Product Leadership

Chapter 8. The Enterprise Organization

Four hundred twenty-nine of the original Fortune 500 companies open in 1955 are no longer in business today. In fact, since the 1950s, the average lifespan of an enterprise company in the S&P 500 index has decreased from over 60 years to just 15. Markets are changing faster than ever, and an organization’s ability to move at the speed of the internet is the only way to survive. That’s easy to say, but for most big companies, it’s almost impossible to do.

With the speed of change only on the rise, it puts more pressure than ever on an enterprise organization’s ability to innovate, build great products, and disrupt itself before a competitor does. At the same time, the traditional tools of marketing to win market share are failing, as the cost of acquisition and customer expectations increase, while the cost of maintaining and upgrading legacy systems hampers new development.

All this pressure lands squarely at the door of the enterprise product leader.

The Biggest Challenges for Enterprise Product Leaders

Enterprises share many of the same challenges that startup and emerging companies face. However, one unique challenge for enterprises is that they must constantly battle the complacency of product organization, pursuing innovation when necessary. An appetite for change needs to be nurtured, especially when it comes to established products. ...