It’s Not Tough to Prioritize — You’re Simply Not Ruthless Sufficient | by Avi Siegel | The Startup | Dec, 2024

Let me guess. Your 1 yr roadmap is 5 years lengthy. Your backlog is a graveyard of “possibly”s that everybody is aware of won’t ever occur. And you retain nodding alongside as if every part goes to go swimmingly.

(Everyone knows it received’t.)

I perceive why this retains occurring to you — I’ve been there, too.

• Gross sales is banging down your door about that enterprise characteristic they swear will land 5 new purchasers (don’t fear about the truth that ink by no means met paper final time, this time is totally different)
• Buyer Help has escalated seventeen tickets a couple of bug that impacts exactly 0.03% of your customers (however one in all them is veeeery vocal and retains tweeting angrily on the CEO)
• Engineers are not-so-quietly staging a insurrection over tech debt that they swear will sink your complete product if not addressed instantly (though the system hasn’t imploded but, so who’s to say that is the time it can?)
• Your CPO simply returned from a convention with a Notion doc filled with “game-changing” concepts that merely should be achieved instantly (AKA earlier than the subsequent board assembly)

However you’ve been right here earlier than, too. So that you reply with the grace of a seasoned politician.

• “Sure, that enterprise characteristic sounds impactful. Let me see how we will match it in.” (Translation: It’s by no means occurring.)
• “We take all buyer suggestions critically. I’ll add that bug to our analysis queue.” (Translation: Added to the black-hole-that-is-the-backlog.)
• “Technical debt is certainly on our radar. We’ll carve out a while quickly.” (Translation: Perhaps subsequent quarter… or the one after that… positively earlier than $#@! hits the fan… though possibly after…)
• “These are nice concepts! I’ll work them into our roadmap planning.” (Translation: I hope you neglect about them by our subsequent sync.)

Cease. Simply… cease.

It’s straightforward responsible the scenario. Don’t hate the participant hate the sport and all that.

The exhausting reality? You’re not failing at prioritization as a result of it’s troublesome. You’re failing since you’re not being ruthless sufficient. Each time you say “possibly” as an alternative of “no”, each time you add one other merchandise to the backlog as an alternative of clearly rejecting it, each time you attempt to please everybody as an alternative of doing what’s proper for the product — you’re not being strategic or diplomatic. You’re avoiding your duty. And your product is paying the value.

Let’s repair that.

As we already coated, the issue isn’t that prioritization is inherently troublesome. The frameworks are easy sufficient. The person wants are clear. The info is there. It’s not strenuous to maneuver some gadgets round within the roadmap view of your activity administration system of alternative.

The issue is you. Extra particularly, your psychological obstacles to ruthless prioritization:

• You’re afraid of the mere act of claiming “no” (belief me, it’s not as unhealthy as you suppose)
• From the opposite aspect, you’re afraid of what may occur when you don’t say “sure” (every part isn’t going to crumble)
• And also you suppose you possibly can moderately say “sure” (spoiler: you possibly can’t)

Let’s break down precisely how these fears are sabotaging your means to do your job.

Worry of battle

This isn’t nearly avoiding uncomfortable conversations — it’s a couple of deep-seated aversion to the very position you’re alleged to play. Product managers are supposed to be the decision-makers, the individuals who make the powerful calls that form the product’s future.

However as an alternative, you’re hiding behind processes and frameworks to keep away from taking actual stances.

This isn’t wholesome collaboration — it’s battle avoidance masquerading as teamwork.

• You don’t need to be the “unhealthy man” (despite the fact that that’s, maybe sadly, what you signed up for)
• You worry damaging relationships (since you suppose that they solely discuss to you since you inform them what they need to hear, not to your smarts)
• You are worried in regards to the implications in your profession (as if by no means saying “no” can have no damaging ramifications)
• You’ve confused collaboration with consensus (no, limitless debate shouldn’t be the identical as progress towards the imaginative and prescient)

Avoiding this battle may (may) result in some short-term concord — however you’re selecting that over long-term success. Typically (and even usually, in your place) it takes actual discuss to determine the very best path ahead.

FOMO

Each time one thing occurs (I’m permitting “one thing” to be purposefully imprecise there), your prioritization framework goes out the window in favor of chasing the subsequent shiny (and even uninteresting) object.

This isn’t technique — it’s panic.

• Each competitor announcement turns into a fireplace drill, no matter its precise affect on your corporation
• Each bug report seems like churn ready to occur, regardless of how small or unimpactful
• Each characteristic request from a prospect seems like a possible misplaced deal, fairly than helpful information for enter into (ruthless) prioritization

FOMO-driven prioritization isn’t simply reactive — it’s damaging to your product’s id. Once you chase each alternative, you successfully chase none of them properly sufficient to matter.

Actuality distortion

No, we’re not speaking about Steve Jobs’ actuality distortion subject, we’re speaking about your distortion of actuality.

You’ve created this elaborate fantasy world the place every part is feasible and trade-offs don’t exist.

This isn’t optimism — it’s delusion.

• “We’ll get to it will definitely” (ha, I’m certain)
• “Perhaps we will do each” (uh, no)
• “It received’t take that lengthy” (and if it does, we will clear up it with extra folks that we completely positively have ready within the wings, and it’s not like there’s a legendary man-month or something we have now to fret about)

This delusion goes far past merely making planning troublesome — it’s additionally destroying your credibility as a product chief. Each time you take pleasure in these comfy lies, you’re making it tougher to make the powerful selections your product wants.

