(2023-10-05) Cagan Transformation Fail

Martin Cagan: Transformation Fail. We hope to give you a better understanding of why so many transformations fail, but also a deeper understanding of what is truly necessary to succeed. See prev (2022-05-31) Cagan Moore Transformation Defined.

1. Underestimating Scope

transformation impacts the entire organization – sales, marketing, finance, HR, legal, compliance and more.

2. Underestimating Role of CEO

a successful transformation depends on the CEO being the “chief evangelist” of the company’s move to the product operating model.

3. Underestimating Role of Technology

turning technology from a cost center to a profit center.

4. Underestimating the Critical Competencies

5. Misunderstanding Role of Engineering

strong people on the product teams

6. Misunderstanding Nature of Product

7. The Product Leadership Gap

we understand that many (most) ideas will not deliver the hoped-for value. Knowing what you can’t know is essential when working with technology-powered products, and this leads to an experimentation culture where we seek to quickly identify a solution that works.

9. Prioritizing Predictability Over Outcomes

in most companies they simply allocate resources to the many stakeholders across the company in what is known as the “peanut butter product strategy” (spreading the companies resources thinly across the company). Instead, the company needs an inspiring product vision and a holistic, insight-driven product strategy.

This is most often the management consultancies, or the Agile coaching community

you need to make sure the people teaching your product managers have actually done product management at a product operating model company.