“Impact-first Product Teams” (Book Review)
There are two things that frustrate me when I see some product managers and teams at work. First, PMs and teams not making a tangible impact. Instead, these teams just focus on releasing features “that the business has asked for”. Second, PMs talking about “the business” as if it was a separate entity that they’re not part of.
In his latest book, “Impact-first Product Teams”, product consultant Matt LeMay addresses both of my frustrations head on. LeMay describes the “Low-impact Death Spiral” where low-impact work creates more complicated products which, in turn, leads to more dependencies and conflicts to manage. These dependencies and conflicts then discourage teams from taking on work that touches on the product’s commercial core.
Low-impact teams tend to work on a particular product area of features without any business-level goals. They optimise for a small goal that’s fully within in their control. Contrast that with high-impact teams that commit to big company goals that are largely outside of their control.
Business impact is always top of mind for high-impact teams and they readily engage in the cross-functional coordination necessary to deliver results aligned with company goals. deliver impact against company goals. Their impact is driven by one central question about the measurable contributions the team will make to be considered a successful part of the business at a specific point in the future.
In Impact-first Product Teams, LeMay shares three ways in which teams can become impact-first:
- Staying one step from company goals — For team outcomes to be truly impactful, team goals should be no more than one understandable step away from the business’ most critical measures of success. For example, I often set specific revenue goals — new and retained — for my teams, in line with the company goal of achieving a specific revenue target for the year. Teams need specific, time-bound goals to demonstrate their high impact and justify company investment in their work.
- Impact first at every step — LeMay explains that impact-first teams focus on impact at every step of the product development process. Particularly the steps in what he refers to as “the middle” — strategy, discovery, problem definition and scoping — is where teams need to keep business impact front and center.
- Estimating impact — To help teams estimate their expected impact contribution, LeMay shares a number of simple yet powerful questions to help teams get started. How many people is this work going to reach? What’s the action we’re hoping these people will take? What’s the value of that action? What do we believe is the likelihood that they will complete that action?
A shared understanding of the company’s business model is critical prerequisite for being impact-first. It means teams having a strong handle on what the company needs to achieve, why and by when.
Main learning point: By staying one step away from critical business goals and maintaining impact focus throughout the product development cycle, teams can break free from the “Low-impact Death Spiral” and become essential contributors to company success.
Related links for further learning:
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mattlemay_why-are-so-many-large-tech-companies-laying-activity-7159123350781390849-IihH/
- https://cwodtke.medium.com/transforming-tasks-into-outcomes-the-five-whys-technique-782ff09a15d5
- https://crstanier.medium.com/measuring-impact-picking-the-right-metrics-in-product-2c3ac26fad29
