Thoughts about "Building Products for the Enterprise: Product Management in Enterprise Software" by Blair Reeves and Benjamin Gaines
After a long break, I return to book reviews in the form of an internal dialog. That time it is one of the most valuable books I have read about Product management: "Building Products for the Enterprise: Product Management in Enterprise Software" by Blair Reeves and Benjamin Gaines.
OK. I am glad you are finally talking about this book. It is an obvious question, but I must ask it. What this book is about?
The title is self-explanatory enough: the book is about being a Product Manager (PM) in a B2B Enterprise organization.
Sounds fair. What is so unique about working in the Enterprise compared to other PMs?
First, let's agree that Product management is a vast discipline. Every organization looks at it from a different angle. So, a PM's responsibilities and role definition might vary for similar products but from other businesses in the same market.
Enterprise PM differs from a startup PM in that the first needs to survive in a complex hierarchy, build relationships, and comply with an Enterprise's restrictions. Also, it depends on whether it is B2B, B2C, B2G, B2B2B, etc. That impacts a lot on how products are developed and sold.
I will paraphrase the book to not expand on this topic further. What makes PM in the Enterprise different:
- business model: usually direct sales or subscription
- specialization: very specialized products
- the split between customers and users
Understood. Is there any story about how you found that book?
At some point in my career as a Business analyst, I consumed all materials about Product Management I could only find. I considered buying that book while visiting the biggest bookstore in Dubai, UAE (I spent multiple hours and money there instead of relaxing on a beach).
But the book appeared too thin and expensive, so I bought another about product management. And I will write about that particular book very soon as it is worthwhile. A few years later, I bought it on Amazon.
Alright. What is the main idea of the book?
There are several ideas. The first I already mentioned is that the PM role in the Enterprise is different. They start with a statement that the PM is not the CEO of the product. And I 100% agree. You are executing the vision of the executives or senior management. You might sell them your vision or align your vision with theirs. But you are very limited in power, so you need to choose your tactics and tools wisely.
Then, the authors raise an important topic that stands out for B2B: the separation between user and customer.
And how does that separation work?
Quoting the book, in B2B, another organization hires your product to help it grow. So, who pays is your customer who will use your product according to their goals.
End users are far away and sometimes out of touch. Their interests might be different from the ones of the customers.
But PM can't just ignore users. They might know customers and their business, understand users' needs, and find a balance.
That is challenging. What else?
In further chapters, the authors describe 3 types of knowledge for a PM to seek and master:
- Organizational knowledge
- Product knowledge
- Industry knowledge
OK. Let's start with the Organizational type and then cover others individually.
Organizational knowledge is about how to work with internal teams, marketing, sales, and executives.
Ultimate PM's goal is to drive alignment across teams in complex organizations. You can't do everything alone inside your team and department. You must cooperate with other people from different divisions. That might be extremely difficult as some of them might give a shit about what you are doing and have their own, sometimes contradictory, agenda. It can be seen as fitting pieces of a puzzle that do not fit.
Also, the PM is involved in Politics, which is inevitable. So, you need time (a few years) to learn how to navigate that environment and build relationships and trust with the support you need.
Feedback loops and delivery in Enterprise are prolonged compared to startups. You need to know the process and the shortcuts to become efficient as a PM. If you don't have the right background and existing connections for a new job, working one year or less is not enough to make a prominent impact. You need more time to acquire all the tools and the remaining types of knowledge to deliver results.
Product knowledge is pretty straightforward, as PMs must know their product or products. It would help if you learned it in a way your customers and users do to build empathy with them.
The authors suggest that PM should also have a basic understanding of how the system behind your product works - basic architecture. That really helps to understand limitations.
You need to understand the product lifecycle, where your product is, and how the development process goes with all nuances. Also, the PM must clearly communicate product release information so the customer understands how new functionality could be valuable to them (see, not talking about users there).
Industry knowledge is the most crucial and the most difficult to get. It would help if you had a lot of time to understand your market. Not only one market but also related markets as well.
You need to know your typical customers, their use cases, and their problems. Plus, you need to know how to sell it.
It is essential to have a good knowledge of your competitors. But at the same time, avoid becoming obsessed with them and competition in general.
And it would be best if you kept running. Constantly. Keep tracking and learning to get some market insights and understand how other markets are impacting yours, as they are not in isolated silos.
Challenge your knowledge, as industry experts might be wrong. The authors give a great example. I also witnessed when, 10 years ago, only some people believed big Enterprises would move to the Cloud. But we now see that it has happened.
Got it. What are you overall feeling about the book?
I am very upset when I don't see that book in different tops of the Product management books. It is a hidden gem.
This is not a giant book, but it contains a lot of valuable concepts. It is not an ultimate guide: it will not teach you to build roadmaps and research a market. But that is not the purpose of the book.
The first time I read it was when I was a Business analyst who wanted to become a Product manager. As I have always worked on Enterprise projects, the book resonates with me. All other sources were mainly about B2C and startups in particular. And even then, I felt it does not match well with enterprises.
The second time I read that book, I had already been in a PM position for several years.
I refreshed my memories, found new insights, and changed my attitude to some given advice as I know I have some experience in that field as well.
So, I recommend that book to future and current PMs to better understand how to navigate the Enterprise world and B2B and its variations in particular.
Thank you and take care,
Ilya