I joined Fanny Jacob and Avizio to discuss how to structure a product team. We shared examples from our work, including recruitment, team responsibilities, priorities, and coaching.
Key points
- Hire for the work ahead. Some PMs are good at exploring a new product; others are better at growing or improving an established one. Match the role to the product’s stage, then look for the design, data, business, or technical skills missing from the team.
- Manage a portfolio of bets with the team’s limited time. Balance small improvements with more uncertain ideas that could create greater value. For each bet, define the result you want and how much time you will invest before choosing a solution. I used this approach instead of estimating a fixed list of features.
- Protect your time with one clear weekly goal. Start with the quarterly objective, decide what would make this week successful, then choose today’s tasks. If interruptions leave time for only one thing, know which one matters. Delegate work that does not need your input.
- Moving from output to outcome takes more than renaming a squad an “impact team”. Shipping features and improving customer results require different skills and ways of working. Before giving a team responsibility for a metric such as retention, establish a clear product strategy, research skills, coaching, and reliable data. Build these foundations before expecting full autonomy.
- Choose the team structure that fits the work. At ManoMano, we needed to open a warehouse that could store products and send orders to customers. This was a concrete launch that required coordination across teams. It did not need a permanent impact team assigned to one metric. You can combine project teams and impact teams in the same company.
