How to "Get Shit Done" as a Product manager

A PMs guide to Hustling

Everyone says that a PM needs to hustle, make it happen, get shit done. No one tells how?

Here's a quick framework based on the Chanakya-Niti. If you do not have the context of Chanakya, you can call it RRRTR.

Chanakya's Niti (Policy) says:

You can get something done by Saam (Request)- Daam (Reward)- Dand (Reprimand)- Bhed(Threaten) to be applied in that order. I've added a Repeat loop to it, Chanakya might have considered the same as part of Saam (Request), but I wanted to be more apparent.

A lot of times we face Opponents in our work. Bear in mind that the "Opponent" is not an enemy, it's a temporary state where someone is resisting the change and we are pushing for. It could be a friend, relative, even our kids. So in the entire text wherever I say opponent or adversary - you don't have to take your swords out.

Also, when I say office Politics I don't mean it in a devilish, dirty way. There are hierarchies in flat hierarchical structures. There are people - old and new, there are designations - higher and lower. There are personalities - strong and weak (in terms of influence). Here's what politics means by the Wikipedia definition:

And there are, in every significantly large organization, some politics that stems from its history, culture and people. Heck it takes only two people to have a power struggle, it is definitely there in small orgs - it can only be less or more apparent in comparison with others. It cannot, "NOT" exist.

So, now that I've defined the two words I am going to be using, I imagine you've lowered your guards and swords and are open to see things in a different light.

Here's how I've found the Chanakya's principles handy in navigating through the office politics and getting shit done by all people - Big and Small.

Disclaimer: I am no politician or expert. I am just trying to articulate what has worked for me, and many good managers might already be doing it instinctively.

Request (Saama)
One can always get most of your tasks done, even by your opponents if you make a polite request with a reason. When I am stuck I first try to cajole directly. A request with a strong reason works much better than just making a request. E.g. "I need this by today because...". However, in an office environment where you have many stakeholders to manage, it pays to have good relations with a lot of people. I'd regularly meet people over lunch/coffee, engage in banters, and also uprise them about the latest product stuff we are on to.

It takes a while to actually understand their pain points, challenges, and motivations. It requires a lot of careful listening. But, once I know these it becomes so much easier to collaborate with them. The focus has to be on them and their way of working. E.g. Some people are good with emails, some are good with calls - they find it hard to track emails. Whatever nasty email I dropped them, they will not pay any heed to my request. But, I later realized that I can simply make a call and get shit done instead of getting hung on my belief that "Email is THE professional communication medium". Little things like this help in engaging with people in the right way.

It always helps to ask if the person you are requesting to, is the right person for the job. Particularly in Asia, people have a hard time saying no and can end up wasting your time by not telling you that they aren't supposed to be doing this. When in doubt I ask who can do "this".  When I am asking the right person I get a volunteer. When I ask the wrong person, I get a referral. 

In addition, what has also worked is influencing through a peer. Sometimes work gets done better and faster because their friend asked them to do it instead of a random leader of another group.

Reward (Daama)
Daam literally means Price - indicating paying the price. It can also be taken as Bribing. In our context, you obviously won't be offering money to people under the table. But, sometimes you literally do - like a pizza to a team working late. Like negotiating a comp-off for a person putting in a weekend for your cause, providing a bit of leniency in work hours etc. It goes a long way in building a personal connection for a professional cause.

This has limitations, as you may not be able to do that to people who do not report to you. But, you can loop in their manager in an appreciation email. You can potentially recommend them for an internal award.

Exchange favors of other kinds. Sometimes a promise of help is also very effective - imagined gain is higher than the gain itself.

Threaten (Bheda)
Imagined fear is a very effective tool. Sometimes the threat of an escalation works better than escalation itself. Threats can be direct - "I'd have to escalate" or subtle - "I'd see if I can find someone who can do this."

You may be able to outnumber the opponent in certain cases by getting either more people pitching in your favor or more people against your opponent. Lobbying with influencers works the magic.

Who you know is more powerful than what you know. And what you know about who you know, is even more powerful. Bheda literally means distinction or division. It also means secrets - alluding to blackmail. Again, this may sound dark, but, hustling doesn't see boundaries. Also, how you connect with people and how you present your case is the difference between building and ruining relationships. E.g. Once a team manager was acting too bureaucratic, wanted me to follow a process that I had no time for. I had to jokingly add a small reminder of how a mistake he did in spite of me following the required process, had cost us some pain and rework. I did not have to tell him that he owes me a favor. Opponent's vulnerability is your power. Again just taking this out of context, it sounds plain evil. The team manager in context is a workplace-friend, we've spent a lot of time in banters and coffee machine conversations. He just gets too many urgent requests, so I have to convince him about the severity.

Reprimand (Danda)
When nothing works you have to take the unpleasant route. There is a well-known rule that one should appreciate in public and reprimand in private. One should keep that in mind. The best form of reprimand starts with the right questions and a curious tone (not a suspecting one). I focus on asking Why and listening attentively to justifications. It is important to be conscious about this, otherwise, you may not be able to have complete control over your communication.

Sometimes you may not be in a position to reprimand (e.g. if they do not report to you). You have to escalate and outnumber your opponent. When everything else fails you may have to coordinate with someone who can command action. Again, what you know is less important than who you know.

Repeat 
Persistence matters. The last time you made the request you might have found her at the wrong time and she denied without much intent. Or, maybe she wanted to take up your request but forgot. Or, she still wants to do it but she has scheduled it for later. How will you find out until you follow up? "But, I shouldn't need to follow up" is a flawed argument in most of the practical situations. Sanjay Swami (VC @ PrimeVP) once mentioned his mantra for startups - you eff up if you don't F'up (You F*** up if you don't Follow-up). It's an important mantra for all hustlers.


So here it is then, my strategy for hustling. 90% of my tasks gets done with Request and Repeat. But then, there is a nice line in a Hindi poem by revolutionary poet Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar':

It translates to  -

"Tolerance, forgiveness, mercy is worshiped only when there is an established power behind it."

It's not the tolerance of the meek that people talk about, it is tolerance of the powerful that is celebrated. So, while Request and persistence work nicely, they mostly work when one has established the power to use "other means" of getting things done.


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