Makin' Money, Savin' Time: Product Mindset Changes Everything

People often ask me, "How do you become a product manager?" I could easily point to my first role as a product leader and say that is when I learned how. I was trained on all the agile processes and ceremonies: backlogs, sprints, refinement, stories, pointing, retros, demos... all the things. But great product management is much more than that. One of the most important things a good product leader must have is a strong product mindset and the authority and guts to use it. Without a product mindset, it is impossible to execute on what matters most.

So what is a product mindset? And how does it differ from what actually happens?

Product mindset means outcomes over outputs. But teams are rewarded for completing stories while organizations see little to no return on their investments year after year. Product mindset is developing a deep understanding of your customers’ wants and needs. Yet in most organizations, the focus is centered almost entirely on what stakeholders want. Product mindset is identifying the real problem that needs to be solved and finding the simplest, highest value solution. But technology leaders, vendors, and consultants often push flashy solutions that leave teams searching for a problem to justify them. Product mindset is learning early so you can adjust and win faster. But most organizations decide the solution upfront and then spend months executing it before they ever validate that it works or that anyone will use it. Product mindset is fighting for the right solution, even when it is hard. But many product managers follow orders to keep stakeholders happy instead of pushing for what will move the business.

When I started my first product role in 2014, the team was already deep into building an electronic application with a SaaS vendor. A major stakeholder was convinced they needed a very expensive enhancement before launch. The current product owner had already started working with the vendor and internal teams to prioritize it.

As I was learning about the application process, I felt the enhancement was unnecessary. It was built around problems our customers did not have. I started asking questions about the need for this enhancement and pointing out why it was not necessary, even though I was brand new and this stakeholder had much more tenure and influence.

The stakeholder resisted. They were certain the enhancement was required. Instead of backing down, I dug deeper. I created a visual process model to show how the system would work with and without the enhancement. I outlined the cost. I showed the delay. I walked them through the real impact in a way they could finally see.

Still resistance.

But I kept going.

I asked for permission to talk to their trusted agency partners. I wanted to hear from the people who would actually use the tool. Every single one of them said the same thing. They did not need the enhancement. Not one person supported it.

That changed everything. I brought that feedback back to the executive team, and they approved launching without the enhancement. And that decision delivered massive value.

We launched at least six months sooner and saved $250,000. We captured thousands of applications we would have otherwise lost in that six+ month wait. NIGO issues dropped significantly because applications were typed and readable and required fields could not be skipped. Application completion dropped from weeks to days. And agents got hours of their lives back every single night. And this is just my beginning... Without a true product mindset, organizations lose time and money that they never recover and not everyone is wired for it.

Hire for it.

Develop it.

Demand it.