It’s an interesting dilemma – our development team pulls us in, often because they don’t have the information (target user personas and their problems) they need to proceed. And in order to get the information they need, we have to leave the building. The internal momentum in this situation is strong...the development team needs to keep working, and it's really hard to write requirements when we haven't been in the market. So we try to write some, but they're not very good and consequently the team has lots of questions. This creates a strong gravitational pull, and it can be hard to break it and find the time to research the market.
Start somewhere! Pick a half-day, and go see a customer. Read an industry publication you’re not familiar with. When you go to the annual sales meeting, stay an extra day, and visit a customer you’ve never met before.
After all, getting into the market and orienting ourselves toward its needs is of ultimate importance. As my colleague and friend, Steve Johnson, says, “failure is likely when delivering products without market knowledge.”**
The future of our products and our companies is in our hands, so it’s essential to find the time to get out into the market.
How do you find opportunities to get into the market? What have you learned about fighting internal gravity?
**Steve Johnson’s eBook, The Strategic Role of Product Management, is now available. I truly enjoy Steve’s comments and perspectives – in addition to being absolutely hilarious, he is a bright and experienced professional with a deep knowledge of technology and product management. Many technology companies struggle to define roles and relationships between departments. This eBook can be a handy reference to begin discussing and resolving questions of ownership and purpose for Product Managers.
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