Mitigating Product CEO Paradox

How can we avoid the CEO paradox? Ben's recommendation is 1 to keep and drive the product Vision 2 to maintain quality standards 3) to be the Integrator 4 to let people think about the data they don't have.

For early-stage start-ups, the product CEO Paradox begs the question: what happens to a founder's CEO if no one can hand over the day-to-day product operations?

The right thing to do is to hire the right person (let's call it "product leadership"). But the shift could be more difficult. Because the CEO introduced this person will replace the CEO to carry out day-to-day product activities. For the CEO, the success or failure make-or, must tread carefully.

The CEO's tendency may be to find a beginner (executive level) or senior (VP level) product person, but most of the successful product CEOs I've worked with have done this: looking for someone who should be able to achieve the CEO's product vision well and allow the product team and company (engineers, designers, sales, Supervisors and other stakeholders to participate in product development. Josh Elman An excellent definition of the product leader/supervisor that the CEO should hire-the product leader/supervisor is the person who helps the team and the company deliver the right product to the user.

To do this, the product CEO has to ask himself the following questions:

-What are the experience skills of the existing product team? What do you need product leaders to do to make great products?

Powerful product CEOs use their direct work experience and other people's perspectives to assess their current team skills and to think about what a good product team would look like. He should consider the characteristics of all-Star teams from vision, execution, communication, metrics, process management, and business acumen. To this end, he will consult fellow CEOs, communicate with colleagues in the industry, and learn about best practices. Finally, the CEO will identify the skills and experience needed to manage larger product teams, longer product lines, and more complex situations over the next few years.

Here, the product CEO can outline the product leadership including features, experience, skills, and habits. The documentation will include objectives, responsibilities, and activities expected to be performed by the product leader. This document should be adjusted by continuous communication with key supervisors. Once he has this blueprint, he can find the right product leader.

-as CEO, what role should I play in product decisions after product leadership is in place?

We can review Ben's proposal to maintain "necessary participation". Product CEO will continue to set the product vision, because this is the company's history and maintain an important part of the corporate culture. It is important to communicate your expectations with the product leadership, product team and all employees.

A product CEO should also be the leader in making a qualified product decision, not necessarily being an arbitrator or making a final decision, but ensuring that decisions are fully discussed, tested, and evaluated. The CEO will ask sharp questions, challenge assumptions, and consider alternatives with the team. As the company develops and communication becomes more dispersed, the CEO can become a cross team integrator. CEOs can collect and process information about different functional teams, customers and partners, and the industry (media, analyst, etc.) that can help the product team make decisions.

But the CEO's responsibilities don't necessarily apply to every situation. But in any case, the CEO will have a clear picture of how he or she participates in product development. The CEO and future product leaders should discuss the details and agree on how the CEO supports the product leadership and team. These expectations should be communicated to the product team and all employees. Finally, employees learn from the CEO's performance in product decisions.

-What do I need to do to ensure product leadership is successful?

First, the CEO must establish an absolute trust in product leadership. In fact, the CEO should have established this trust in the interview and recruitment period. Lack of trust is like producing bad products, while hindsight criticism and lack of transparency will discourage product execution. This trust will take weeks to consolidate, but the CEO needs to reinforce that trust in every interaction, communication and decision. If the CEO and the product leader can have a healthy debate about product differences, then that trust will be available. With trust, good product decisions and execution will follow, even in difficult circumstances.

Next, the CEO needs to communicate with the staff clearly, the product is responsible for the product leader. CEOs should get rid of day-to-day product decisions. He needs to guide the employees who ask him for the product question to the right person. The CEO needs to let everyone know who is in charge of the product.

Reid Hoffman once said that his introduction of Jeff Weiner as CEO was like a brain transplant in LinkedIn. The company needs a thorough connection. Reid took an extreme but necessary approach to frequent business trips away from the office, so the new relationship with Jeff became a "hard connection". The CEO of a start-up may not be able to leave the office, but he can leave the kitchen to allow new product leaders to cook.

Finally, the CEO should also be the product leader's personal advisor and resonating board. A good product leader will be involved in the product and will establish standards and expectations with the team on the implementation of the product. Product leaders also win trust in relationships. Ask "What are you thinking?" "How can I help?" "And so on, the CEO can provide advice without being considered as interfering with product execution."

Almost all companies are faced with the problem of product CEO paradox at a certain time, which leads to the introduction of product leadership. If done properly, the friction that this shift brings to product execution can be minimized, and product leaders and product teams can continue to develop outstanding products.