Looking inwards, not outwards, with Product Ops
We look at what we inside out land, not what is beyond the fence...
The state of the tech world in early 2024 (lets see how well this paragraph ages!) is precarious, and for many tech folk both in and out of work, desperate. With various factors from the layover from the global pandemic, global economy, wars, the world generally being a more angry, less tolerant place - businesses are ever more focused on more more more. Delivery delivery delivery.
Tech businesses are no different right now. Most are watching the pennies/cents, reducing costs but constantly looking for the same, if not more (more more) from their teams and business. They are looking to gain more customers or diversify to open new revenue streams - and quickly. They are looking our across their lands and wondering what more is out there, what more can we grab. They look at their boarder fence and push against it. In more affluent times, they may spend more or hire in more to achieve this.
Product Operations however, looks inwards. Product Operations stands next to that fence and looks inwards as the existing landscape, the house, the fields, the drive, the cars… and instead asks ‘what can we do with what we have’.
Looking Inward
Product Ops professionals are tasked with supporting the business with how it currently is, and seeking to improve processes to be more efficient, more effective - though better use of tools, automation, collaboration, sequencing of events, asking better questions, using data in decision making, embedding of changes iteratively and considerately.
They focus on the current business structure, the teams and the individuals and figure out the best that can be done with those as fixed assets. Assets the business is already paying for, are they getting the best out of them through working practices that ARE flexible to change and improvement.
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