What is a Scrappy Product Manager? Why it’s nothing new and how you can successfully use the approach in your work.
Originally published on Inc.Afric
Originally posted on Inc.Africa
Over the last ten-plus years of being a product manager, I’ve often been told over and over again that one of my greatest strengths is being scrappy. When I first heard the term, I considered it a negative for myself and my career.
I thought it meant that I was untidy or unprofessional. However, the more I researched what scrappy means, the more I felt inspired and appreciative of being called by this moniker.
I realised that it could be the most effective and efficient way to launch a product and keep a team within an early-stage startup motivated.
Here is a quick review on how to stay scrappy.
First of all, what is ‘scrappy’?
The Cambridge English Dictionary defines it as follows: scrappy, adjective (determined): Having a strong, determined character, and willing to argue or fight for what you want; e.g., “a scrappy little kid who won’t take no for an answer” and “big companies are losing market share to scrappy smaller operators.”
Based on this, some crucial characteristics that founders and product managers need to have for their startup to succeed. You need to be someone who gets what you want and will do whatever it takes.
What’s so glorious about being a product manager?
Product management is one of the hottest and fastest-growing job sectors in 2022, with more and more companies recognising product management as a critical business function. Glassdoor ranked ‘product manager’ as the tenth best job in the United States, based on salary, job satisfaction and potential job growth.
But don’t confuse a product manager with a product owner. The former discovers what users need, prioritises what to build next and rallies the team around a product roadmap. But the latter is responsible for maximising the product’s value by creating and managing any backlogs.
Scrappy product managers have a lot in common and share the following:
Grit: They recognise when someone in the team does something well but then take responsibility when things are NOT going according to plan. But I’ve yet to be involved in a startup when things go according to plan. This is why it’s so important to have the courage and flexibility to adapt as curveballs come your way.
Quick: They also know that the more you can learn, act and adjust, the quicker your team will be able to reach product-market fit and ultimately outrun any competition. Fortunately, we live in 2022, where incredible cloud-based tools help speed up most processes concerning planning, building and reporting.
Ambiguity: The lack of clarity excites you. However, this can often have the opposite effect on your team. It’s essential to keep providing a clear roadmap that aligns with the mission and vision. I can’t stress how important it is to repeat the mission and vision at every meeting.
Creative: I used to think creative was a term that only described artists crafting their work of art behind an easel. However, creativity produces something new, beneficial and ultimately innovative. As a scrappy product manager, you often have to think of new and efficient ways to make your product stand out for the customer and separate yourself from the competition. Always look for the Blue Ocean Strategy.
Stories from scrappy founders that will inspire you:
What makes them scrappy role models? They are highly creative, quick to make decisions and have incredible grit:
Airbnb: Selling boxes of cereal funded the company and got it off the ground. Listen to the story on National Public Radio.
YouTube: The concept was an online dating service that ultimately failed but had an exceptional video and uploading platform.
Sequoia: “Chad, Steve and Jawed were scrappy, smart and had built an easy-to-use product we believed in.”
SpaceX and Tesla: Here, Elon Musk spent almost all of his PayPal earnings on SpaceX and Tesla, both of which almost failed.
Great books to read on how to build products in a scrappy way:
ShapeUp: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters by Ryan Singer
This is a great six-week framework for building products and ideal for teams who are simply making the agile motions to be agile.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
The author crafts his experience in tech, business and psychology into his four-fold model: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward and Investment. A must for any product manager wanting a quick reference on building products with an MAU metric.
Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan
A must-read for anyone involved in building digital products, not only product managers but also software engineers, designers, team leaders and engineering managers.
I hope these all inspire you to stay scrappy. If you would like more updates and resources, subscribe here.
Gary Willmott is known for getting teams aligned to ultimately delight customers with great digital products. He recently headed up a Product Squad within Mobile Ventures at GoDaddy, and in his spare time, focuses on Indie Schoolers – Helping homeschooling parents enable their children for the Future of Work. Before that, he launched Hi5 from inception to a global and profitable platform used by over 4,000 companies.