Leaders don’t make excuses: Crossing the Rubicon of Product Leadership
This week some titillating stories were published about Apple’s internal culture. Among the news: Apple has hired a pair of ivy-league biz profs to codify its internal processes, leadership, and management culture. The case studies will be used to promulgate Apple’s culture as the company weans itself from its sometimes-tyranical but wildly successful master craftsman, Mr. Steve Jobs.
One of the stories describes the “Rubicon” that is crossed at Apple when someone is made into a Vice President. At that time, Jobs sits them down and explains that excuses no longer matter.
According to reports of these knighting ceremonies, Jobs uses a parable to describe the difference between a VP and the underlings:
Jobs imagines his garbage regularly not being emptied in his office, and when he asks the janitor why, he gets an excuse: The locks have been changed, and the janitor doesn’t have a key. This is an acceptable excuse coming from someone who empties trash bins for a living. The janitor gets to explain why something went wrong. Senior people do not. “When you’re the janitor,” Jobs has repeatedly told incoming VPs, “reasons matter.” He continues: “Somewhere between the janitor and the CEO, reasons stop mattering.” That “Rubicon,” he has said, “is crossed when you become a VP.
(Excerpt quoted from a MacStories report, accessed on May 11, 2011.)
The Rubicon
The Rubicon is, euphemistically, a point of no return, the point after which, reasons become irrelevant. Excuses cease to matter.
And so this week I have been pondering the question: For “Product Leaders” (meaning leaders in every department, and notably, product managers), do reasons matter? This question gets at the heart of the dilemma of many leaders without direct authority: We don’t control the resources, so how can we be responsible for what they produce? We don’t have hire/fire capability, we don’t really own a budget, so how can we be accountable?
Those excuses, or that reasoning, makes sense at a certain level. And yet, the successful leaders I’ve seen cease to care about reasons and drive for results. They hold themselves accountable, and it shows.
These are the leaders that get promoted.
These are the Product Managers who will become CEO. Or get promoted.
Just listen to yourself
Have you crossed the Rubicon of Product Leadership? Do you talk about reasons or results? Next time you are talking with a boss or other superior, listen to yourself very closely. Are you making excuses? If you are, and are expecting to be promoted, I would take a long, hard look at your attitudes and behavior.
As a great mentor of mine once told me: “You can’t be given the authority. You have to take it.”
- Alan
PS: If you liked this article, please share it on Twitter or LinkedIn: “Leaders don’t make excuses. The Rubicon of Product Leadership http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt #leadership #apple”
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- Please help Tom Grant with his research on Thought Leadership
Leaders don't make excuses: Crossing the Rubicon of Product Leadership http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt #leadership #apple" via @AWArmstrong
The “were published” link above points back to this article. I struggle with this article because the “reasons” and “excuses” terms seem to get blurred. Here are the reasons why this product failed. Sounds like a factual type statement. Here are the excuses why this product failed. Sounds a little deflective. I can see a link between reasons and accountability. Semantics I guess, but generally the idea here was strong and relevant.
I have to agree that there should be line drawn between an excuse and a reason. A legitimate reason for a failure should be able to be learned from. Anyone out there with no failures to learn from will certainly have no success either. To me the meaning behind the face value of Steve’s statement is not really one of “reasons” or “excuses” but it is one of accountability. Reasons or excuses will not detract from the fact that VP’s should be held accountable for their products success or failure end of story.
*/ begin stupid rant
I do have a bit of a gripe too. The fact of the matter is that 99.99999999999999% of Product Managers are not nearly as capable as Steve Jobs, not even in the same universe. If they were there would be more Apples and people wouldn’t idolize Steve Jobs.
If anyone from a company takes his statements at face value and try to right out mimic him, they are going to fail their products and damage their reputation. In isolation, this article would lead me to believe that companies should adopt this idea and because they are “doing the same thing as apple” they believe they will succeed. Please don’t let isolated sentences override your common sense.
If you aren’t smart enough, influential enough or a good enough leader for people to realize that and want you to lead them; then what business do you have leading?
*/ end rant
Great article though, I enjoyed how thought provoking it is.
In order to keep myself sane, I categorize unavailability of resources as part of business side of product, and align product results according to business (company) willingness to deliver. As a product leader, one identifies the resources needed for the desired product but if resources don’t meet the expectation (resources are not allocated or don’t complete the work in time) than changing the expected outcome of the product would be considered as an excuse or failure?
Just trying to look at my attitude…
Why your excuse doesn't matter RT @onpm: Steve Jobs on leadership, and implications for #prodmgmt http://t.co/5JLOyWU
RT @runarreistrup: Why your excuse doesn't matter RT @onpm: Steve Jobs on leadership, and implications for #prodmgmt http://t.co/5JLOyWU
“Leaders don’t make excuses. The Rubicon of Product Leadership http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt #leadership #apple”
RT @runarreistrup: Why your excuse doesn't matter RT @onpm: Steve Jobs on leadership, and implications for #prodmgmt http://t.co/5JLOyWU
RT @StewartRogers: “Leaders don’t make excuses. The Rubicon of Product Leadership http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt #leadership #apple”
RT @StewartRogers: “Leaders don’t make excuses. The Rubicon of Product Leadership http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt #leadership #apple”
I appreciate the comments. I agree there is a distinction between reasons and excuses, and Stewart described it well. I think the important point here is that, from the perspective of executive management, your reasons often sound like excuses. It’s one thing to be able to objectively and rationally diagnose a situation and a problem, and for that, you must state reasons for failure or underperformance. But those aren’t the kinds of reasons that we are talking about here. Executives want results from you, not reasons for lack of results.
Well said. Executives want solutions and results.
RT @onpm: Leaders don't make excuses: Crossing the Rubicon of Product Leadership http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt #leadership #apple" via …
Thx @StewartRogers for the RT and all follow-on RTs. Leadership lessons from Apple: No Excuses http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt #leadership
Product managers: Reasons just don't matter.via @AWArmstrong: Leadership lessons from Apple: No Excuses http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt
Great post on leadership in product management. But it applies to leadership period – are you about reasons or results? http://bit.ly/ivkvYf
At some point, the reason doesn't matter, only the outcome. http://bit.ly/ivkvYf #prodmgmt #leadership #apple
Leaders Do Not Make Excuses: Crossing the Rubicon of Product Leadership http://t.co/PvuUtMNx