Part II. The Right Leader for the Right Time

This part of the book is dedicated to helping product leaders figure out the best approach for each stage in an organization’s evolution. Our own experiences, combined with the experiences of hundreds of successful product leaders, will give you insights into how stage-specific problems can be solved. As much as we’d like there to be, there is not a universal solution to the question, “How should a product leader lead?” There is no single winning strategy or leadership style, but there are themes and patterns that run through successful teams and their leaders.

We encourage you to digest these anecdotes, stories, and hard-won nuggets of knowledge, but with an eye toward developing your own personal style. Don’t follow blindly in the paths of others. Timing and context are paramount. What works for one company might not work for yours. Consider the context and environment of your own situation before putting these ideas into action.

To make it a little easier to navigate Part II, we’ve separated the three chapters into the stages of a company’s evolution: startup, emerging, and enterprise. Feel free to skip to the category that is most relevant for your current circumstances, and return to the others when your situation changes.