One surprise was the high expectation of the strategic output from Product Management, but what I observe in most companies are the product managers are committed 110% to daily tactical activities in supporting other groups or trying to put out fires, which they are also expected to be doing. It’s no wonder product managers struggle with credibility.

The expectation with regards to rewards being tied to business results was less of a surprise to me, however I don’t see it used as much as might be indicated by this survey. It’s not so straightforward both from measurement and timeframe perspectives to be able to influence business results within a given period, especially quarterly but often even yearly.

What I hope this exposes is that senior execs EXPECT product managers to be looking out for the same business results that the execs themselves are tied to. Whether this is fair or not, and whether the PMs can execute on this is another matter. The product management team needs to be aware of this and creating an environment and objectives that can deliver on them them some measurable way. Otherwise their credibility, and value, will always be challenged.

The first part of this series on measuring product management described product management’s value to the company. Interestingly, not one of the listed values mentioned revenue, profit, or market share.

This second part of the series focuses on ways that executives measure product management’s value to the company. It mentions metrics such as revenue, profit, and market share.

What’s remarkable is the disconnect between product management’s value to the company and the ways of measuring that value.

Specifically, a product manager could deliver everything listed as valuable, yet the product might still not achieve revenue, profit, or market share goals. Those goals depend not just on the product manager carrying out the responsibilities listed in the first part of the series, but also on other departments (sales, development, marcom) performing their duties competently. I should also note that these people in other departments almost never are part of the product manager’s team, at least not in any formal sense.

I join Jim in commending this post. I believe it accurately reflects – and exposes – the disconnect between product management’s value and the way many people believe product management should be evaluated.