SUNDAY REWIND: Product management career resilience

This week’s Sunday Rewind takes us back to 2016 and an early ProductTank talk on how to survive in an enterprise environment from Randy Silver, then a Head of Product at HSBC.

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Product managers sit in the middle of things, and one defining skill set that they have is that “we play nice with others”, says Randy Silver. Here’s his advice on how to play nice in an enterprise environment.

Be patient

Things operate on a different scale in an enterprise environment, Randy says.  At smaller firms,  he felt like a failure if he couldn’t show results in a few months.  At an enterprise, a global change can take two or three years. Add a few more months if you’re in a regulated environment.

Things are really complex

It’s not just the legacy systems, says Randy. Processes can be absolutely Byzantine, and the organisational dynamics even more so.

Learn the culture

People can spend an entire career – with many different job experiences – within one large firm.  That creates a unique corporate culture which can be hugely resistant to change, so you must learn to appreciate it.

Get a native guide

The lifers can help you finesse the bureaucracy and the budget cycles, says Randy, and who know where the blockers are and how to avoid them.

Sponsorship

Your programmes still need the right sponsor and resources even if you have a guide to help you.

Patience, again

Despite this, working for a large organisation can be fantastic, says randy. It gives you the opportunity to work globally, with teams across countries and cultures.

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