In January this year, probably for the first time in my life I watched 3 movies in a theater in 4 days – Friday, Saturday and Monday! In all 3 movies as the end credits scrolled, one common thing that occurred to me was that so many people contribute to the success of a movie. While the number of contributors is definitely something to wonder about, what is interesting is the varied skill each contributor needs to bring in to make the movie successful.
If we envision the movie as a product, a product manager could be likened to the director of the movie. The success of the movie/product depends on how the director/product manager leverages the talent pool he has. This made me think that as a Product Manager, one of the most important aspect of success is to manage the talent.
As I look back at my experience of working with people, here are 3 things I feel that a good product manager must do with his talent pool.
What a person CAN do well over What he is EXPECTED to do
This is according to me is the greatest challenge. As this Sanskrit shloka (couplet) goes, there’s no herb that is not a medicine, there’s no letter that is not a mantra (prayer), likewise there is no person in this world who is useless, what is rare is those that can identify the ability of a person and leverage his ability to get things done.
Product Managers should develop the ability to identify strength of their team. Being able to understand, and identify core strengths of an individual and leveraging his strength is key to successful utilization of people power. A great product manager is one who keenly observes people and identifies clearly what a person can do best that make his product successful. This is opposite of trying to get people to do what we want.
Nurture & Help Grow
How many of us remember this kid Budhia Singh? He was the youngest marathon runner. In 2006, when he was just 4 years old, he ran 65 kilometers in 7 hours and 2 minutes. What a talent? But where is he now? He should be around 14 years of age now. What an incredible journey it would have been if this talent was nurtured and developed in the right way? Let’s hope that far away from the limelight this prodigy is being nurtured into a marathon runner.
Most successful names, be it a cricketer/sportsman, or a start up founder, or an actor or any other person for that matter will have a of a mentor or a coach nurturing the talent. When talent does not get nurtured and developed, it will just go waste. As Calvin Coolidge says, “…nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent…”. A great product manager invests time in people and their growth.
Effective Utilization
Talent is of no use or even counter productive when not used effectively. When you let a talented person on be on bench or do something that he is not skilled in, it can be highly counter productive, not just for him but everyone in the ecosystem. Look at what happens when skilled and talented people are brainwashed to do destructive things, their talent is wasted on creating havoc. If the same skill and talent is channelized into something more constructive and productive, the world would be a much happier place.
That is why I believe, it is important, not just to identify and nurture Talent, but also put them to effective use. That is when you will start reaping the benefits of talented people.
Image Courtesy: