By Marty Cagan · svpg.com · LinkedIn
Marty Cagan argues that as more companies move toward the product operating model, political dynamics become central to change, and a well-designed pilot team is the key early step. A pilot acts as a low-cost, fast MVP for the whole transformation, proving to leaders, investors, and the broader organization what empowered product teams can deliver. Cagan explains that the pilot also teaches the company what it does not yet know about the new way of working. He covers how to staff the team with hand-picked strong people, how to scope a problem that is impressive but achievable, how to frame outcomes without setting arbitrary targets, and how to provide coaching. He closes by noting that large organizations should treat each business unit as its own transformation requiring its own pilot.
01Key takeaways
- Treat the pilot team as a low-risk MVP for the full transformation, sized to test the riskiest assumptions quickly.
- Hand-pick a small team of strong, motivated people, and bring in outside talent where needed.
- Scope the problem to sit between impressive and impossible, so success convinces leadership without setting the team up to fail.
- Choose problems with few dependencies and stakeholders willing to collaborate in the new way of working.
- Define success by how a business outcome is measured, not by a specific absolute number handed to the team.
- Provide discovery coaching, and plan a separate pilot for each large business unit, especially after acquisitions.
02Key sections
- Why transformations are happening now
- Boards pushing for higher valuations and the disruptive threat of generative AI are driving more companies toward the product model. Intelligent, probabilistic products demand competencies that non-transformed organizations usually lack.
- The purpose of a pilot team
- A pilot is an MVP for the transformation that lets the company learn quickly, cheaply, and safely. It also shows the wider organization and stakeholders what good looks like.
- Staffing the pilot
- Strong product leaders hand-pick a small, motivated team, often including outside hires, to act as a bar-raiser rather than an average team. Members must want to learn the new way of working.
- Choosing the problem and outcome
- The problem should be impressive but not impossible, with limited dependencies and willing stakeholders. Success should be framed as a measured business outcome rather than an absolute target handed down to the team.
- Coaching and what follows
- Teams new to discovery need coaching from an experienced leader or external coach. If the pilot succeeds, demand grows, and each business unit typically needs its own pilot.
03From the post
“A partnership dedicated to teaching best practices to product teams and product leaders”
04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.