External (interim) product manager and leader for B2B and technology companies.
The team building the product says it's done. Sales says it can't be sold. And leadership asks why, after a year of work, it still isn't making money.
But the problem is not the team or sales. Nobody owns the product from start to finish.
I'm Václav Duda, an external product manager. I come in, find out where things got stuck, and depending on what you need, either show you the way out or walk you through it myself. New products start earning and teams stop firefighting.
To close a sale, sales promises what the product can't do. The team builds it as a one-off. The next customer wants something different and gets that too. A year later you have several versions of one product, each made for one customer, and none of them can be sold to the next. It doesn't matter whether you sell software, equipment or a service.
At the meeting someone then says: “But customers are buying it.” Yet nobody knows what it costs, who is making money on it, or why we are doing it in the first place.
The product has turned into a custom project. The company thinks it needs more people for delivery. In reality it needs someone who is accountable for the product.
Sound familiar? Then get in touch.
I have worked in product management for 20 years. I have tried corporations as well as hard-charging technology companies. That is why I can quickly tell why your product, or its delivery to the customer, got stuck.
I don't deliver theoretical analyses, I go after root causes. My work ends when what you come up with in the boardroom is actually done by your people and customers get what they expect.
Did sales promise the client the impossible, and is development putting out fires at night? I'll put a stop to that. I'll end the constant bending of the product for individual customers and set priorities that make business sense for the whole company.
Do development, sales, production and support live in their own worlds? I'll connect them. We'll set clear rules and roles so the customer gets something that works and unnecessary disputes don't arise inside the company.
Nobody wants development money going down the drain. Together we'll decide exactly who we are selling the product to and with what arguments. I'll prepare a go-to-market plan so the new product earns money right from launch.
I don't offer theoretical consulting or castles in the air. But it is essential to start right and not skip any phase. That's why we begin by naming exactly what is holding you back.
I map how things really work at your company, where development gets stuck and why the product doesn't reach customers.
I'll show you the bottlenecks openly. You get a clear list of concrete steps to deal with right away.
If we agree on an interim role, I align the teams and personally make sure the proposed changes actually happen.
I leave when the new rules work on their own. Your team knows how to carry on without me standing behind them.
I write a newsletter called Produktový management prakticky (“Practical Product Management”). Notes from practice, no theory. The articles are in Czech.
I když se ho nikdo nezeptal
Mantry ze Silicon Valley znějí na poradách skvěle.
Vyhoďte je co nejdříve
Let's talk it over for 30 minutes. The introductory online call is free and non-binding; we'll go through your situation and find out whether and how I can help.
