Running towards the fire…
Firefighter — one of the hats most product people wear regularly. In a fast-paced world of product development with multiple stakeholders to satisfy, you inevitably find yourself in crunch situations where you’re reacting and trying to keep the flames from spreading. While entirely necessary, this is not a long-term strategy for getting work done. Sadly, I see too many PMs running from one fire to the next without taking a breath.
The reality is that real-life firefighters only spend a fraction of their time fighting actual blazes. Depending on the type of fire person, they may spend up to three-quarters of their time in prevention and maintenance.
For Product Managers, the ability to not only fight but predict and prevent is one of the areas where mediocre PMs become good and good elevates to great. The ability to get through the crisis, then pull back, evaluate, and mitigate is the only way to get off the flaming hamster wheel.
If we consider levels of firefighting maturity for product professionals, we have the following:
Level 1: The probie. Someone ready, willing, and able to run towards the blaze (problem) and extinguish it (or at least dampen it to a smolder) but are still building the skill around predicting and preventing. That’s okay; what they lack in knowledge, they make up for in passion and heart.
In true probie style, these PMs are often our newer personnel whose heads are deep in execution. They often feel like they can’t come up for air or have time to consider prevention because they’re running from one crisis to the next; this is where level 2 PMs can help.
Level 2: Squad leader. These professionals have been through enough fires (problems) to understand how they start and the best ways to fight them. They’re level-headed enough to look out amidst the chaos and hunt for patterns and risks to mitigate. They have a strategic line of sight to head the problem off at the pass.
Moreover, they’re adept at teaching and directing resources to the areas that need the most help (or focus the teams on highly impactful actions) but can also be hands-on fighting alongside them.
Level 3: Fire Chief. This seasoned and grizzled individual has seen it all and coached teams on how to fight and proactively spot possible risks and apply the proper mitigation strategies. They direct, supervise, plan, and protect — often while in the fight as well.
They’re looking to predict where problems will pop up and build plans to prevent major catastrophes. For example, they have a solid and well-communicated vision and strategy for their product. Moreover, they can articulate their outcomes and how they tie to corporate goals. They also keep the bureaucratic noise away from their teams so they can focus on doing the best work and provide clear direction and cover.
They are adept at cross-agency (cross-department) communication and coordination and are generally at the center of the situation room when a problem arises. Fire Chief PMs can fight alongside their teams but are best positioned to prepare, plan, and delegate.
They always say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Learning how to pull back after a fire drill and create the space to be more proactive and thoughtful pays dividends. The chief can do this in their sleep, but only because they’ve spent years learning. You don’t get to be the chief overnight.
So, whether you’re a probie starting to rise or a tenured chief, there are strategies you can employ to get off the flaming hamster wheel.
- Set aside time to retrospect on the situation as a team or individually after the fire is out. Be critical but not blame passing. What behaviors, actions, and mindsets contributed to the challenges? Then build an action plan on how to recognize and mitigate them for next time. Solicit feedback from your team on the flags and the actions.
- Communicate Proactively. Keep stakeholders informed about progress and potential roadblocks before they become critical.
- Build a culture of collaboration where team members support each other, making it easier to handle challenges as they arise.
- Establish regular check-ins with your team to catch any issues early. Encourage a culture of open communication where problems appear before they escalate.
By embracing these strategies, product managers can elevate their skills and contribute to the long-term success of their teams and products. And for those of us who are inclined to rush towards disaster, it’s always worth remembering to consider the bigger picture and strive for prevention over reaction.
As a funny aside, there’s a running joke in my family that I’m the one who always rushes toward disaster instead of away from it. There was a time when I put out a neighbor’s fence fire before the fire department arrived. The disappointment on their faces was priceless — I think I ruined their excitement for the night.
