Are product managers industry specific?

I entered on a discussion the other day, triggered by a job advertisement looking for a product manager (PM) with experience in a given industry. The person looking after the hiring was frustrated that folks with all other kinds of experience (PM relevant or not) were applying. 

I was genuinely curious, so I asked why it was so crucial the industry specific experience, since in my "book" a good PM should in principle be able to manage products in any context. Yes, previous experience in a given industry may tactically help, but directionally it might be even interesting to bring someone with a different background.

Ultimately, I see product management more as a generalist discipline than a highly specialized one. 

So that was where I was coming from… And by engaging, eventually it became somewhat clear the underlying circumstances leading to that choice, in the specific situation. They were building up a new team to tackle that product area, it's a niche highly regulated context, so they needed someone who could also help setting the team up for success.

Fair enough, but then (so I made the relevant remark) it should be clear that short-term the person is not fully acting as only a PM, focused on the product strategy and whatnot. That was granted and apparently but not only acknowledged but part of the briefing in case of an interview process would start. So I was sufficiently convinced of the specifics of the case: they needed someone who could hit the road running and that could help with the whole setting up of the new product team.

As general matter, I still believe that more often than not requirements of previous experience in a given industry are either not relevant for a PM job, or they might be a signal of something else.

For instance, that there's an underlying expectation for the PM to act more tactically chipping in with some technical aspects, which might indicate rather the missing of a role like a "product analyst" (to be clear, I'm talking about a role, not necessarily a function, or even a full time job) who could bridge whatever gap it might be there. Or that in general the team is not yet enough cross-functional to handle all the technical aspects end-to-end.

So I'd rather fix that than compromise and demand the PM also to play that more tactical technical aspects. I like simplicity better.

Because once you set that kind of expectation, and worse yet, a PM started to get so much pulled and down to the weeds, that's where dysfunctions so often observed might crep in… You know, the whole PM as a strategic, PO as a tactical role kind of discussion…

Non-sensical BS! (Pardon my French…)

To be clear, and hopefully that was already alluded enough in the story, but in case not: I'm fully aware that there circumstances and circumstances, reality is messy, all of it. I'm just saying and focusing on what is the direction of what 'good looks like'. And I can't be more empathetic with whoever might be put in such unnecessary complexity situation like having different "flavors" or types of roles who somewhat 'own't the products, etc. I'm jus saying it tends to hide other complexities that the organization would be much better off tackling but somehow tend to choose not doing so… A whole mix of technical and organizationl complexities in fact.

Now it's when my bit of idealistic side (yes, I also have one) could say something like: "If only we could make things simpler"...

But "if only…" tends to indicate a path out of pragmatism, not to mention a potential recipe for frustration.

So the question really becomes how to help things get better… And that's where is good to have clarity on what a discipline like product management is all about, what should we expect from it, and use that as guiding direction. Figuring out what are the complexities you need to deal with, as you go along, so that you can get there. Here's one that tends to be a big one:

Do you truly get a product team that is organized and empowered around a persistent problem, understands the value the product is supposed to provide, with defined success criteria, and has strong technical leadership that will enable the team to efficiently work highly independently?

Put any proper PM, with whatever previous experience, nothing to do with the specific industry where the above team is operating on, and see what happens… Some might think of it as a kind of magic. It's just what simplicity looks like, IMHO.

By Rodrigo Sperb, feel free to connect, I'm happy to engage and interact. If I can be of further utility to you or your organization in getting better at working with product development, I am available for part-time advisory, consulting or contract-based engagements.