You certainly have heard of the “4 risks from Marty Cagan”. He clearly states that the responsibility of product managers lies with “desirability” and “viability”.

Desirability: Will customers want to use or buy it?
Viability: Will it work for our business?

Melissa Perri has a great quote for it in her book “Escaping the build trap“:

The real role of the product manager in the organization is to work with a team to create the right product that balances meeting business needs with solving user problems. – Melissa Perri

How can our product deliver value to our customers in a way that returns value to our company?

How can we take care of two fronts at the same time?

Don’t make it two fronts. It’s not a battle between customers and stakeholders.

For this to happen, however, the direction must be clear.

“Do I care more about the customers or the business?”, asked no great PM ever. The right strategy enables product managers to align product decisions with business objectives.

A good strategy creates orientation and provides a framework in which the best path toward goals can be explored.

Product managers need clarity when it comes to achieving goals for the company.

Guessing these or simply going for “maximizing revenue” because there is no other info is a game of chance.

Let’s assume that the strategic goal is to increase 90-day retention. As PMs and product teams, we can do a lot with this.

Through continuous interaction with customers, we generate insights about needs and unmet desires.

Which of these do we have a high level of confidence that they will lead to a positive influence on the strategic goal?

Do you really know your business goals or is it about time you grab a coffee with your stakeholders?