. These include leaving it up to the leader, which can sometimes lead to ineffectiveness creeping in, agree to agree, which can lead to decision recycling and slow process, and we’re agile, which can result in just kicking the can down the road with the expectation that you can pivot later.</p>
<p>To avoid these problems, Benjamin explains that product managers must acknowledge that they need to utilize decision-making practices, get into the habit of making decisions and think of decision making as a journey and not a quick fix.</p>
<h2>More effect and less affect</h2>
<p>Finally, Benjamin provides some tips for making better decisions.</p>
<ul>
<li>Acknowledge the current decision-making style.</li>
<li>Start a conversation with leaders about decision-making as a practice.</li>
<li>Avoid discussions about individuals and styles. Instead, shift from the people to their role and use that to help make more objective decisions.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Enjoy more from ProductTank</h3>
<p>ProductTanks are informal meetups, created by <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mind the Product</a>, to bring local product people together and to enable speakers to share amazing product insights. Today we have ProductTanks in more than 200 cities across the globe and there’s probably one near you.</p>
<p>Learn more about <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/producttank-about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ProductTank</a> – find your local meetup, explore more ProductTank content, see the latest ProductTank news, and discover ways to get involved!</p>

core/freeform

Video

Breaking down misconceptions to create healthier teams by Adrian Howard

Modern-day leadership by Janice Fraser

5 key practices to build a better product, Adam Mullett, ProductTank Perth

Experiment like a boss by Merissa Silk

From opinion-based to evidence-guided product development by Itamar Gilad

A quick look at decision supervision by Lucy Spence

The F words of highly successful product organisations by Saielle DaSilva

Identify and manage imposter syndrome by Phyllis Njoroge

The good, bad, and ugly of OKRs by Jenny Herald

Is your innovation project on track? by Tendayi Viki

Building the Decision-Making Habit by Benjamin Keyser

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