1. @BoSConference @RichMironov
Hiring a Head of Product
Rich Mironov
Business of Software
Sept 2020

2. • Veteran product management executive
• Design product organizations,
coach product leaders
• 150 clients since 2001 including
12 “smokejumper” VP Product roles &
13 product leader searches
About Rich
@BoSConference @RichMironov

3. Head of Product (HoP)
• Directly supervises team of product managers
• aka Chief Product Officer, VP Product,
Director of Product Management,
Group Product Lead…
Not VP Engineering, CTO, CIO,
GM/MD or Project Office
What’s In A Title?
@BoSConference @RichMironov

4. 1. Head of Product who’s never
led a product team, never been
a product manager
2. Startup’s first Head of Product
fired/quits
3. Deep misunderstanding of why
we need a Head of Product
Failures I See (Over and Over Again)
@BoSConference @RichMironov

5. What’s the first question you’d ask
…a VP Sales candidate?
…a CFO candidate?
…a VP Engineering or CTO candidate?
Yet often ignored for Head of Product
Quiz
@BoSConference @RichMironov

6. Head of Product: Focused,
Strategic Organizational Herding
@BoSConference @RichMironov

7. Enterprise Sales VP/CRO: Hunter
@BoSConference @RichMironov

8. CEO: Time-Sliced Part-Time Head of Product
@BoSConference @RichMironov

9. Engineering VP/CTO: Patient Rationalist
@BoSConference @RichMironov

10. Customer Support/Success: Individual Assistance
@BoSConference @RichMironov

11. New to Product Management
@BoSConference @RichMironov

12. 1. Product and Engineering should say “yes” more often
• Be more efficient, deliver everything that customers want
2. Technical /market expertise >> product leadership experience
3. Exec teams and departments have clear strategy, aligned goals
Three Core Misconceptions About
Product Management Leadership
@BoSConference @RichMironov

13. Exec teams and GTM always push
next hot issue/request/demand…
• But every dev team oversubscribed
• Roadmap & strategy ADHD
• Failure mode: too many #1 items,
constant adds, not finishing
Misconception #1: We Should Say
“Yes” to More High-Priority Things
@BoSConference @RichMironov

14. “Our tech and market are too complex…”
• Technical SMEs often ignore newbie,
onboarding, economics
• Substitute their (old) POV for direct
user observation
• Good product managers can learn any
market or tech in 2 months
Misconception #2: Subject Expertise >>
Product Management Experience
@BoSConference @RichMironov

15. Most corporate goals are
strategy-free revenue targets
• Can’t set goals without
crisp audience, value,
product strategy
• Each function lobbies for
different priorities
Misconception #3: Company Strategy/Goals
Are Clear, Aligned, Actionable
@BoSConference @RichMironov

16. Instead of asking
• “How can we get more onto the roadmap?”
Try
• “Give me an example of how you’ve
balanced internal and external stakeholders”
• “Lots of product teams are accused of saying
NO too often, not understanding sales urgency…”
Interviewing: HoP Needs Years Of Experience
Managing Urgent Executive Demands
@BoSConference @RichMironov

17. Instead of asking
• “How will you get more productivity out
of our developers?”
Try
• “What are the biggest productivity
blockers for development? Which can
product management improve?”
Interviewing: HoP Must Be Shoulder-to-
Shoulder with VP Engineering/CTO
@BoSConference @RichMironov

18. Instead of asking
• “Have you worked on our exact tech/segment
and already know what customers want?”
Try
• “Your last product was very technical. Walk
me through how you became credible with
technical buyers. How long did it take?”
• “What do you think we’re misunderstanding
about our customers or competition?”
Interviewing: HoP and PMs Needs To
Learn Product Set ASAP (Not That Hard!)
@BoSConference @RichMironov

19. Instead of
• “How can we bring in more revenue or
boost NPS?”
Try
• “How do you measure end user success on
your current product?”
• “Examples where groups have mis-aligned
short-term & long-term goals?
Interviewing: HoP Must Drive Strategic
Alignment In Exec Suite and Departments
@BoSConference @RichMironov

20. • Repeat: “product management/product leadership
experience before specific market/technical skills”
• Product Management balances strategy vs. execution, next
year vs. this quarter, company economics vs. “specials”
• Head of Product needs specific leadership skills
• Keeping rest of exec team focused
• Market success >> single account opportunities
• Building true cross-functional collaboration
• Hiring, mentoring product managers
Take-Aways
@BoSConference @RichMironov

21. Rich Mironov
Mironov Consulting
www.mironov.com
+1-650-315-7394
rich@mironov.com
@richmironov
@BoSConference @RichMironov