The gold-rush euphoria of previous years in telecommunications has given way to completely normal business operations. While it is true that the telecommunications industry has not been hit quite as hard by the current financial and economic crisis as some other industries, it is nevertheless in a crisis – but one what began even earlier. Products and offered services are being expanded by the addition of functions, but there is a shortage of truly stunning offers. The consequences of this lack of imagination on the part of the companies can be seen in the many cost-cutting programs, restructuring measures, and, in no small degree, the relatively low stock prices of the last several years. The impact of the iPhone or, at this time, the Google cell phone in the mobile network sector is the exception, not the rule.

The time has definitely come to dare to head out in new directions and to open up to new organizational structures instead of clinging to concepts which have outlived their purpose. A crisis always brings with it the opportunity to push forward with change, especially in the corporate structure – what could make more sense than to consolidate and focus on the essentials? The trick is to select an approach which skillfully combines an improvement in performance with reductions in costs.   There are plenty of “hidden reserves” in corporate processes. Product management in particular is full of various possibilities for improvement in processes and organization. But what is the best way to let in a fresh breeze?   

Unused potential slumbering in product management

Much of the potential in product management has been left untouched. Frictional loss as early as the product innovation and product development phase is a threat to the company’s success. The following example clearly shows the problem in terms of an everyday situation.

You are sitting at the lunch table with some of your co-workers. A colleague from the IT department is telling all of you about his current project: “Finally, a product the customers have been waiting for. The killer application, a must for every user – the technical realization leaves nothing to be desired!” Purely by chance, one of the colleagues from marketing is also at the table: “Who will take care of the product launch?” he asks. “Oh, we won’t get Marketing involved until the product is ready. They will try to tell us what to do if we talk to them sooner. That has already cost us one market launch.” The stories about the so-called “future top products” often end right at this point. The problems leading to the failure of a product are frequently known beforehand: the IT department has received a list of requirements and has even turned them into reality. Unfortunately, not the way the product manager imagined it. So now follows a series of “change requests” or adaptations of the product scope. Time delays result, the longer development phase consumes much more of the budget than projected, the product manager does not receive the product he planned.