Reframing Roles and Strengths
In this essay, I will write about the act of reframing your position in the market.
This isn't just about reframing, though. I do talk about how this can be done Designing Your Real Quadrant as an exercise for greater clarity and distinction.
However, what's missing is the additional upskilling to make this work.
In hindsight, I realize that this is very important, and must be done proactively, strategically and authentically.
Copying behaviors won't work. There's some inner exploration combined with external stress testing that needs to be done to make it all come together.
For example, the most important and often missing component of product teams and product leadership is regular and ongoing access to customers.
In the last start up I was at, I raised this, and started to drive towards an initiative. But it was hard work, and that became a strong sign we didn't have a real product management organization.
But all small projects need BD, and depending on whether they truly are scaling or exploring, that BD function can be merged into a strong PM perspective.
This was a strength I had since I had run a territory as an AE before, and so was familiar with all the structure and processes needed to build an outbound function.
This outbound function, however, needed to connect to Product, to figure out the strategy and define the ICPs and, of course, the feature roadmap.
Some may say that this is not a good combination because the time horizons are different, and I would agree. But for a start-up, both are needed; a strong outbound GTM process of content, prospect list generation, outbound -- and then folding it into a roadmap around Product.
This is unconventional, but for the right company (obviously very early stage, mostly engineering and research) it works.