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Clean-up on Aisle 5!

Why Being a Clean-up Expert Isn't Always a Good Thing.

Image created using DALL-E, a generative AI model developed by OpenAI


It was an ordinary Tuesday afternoon when my boss called and said, “I need your help.”  Naturally, I responded, “You got it…what do you need?”  Little did I know that would be the beginning of the end.  That was the moment my eventual fate at this company was set in motion.

 

Allow me to explain. 

 

(Note: Names of individuals and the company are obscured for privacy.)

 

The Situation

I was working at a company that had just undergone a significant re-platforming effort, requiring most of our customer-facing services to be rebuilt.  One day, my VP called, asking me to look into a particular segment of customers who were very upset.  Eager to help, I reached out to Sales and Customer Service and quickly learned these customers were frustrated because the new service (on the new platform) did much less than their previous service and made it practically impossible for them to do business with us. 

 

As I dug deeper, I discovered that the migration team had decided to move these customers to the new platform way before it was ready, solely because they had promised a specific migration date.  They were focused on delivering on time, but what they delivered was nowhere near complete.  (But, delivering on time is a win, right?)

 

I returned to my VP with a high-level overview: the product needed urgent enhancements to reach parity with the previous service, and ideally exceed it since customers had been promised much more.  That’s when I learned my team would be responsible for this work moving forward because the team that originally built this (an external contractor) was no longer around.

 

Spoiler Alert: Things Get Bad

Early in my career, I would have loved this opportunity.  It was a chance to “save the day” and fix what another team messed up.  Who doesn’t love being the hero?  But with over 20 years of experience, I knew how this story would end.

 

We enjoyed a brief honeymoon period where customers and stakeholders were pleased to see my team taking ownership and making progress.  But that didn’t last long. 

 

Soon, patience ran thin.  Improvements were happening, but too slowly, and customers expected (and had been promised) a working product from day one.  Complaints grew, senior leadership felt the heat, and their frustration turned to my team.  The original team that had delivered an incomplete product was forgotten, and my team became the scapegoat.  From there, things only got worse. 

 

Wait…What?!

How did this happen?  It wasn’t fair.  My team was only trying to help.

 

Save your indignation – this is the cold, hard reality of how it often plays out.  The more important question is: What can I learn from this, and how can I prevent it from happening again?  The answer is simple:  1) Be clear with your demands and 2) Get a secret weapon who can help you see around corners.

 

Be Clear With Your Demands

For a chance of success and to avoid derailing your career, insist on time, focus, and acknowledgement.

 

1.     Time

Come up with a realistic estimate of how long it’ll take to fix things.  Add a 20% safety factor, and ensure everyone understands that this is the time frame needed to get the business out of this mess.  If anyone expects it to happen sooner, show your work and ask which assumptions they disagree with.  If they remain unconvinced, politely suggest your team may not be the right fit to fix this.

 

2.     Focus

To be successful, you, your team, and the associated Engineering and Design teams need to fully focus on this.  Your existing day-to-day work will need to pause.  Trying to fix this new service while keeping up with your existing work will result in poor performance on both.  Adjust your OKRs, roadmaps, and expectations accordingly.

 

3.     Acknowledgement

This poor customer experience happened on someone’s watch, but not yours.  Even if the team and manager responsible are gone, a senior leader allowed this to happen.  They need to own that mistake and recognize the effort you and your team are committing.  This may seem petty and everyone will assure you it’s not necessary, but this acknowledgement ensures that months later, you aren’t blamed for customer dissatisfaction. 

 

Get a Secret Weapon

After clarifying your demands, you need a secret weapon – someone on your side who can help you see around corners and help you navigate tricky waters.  This could be a mentor or trusted confidant within your company, but more commonly, it’s an external Product Coach.  A Product Coach is someone who has years of experience, has seen your situation before, and has your best interests at heart.  Meet weekly, learn from their advice, and strongly consider their guidance.

 

When this happened to me, I didn’t follow any of the above advice, and within six months of that initial phone call from my boss, my time with the company had ended. 

 

Takeaway.

What’s the takeaway here?  If you, dear product manager, find yourself in a similar situation, please heed my advice.  And if you need someone in your corner – a secret weapon to help you see around corners – I’m here as a Product Coach for you. 


Michael

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