“The Customer-First Organization”...“The Customer-First Organization”: The Rise of the Chief Product Officer Skills and Trade-offs of Product Leaders rr-0128-003011 - Skill

“The Customer-First Organization”: The Rise of the Chief Product Officer

Skills and Trade-offs of Product Leaders

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Adapting to constant innovation and transformation has become the only way to compete in a rapidly disrupting market landscape

Every company must think and act like a technology company to remain relevant in the current competitive landscape. We are in the age of the empowered customer. In both B2C and B2B alike, the customer is more empowered than ever before, with more data (both performance and social) to support their decision making, and lower barriers to switching loyalties. For leaders, this has created an imperative to structure and build organizations which can listen to customers and respond at speed. The cost of inaction is irrelevance.

Technology has become central to remaining competitive, both to enable the iterative cycles required to constantly optimize products, but also as a stimulus for demand. In both our client interactions and in conversations with top product leaders, we’ve seen a rising need for chief product officers (CPOs) who are tech savvy, commercial and customer-focused.

The most advanced companies are developing platform offerings, becoming convenors of eco-systems and gaining invaluable insights in doing so. The product function has been at the eye of this storm, accelerating new approaches to the market and lubricating customer-focused conversations across diverse functions, from marketing and technology to the lines of business. As a result, product has been given an increasingly loud voice with a seat at the top table, and the remit to actively drive change and revenue growth. In building product functions, companies are creating a stabilising connective tissue between technology and the customer, allowing them to create new digital propositions, ways of working and to develop partnerships with technology organizations to broaden their reach.

THE MOST ADVANCED COMPANIES ARE DEVELOPING PLATFORM OFFERINGS, BECOMING CONVENORS OF ECO-SYSTEMS AND GAINING INVALUABLE INSIGHTS IN DOING SO.


The ideal product leader needs a broad skill set -- but be prepared to make some trade-offs

Today’s product leaders span a wider variety of competencies than their historical counterpartsFor product leaders, previous titles or functions are less important than their ability to span the breadth of experience necessary for success. Expansive-thinking product leaders come from a range of backgrounds including technology, business and marketing, to mention a few. While many senior technologists have been too far removed from the customer, and chief marketers may lack the technology depth and skills required, the ideal product officer spans enough of these areas to draw the functions together cohesively.

Whether transforming legacy organizations or scaling digital natives, the best product leaders look the same. First, being the advocate for the customer is at the core of their remit, so direct customer experience and commercial acumen are must-haves. Secondly, technology understanding; although the levels may vary according to the type of product leader required, technology expertise is needed to command the respect of the technology function and build a successful partnership. Thirdly, defining a well-considered roadmap requires exceptional stakeholder management skills and a strategic mindset, along with the ability to balance a multitude of requests against the related trade-offs.

CUSTOMER-CENTRIC

TECHNICAL LITERACY

Customer obsessive

Building a USP/differentiator

Data-driven

Service delivery

Complex environments

Agile/dev-ops experience

Innovation

Engineering capability

STRATEGIC

COMMERCIAL ACUMEN

Connectivity between functions

M&A and Parterships

Product strategy and management

Prioritization

Alignment to stakeholders

Pricing and investment

Relationships

Translating technology

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These requirements hold true across both B2C and B2B product functions. They may be more clear-cut in the B2C environment, where products tend to get updated more regularly and across a wide range of channels, and historically have had more of an aesthetic focus than B2B counterparts. Increasingly, however, B2B organizations are incorporating a B2C mentality, with the understanding that customers appreciate intelligent interactions with products at work as much as they do at home. Strong design approaches, a push for good user experience, and ultimately a desire to automate low-value tasks are driving B2B companies such as Slack, SAP, Salesforce and Microsoft. Both B2C and B2B share the goal of allowing their customers more time for productive interaction, rather than repetitive tasks.

Great span across all of these is rare, and trade-offs will have to be madeIn reality, it is extremely rare to find executives who are strong in each quadrant. Short of a product leader who has a computer science degree, studied design, earned a Harvard MBA, has worked both in start-ups and legacy companies, is commercially-oriented, and has a very high EQ, trade-offs will be necessary.

The most common trade-off scenarios that we encounter are:

To make smart trade-offs, it is essential to have a clear vision of what success looks like in the role, and where direct reports may be able to compensate for leadership gaps. For example, corporates in transformation may want to know how they can maintain current success while also producing game-changing innovation, for which commercial acumen is key. Meanwhile digital natives may have a greater need for technical expertise and marketing experience in order to scale successfully and solidify brand perception. Either way, a high-performing product structure hinges on every function and process working as cohesively as a well-oiled machine – and it is the product leader who has to bring it all together.

Looking ahead, as the need for new CPO profiles grow, product leaders have the opportunity to create purpose-driven structures and programs that train junior talent into tomorrow’s leaders. In this sense, the ideal CPO will be one who is strong both in attracting and developing talent.

Experience scaling a native digital firm

Commercial Acumen

Innovative and Visionary

Experience transforming a legacy firm

Technical expertise

Execution-oriented

VS.

VS.

