As a seasoned Product Manager, I am the bridge between Leadership, our Teams, and our Customers. I look to Leadership to represent the best interests of the business because without the business there is no product for Customers to enjoy. Likewise, without the Customers there is no business. 

Tying the two together are the Teams that bring the product to life ⚡️. Woohoo! On a normal day, we are a well-oiled machine building and improving products. We execute the initiatives that advance our business, and we make our Customers happy.

Here Comes the Pivot

But Leadership (including the C-suite, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Legal, etc.) often needs to reprioritize the initiatives that the Team (Engineers, UX designers, Product designers, etc.) is working on. That means interrupting their flow and having them adjust their focus to a new point on the horizon.

Uh-oh. How do I get enthusiastic buy-in every time Leadership’s priorities inevitably shift and the Team has to pivot? I’m going to have to sell the WHY. Here’s how.

As the Product Manager, I must first get behind the WHY of the new initiative. And the easiest way to do that is to understand how it truly brings value.

Ideally, the pivot to the new initiative moves the organization towards its customer-driven goals in alignment with the mission. Therefore, Leadership is likely making a strong case for the change:  there may be a “gap in the product” that we must fix or there’s a “new opportunity for Sales” or we see a “shift in the market” we can’t ignore. That makes things easier.

Furthermore, there’s a good chance the Team has been a part of these discussions – especially if we have a strong product-driven culture. Therefore, it’s on me to “get it”, get behind the case for change, and use it to get the Team’s full buy-in.

Opportunities All Around

From there I have to start considering the outcomes and benefits against the initiatives being deprioritized.

• Boost the new initiative’s impact: Perhaps the new initiative can help facilitate needed product-improvements that I’ve already identified. Or, there may be some adjustments we can make simultaneously that also increase long-term sustainability of the product (more on this below).
• Recover some opportunity cost: I could take this as an opportunity to implement some of the improvements that the Team was just working on or that my customers have been demanding. I mean if the hood is already open maybe there are one or two fixes we should make at the same time.

Now I have to really confer with the Team, because for this initiative to succeed I need their bona fide buy-in. To ask them to pivot away from the work they’ve previously been committed to is no small request. This is because a good Team abounds with smart creative people who thoroughly invest themselves into what they build. 

When they care about the organization’s mission, then it should follow that they will care about a new initiative that aligns with this north star. Because they were part of the discussions around the new initiative, we have a good foundation for our discussion.

The best way to frame the discussion is to highlight opportunities that positively impact the team and also increase long-term sustainability of the product. How can we enable the team to demonstrate their valuable expertise while making life better for them?

• Reduce tech debt by removing workarounds that are difficult to debug and tedious to maintain
• Lower the number of customer complaints by improving performance and addressing known UX issues
• Implement technical upgrades that the Team believes will improve the product
• Reduce the surface area of the product that the Team needs to support by implementing the new design system for the impacted UI.

Once the Team has time to consider opportunities like these, now they’re motivated to dig in a little deeper into the details. What creative solutions can they find that touch on some of these opportunities? What interesting blockers or risks will we need to knock out? What is, in fact, the real level of effort? What other ways can we incrementally increase the value of the product?

Knowing that there are opportunities to make the product and their lives better that also align with the mission, the Team can start owning the approach and the solution. This gives them authentic buy-in because they truly believe that this initiative is a good idea.

“Opportunity” is Not a Bumper Sticker

As a central figure in a product-driven organization, the Product Manager is in a unique position to help the entire organization get behind a new initiative. When I have been transparent with the impetus for a new initiative and it is in clear support of the organization’s mission, then I simply need to frame the pivot as an opportunity.

This is not a bumper sticker. Give the Team opportunities to show their expertise to spark their enthusiasm. Use their enthusiasm to explore where they can truly improve the product. Help them own the new direction and they will pivot with you.

Note: Except for the AI-generated image, this article was written 100% by me. No agents needed 🙂