Product Manager’s Job: Manage Speed

In today’s global, 24/7 world, time-to-market is a key strategic factor.   40% of the major American corporations that existed in 1975 do not exist today (source:  Winning at New Products, Robert G. Cooper).  Windows of opportunity are smaller, and more crowded, than ever before with more companies trying to get to market with new and innovative products.  SPEED IS THE PIVOTAL COMPETITIVE WEAPON.  Yes, I’m “shouting” this.  It’s all about speed.  Sort of.

This shouldn’t be translated into speed at all costs.  Speed at all costs is deadly.  

Adequately managing the product and project process is something exceptional product managers need to drive.  Cutting corners and skipping vital steps, like vetting requirements with real customers, usability studies, business case validation are high-risk decisions.  The goal and the challenge for today’s product management and product development teams is to accelerate the process and bring products to market that win, not just bring something to market.

Why is speed so important?

1.  Speed in itself generates competitive advantage, so long as the product meets customer needs. Ill conceived products give no competitive advantage.    Speed enables companies and products to:  react to changing market conditions, quickly meet customer needs to give them a competitive advantage, and establish a beachhead for your product ahead of the competitors.

2. Speed means profits.   Products have fixed lifetimes; fixed windows of opportunity.  The earlier your product is in the market, the more time you have to reap revenue and profits.    Once you are in the market, your marketing budget gets spent acquiring market share.  If you’re there first, you can more easily get it for less cost.  Then your job is to hang on to your customers and your competitors have to spend to steal them from you (unless you stop managing your product).

3.  Speed better ensures you hit the target.  Market conditions change quickly.  New technologies, new products, new competitors change more during a long development cycle.  Shortening time to market reduces the risk that your product will not meet customer needs.    And having a process that optimizes for speed means when the market does change, you have the tools to react.

New product development is expensive, risky and exciting.  Product Managers need to push their companies to retool to optimize for ‘Smart Speed’:  repeatable rapid execution process using product management and product development best practices.