I do know I’m not the primary individual to carry up this subject — all people talks about being ruthless with prioritization. You hear about it on podcasts, learn weblog posts (like this one! how meta), nod alongside in conferences, possibly even print out a memey motivational poster displaying a cat who’s being tremendous ruthless (no matter which means for a cat).

However when push involves shove, you (we) nonetheless find yourself with a roadmap that’s extra akin to a toddler’s vacation time want checklist than a strategic plan for a product.

There’s a greater method.

1. Set up clear worth metrics

This isn’t nearly creating fairly dashboards. It’s about actually having an goal framework that permits “no” to turn into your default reply. It’s a protect towards the limitless parade of “pressing” requests that aren’t truly pressing in any respect.

• Outline one North Star metric that really issues
• Construct out OKRs for every workforce that logically feed up into that North Star, primarily based on every workforce’s space of possession
• Select a prioritization framework that helps you (and everybody else) visualize, whether or not quantitatively or qualitatively, the thresholds for what is really value constructing

If a given characteristic won’t transfer a needle (sufficient) on any of the metrics you’ve collectively agreed are those that matter, then that characteristic doesn’t have to be prioritized. (In the event you disagree, then the metrics themselves are fallacious, so begin this course of over.)

And by the best way, the metrics have to be actual value-driven metrics. Not “person satisfaction” (so imprecise), however “discount in help tickets for characteristic X by 50%”. Not “improved engagement” (what does that even imply?), however “enhance of 25% in every day lively customers who full core workflow Y”.

When everybody understands how product selections are made, the dialog shifts from limitless debate to affordable understanding (albeit doubtless not pure glee on the consequence). And that, in flip, results in progress.

2. Audit your current “commitments”

It’s time for some sincere accounting of all these guarantees you’ve been making.

• Listing every part you’ve stated sure to (presumably, the large stuff is represented by your completely unrealistic roadmap, and the small stuff is an infinitely-long backlog — when you’ve been much less organized, put together for this to take some time)
• Consider every merchandise towards the factors you determined to make use of in step 1
• Establish what is definitely vital sufficient to maintain on the checklist, and what must be lower (trace: put together the axe, it’s gonna get ugly)

This audit establishes a brand new baseline — each for you, and anybody within the firm who’s listening to what you’re doing. You possibly can’t be ruthless going ahead when you’re dragging each previous dedication alongside for the journey.

3. Formalize a “not doing” checklist

That is truly my private favourite, and it might probably simply be extra vital than your roadmap. It’s proof of your dedication to focus, written down the place everybody can see it.

• Doc precisely what you’re not constructing — exhibiting this checklist after the large checklist of stuff you are planning to construct will make it mechanically very clear why sure selections had been made
• Share it broadly and reference it usually — it’s not a secret, it’s part of the technique
• Replace it frequently as your technique evolves — don’t be afraid to maneuver gadgets from the “we’re positively doing this” roadmap to the “we’re positively not doing this” checklist — the vital level for everybody to know right here is that the roadmap was by no means assured within the first place (and also you’re making that clear, proper?)

Each merchandise on this “not doing” checklist buys you time to do one thing else exceptionally properly. Specializing in a small variety of issues at a time will make the workforce extra environment friendly and productive (which btw makes it that rather more doubtless you truly get to that enormous want checklist of yours).

4. Study to say “no” — and say it

This whole course of will allow you to say “no” going ahead. However you continue to have to really say it out loud… to individuals.

• Be direct and unambiguous — “No, this doesn’t match into the roadmap proper now” vs. “Let me add that to our backlog and discuss to the workforce, I’ll get again to you”
• Clarify your reasoning by pointing to technique selections and information — “We’re on activity to enhance onboarding charge by 50%… fixing that hard-to-track-down edge-casey bug for that one shopper shouldn’t be going to be impactful towards that aim, please simply strive turning it on and off once more”
• Supply alternate options when attainable (however don’t promise different/smaller stuff you additionally can’t ship simply to melt the blow) — e.g., as an alternative of promising a full API integration, provide a CSV export; as an alternative of constructing a customized dashboard, share the right way to create the identical view of their current BI software; and so forth.

The aim isn’t to be troublesome, it’s to be sincere. Higher to disappoint somebody with the reality at this time than string them together with maybes eternally.

(or subsequent week, I received’t choose)

To summarize:

1. Determine the way you’re going to logically determine what to do and what to not do — i.e., decide a prioritization framework that allows you to level and say “see, that is why we’re doing A however not B”
2. Have a look at your current checklist of guarantees and cull the herd — you’ll have a tiny to-do pile and a ginormous not-to-do pile
3. Formalize the not-to-do checklist — don’t simply delete these things; announce to the world that they’re not occurring
4. Default to saying “no” to future work — let your “sure”es truly imply one thing

Keep in mind: You’re not paid to be favored. Your job is to construct a profitable product. And that requires you to say “no” to good concepts so you possibly can say “sure” to nice ones.

So cease nodding. (You’re going to harm your neck.)

And cease including issues to your “possibly sometime” checklist. (“Sometime” is rarely going to come back.)

And cease making an attempt to make everybody completely happy. (It’s simply making everybody indignant.)

On the finish of the day, a transparent “no” is healthier than a mendacity “sure”.

Now go disappoint somebody — for the larger good of your product.