VS.

One of the things I love about product management is that people enter it because they have a real passion for connecting people and technology or people and digital experiences.

Brian Harris

For your talent to progress, connecting with internal and external communities of practice is crucial. Managers in a product function should be responsible for coaching junior team members, especially on the so� skills. They need to create opportunities for hands-on learning of managing stakeholders and communicating ideas.

Martin Eriksson


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� Is the product new to the market? � Is there product buy-in from the top team? � Is product development core to the business strategy? � Is product more aligned to marketing, or technology, or a business unit?

� How sophisticated is the product function? � What are the processes/structure in place – e.g. waterfall, agile, full-stack tribes and squads?� Is the product team aligned to the business strategy? � Is the product function continuously iterating and innovating? � Is there a talent pipeline for the product function? Is the Product leader engaged in

succession planning?

CURRENT SITUATION

PRODUCT CAPABILITY

FUTURE PRIORITIES

Framework for discussion Product leader profiles come in different varieties depending on your strategy, and the maturity of your product function. The following set of diagnostic questions can help inform and frame your thinking around the most appropriate talent for your needs.

� Transform, grow, or innovate? � Are you looking to a�ract product talent with a new leader? � Are you looking to a�ract investment? � Are you looking to extend or consolidate your existing product portfolio?� Are you looking to reposition your existing products?� Growth through M&A and inorganic growth, or by farming the existing products? � Which of geographic expansion, diversification, consolidation, and targeting new

demographics best describes you aim?


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GLOBAL OFFICES

Americas

ɳ Atlanta ɳ Boston ɳ Buenos Aires ɳ Calgary ɳ Chicago ɳ Dallas ɳ Houston ɳ Los Angeles ɳ Mexico City ɳ Miami

ɳ Minneapolis/St. Paul

ɳ Montréal ɳ New York ɳ Palo Alto ɳ San Francisco ɳ São Paulo ɳ Stamford ɳ Toronto ɳ Washington, D.C.

EMEA

ɳ Amsterdam ɳ Barcelona ɳ Brussels ɳ Copenhagen ɳ Dubai ɳ Frankfurt ɳ Hamburg ɳ Helsinki ɳ Istanbul ɳ London

ɳ Madrid ɳ Milan ɳ Munich ɳ Oslo ɳ Paris ɳ Stockholm ɳ Warsaw ɳ Zürich

Asia /Pacific

ɳ Beijing ɳ Hong Kong ɳ Melbourne ɳ Mumbai ɳ New Delhi ɳ Shanghai ɳ Singapore ɳ Sydney ɳ Tokyo

About Russell Reynolds Associates

Russell Reynolds Associates works with clients across sectors as they evolve their technology platforms and customer interactions. Our Product Practice sits both in our Technology Officers and Customer Activation Practices, allowing us to identify the talent most able to span the customer and technology functional divide. We help clients build teams of transformational leaders who can meet today’s challenges and anticipate the technology, economic, and political trends that are reshaping the global business environment. From helping boards with their structure, culture and effectiveness to identifying, assessing, and defining the best leadership for organizations, our teams bring their decades of expertise to help clients solve their most complex leadership issues.

www.russellreynolds.com

AUTHORS

VEENA MARR

Veena Marr is a member of the firm’s Global Technology Sector and Customer Activation and Growth Practice. Based in London, Veena leverages a digital and legal background to guide clients through times of transformation, expansion and innovation. Veena brings her extensive experience in partnering with Product functions to help clients assess, develop and hire exceptional Product leaders.

SEAN ROBERTS

Sean Roberts is a member of the Technology Sector and is responsible for the Technology team in London. With a focus on fast moving technologies including Cloud, Security, Data and AI, and with expertise in Software, Connectivity and Business and Professional Services, Sean advises, recruits and helps develop outstanding leaders for companies in growth and transformation.

GEORGE HEAD

George Head is a Knowledge Associate for the Technology Officers Practice, based in London. Working broadly across the technology sector, George is focused on identifying emerging trends and codifying the priorities outlined by our clients.

PARTICIPANTS

We would like to thank all of our participants for their insights and time.

Ron Gura, SVP Product, WeWorkMarkus Pultweiser, Chief Digital Officer, Deutsche Bank Kriti Sharma, VP Product, GfK Martin Eriksson, Co-Founder, Mind the Product; Chief Product Officer in Residence, EQT VenturesJohannes Bruder, Chief Product Officer, Delivery Hero

Tanya Cordrey, Founder, Granary Square; Partner, AFK Partners Brian Harris, SVP Product, Nets GroupBen Fox, Chief Product Officer, AdTech, Verizon MediaJosh Crossick, Chief Product Officer, letgoDavid Katz, Chief Product Officer, AfterpayDavid Cramer, CEO, Software and Data, CPA Global

© Copyright 2020, Russell Reynolds Associates. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied, reproduced or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior express written consent of Russell Reynolds Associates.


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“The Customer-First Organization”...“The Customer-First Organization”: The Rise of the Chief Product Officer Skills and Trade-offs of Product Leaders rr-0128-003011 - Skill