4 Negative Loops you should avoid as a PM
+ What PMs can learn from Jose Mourinho's (ex-coach of Man Utd) advice
In this edition of Behind Product Lines, we’ll explore the following topics:
4 Negative Loops PMs need to avoid
A "negative build loop" is a counter-productive process that PMs fall prey to due to habit, culture or mandate.
Here are 4 examples of such loops:
1/ GTM-Gap Loop
This occurs when a product team builds a feature but the go-to-market teams responsible to put it in customer's hands butcher their execution.
This could be due to improper targeting, poor messaging or unsuitable channel selection. However, while looking at the dismal metrics, PMs erroneously conflate this with lack of product value. Thus, they proceed to pack more "value" by building yet another feature.
How can a PM break the loop?
PMs need to collaborate with PMMs to agree on the narrative & strategy. This is also why PMs need to be somewhat GTM-literate.
2/ Copy Loop
This happens in red-ocean markets where every player works with short release cycles to create an illusion of “progress”.
A competitor rolls out & hypes a new feature.
Insecure product teams feel compelled to "respond".
They reverse-engineer & build their own version.
To avoid looking like complete copycats, they add a little spin to it to claim “differentiation” points.
In the meantime, the competitor rolls out the next build. The donkey keeps following the carrot.
How can a PM break the loop?
Prioritize your customer needs (which may be different from the competitor's audience). Use competitive analysis to inform positioning, not to dictate roadmap.
3/ Hippo Loop
This is found in organizations where there is a strong top-down culture. The Highest Paid Person’s opinion is the loudest voice.
This leader gets inspired by a customer anecdote, a book or a conversation & decrees what needs to be built next. Product teams honor this command & clear their backlogs to make way for this “gamechanger”.
They then ideate solutions with little need to validate. The final touches are informed by the Hippo. The feature makes a slight blip on the needle which is attributed to poor execution, rather than strategy.
How can a PM break the loop?
First, this warrants a culture shift. It’s unfair to expect PMs to push back leadership on their requests if the organization’s culture doesn’t provide psychological safety. Once that’s established, product teams need a strategy. Also, they need to seek evidence for such ideas, perform validation tests with customers & prioritize on merit.
4/ Greedy Loop
This occurs where the PM makes decisions based on numbers but doesn’t explore "the why". The PM just “greedily” picks out the feature with the poorest stats & attempts to fix it.
Ex: assume in a recruitment product, the number of job posts posted by recruiters is down. PM proceeds to make the job posting process easier whereas the real reason = most companies are simply not hiring due to recessionary conditions.
How can a PM break the loop?
Invest in continuous discovery habits. Combine data with customer insights & feedback. Treat data as part of the evidence, not the sole driving force.
What PMs can learn from José Mourinho
Jose Mourinho is a decorated football coach who took teams like Chelsea and Inter Milan to glory and also coached Manchester United for a while.
Here's what José Mourinho said about famous football players:
"You’re not going to teach Ronaldo how to take a free-kick, you’re not going to teach Ibrahimovic how to keep the ball on his chest or Drogba how to attack the first post and hit in the air. You’re going to teach them how to play football as a team.”
While "coaching" is a different discipline, the principle at play is useful for PMs.
As a Product Manager, you have a team of specialists at your disposal but you're not trying to teach them how to do their job. i.e.
❌ You're not there to teach the designer how to create a user experience.
❌ You're not there to dictate technical decisions for the engineers.
❌ You're not there to direct the QA how to test a product.
That's not to say you shouldn't give feedback & collaborate. That's crucial. Ultimately, your job as a PM is to harness the talent on the team to solve a customer problem in a manner that works for the business.
Thus,
👉 If your specs are coming off as overly prescriptive, your individual imagination becomes the ceiling of what the team can ever produce.
👉 You're still doing your job as a PM if you're extracting a creative solution from any other team member. A PM isn't supposed to be the only source of inspiration.
👉 Your developers, designers and QAs might speak their own "language".
As a PM, you are the universal translator that ensures information flows freely to enable the team to act in the same direction.