Building Products for the Enterprise

Chapter 4. Organizational Knowledge

Enterprise product managers work with a dizzying array of teams and roles, from engineering and design to sales and marketing (and more!). Knowing how to get the best work out of each group in an enterprise software context takes practice, but is a key skill on the path to product management success.

If you play any sort of musical instrument, you already know that playing solo is an entirely different ball game than playing with other people. Although some amazing music was only ever meant to be played unaccompanied, pieces for a string trio or quartet can be positively magical. In a small chamber ensemble of three or four, personal player differences matter tremendously. Each member needs to know exactly what the other musicians are doing and the minute variations in how they tend to play in order to adjust their own tone, volume, or tempo at the slightest cue.

Yet precious as it might be, no quartet can ever do what a full orchestra can to convey the majesty of a great symphony. In an orchestral setting, individuals have a bit more margin for error (unless you’re first chair—in which case, go practice). Yet the trade-off is that a good orchestral player needs to keep track of many more parts, too. These players need to know what the first violins, violas, percussion, or winds are doing in the next few measures so that they can prepare their part or entrance. They must adjust their volume to account for the cellos (who are, of course, the ...