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Product Thinking Newsletter by Melissa Perri

Avoid These Mistakes in Org Design

Published about 2 months ago • 2 min read

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Hi Product people,

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How do you design an organization that supports product management teams to deliver real customer value effectively?

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This week on the Product Thinking Podcast, I explored this topic in depth. We discussed how critical it is to structure teams around value streams instead of architecture, ensuring that every team is strategically aligned with delivering customer value.

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This Dear Melissa episode highlighted the importance of having platform teams that work collaboratively with customer-facing teams to scale services across an organization.

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"Platform teams should not operate in isolation. They are not just order takers for customer-facing teams. They need to be strategic as well and ensure that the value they create goes all the way back to the customers."

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We also delved into the pitfalls of having too many layers in decision-making processes, which can slow down efficiency and impede quick decision-making. It's essential to maintain short layers of control to enhance agility within large organizations.

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Have you structured your product teams around value streams? I'd love to hear how it has impacted your organization's ability to deliver customer value. Reply to this email or join the conversation on LinkedIn!

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🎧 Listen to the full episode here: Apple | Spotify​

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Looking forward to hearing from you!

Until next time,

Melissa Perri

Founder Product Institute, Board Member, and Teacher
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You’ll hear us talk about:

  • 01:33 - Organizing Around Value Streams

Melissa discusses the importance of structuring product management teams around value streams, ensuring clear ownership of roadmaps and effective delivery of customer value.

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  • 02:32 - Avoiding Organizational Bottlenecks

Melissa explains the drawbacks of having too many layers in decision-making processes within large organizations, advocating for shorter control layers to enhance efficiency and decision speed.

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  • 06:38 - The Role of Platform Teams

The episode highlights the strategic importance of platform teams in scaling services organization-wide, emphasizing the need for these teams to align closely with customer-facing value streams.

Other Resources:

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THE PRODUCT THINKING PODCAST IS SPONSORED BY

Product Management training at scale for teams and individuals, created by Melissa Perri.

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Do you have a product dilemma you just can’t solve? Are you in need of some pointed career guidance? We’ve got a direct line to Melissa, so now’s your chance to ask her anything you’d like. You can record a voice message here, or you can submit a question via form below. Melissa just might answer it in a future Dear Melissa segment of the podcast.

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The CPO Accelerator is a members-only live virtual course for product leaders taught by Melissa Perri. The move from product leader to VP or CPO can be challenging. It takes a whole new set of skills to succeed at the next level, and you may be the first person at your company to hold this seat at the executive table.

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Product Thinking is the newsletter of Product Institute, Inc. and Melissa Perri.

Product Thinking Newsletter by Melissa Perri

All things Product Management

Subscribe to this newsletter if you are a product manager or product leader interested in leveling up your strategy, process, and insights into technology. I send out emails once a week on Wednesdays.

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