Law of Reverse Effort in Product Management

The concept of "Impact First Product Teams" centers on aligning product work directly with business-critical outcomes to ensure teams remain valuable to their organizations, especially during economic downturns and layoff periods.

Core Principles of Impact-First Product Management

Why Impact Alignment Matters

• More product managers and teams are getting laid off when they can't demonstrate direct business impact
• Daniel Ek (Spotify CEO) during 2024 layoffs: "We still have too many teams doing work around the work rather than focusing on opportunities with real impact"
• Even if executives ask you to build something, you'll still be at risk if that work doesn't drive meaningful business outcomes
• The fundamental question: "If you were the CEO of this company, would you fully fund your own team?"
  • Most product managers can't confidently answer this question immediately

The Low-Impact PM Death Spiral

• Teams take on low-impact work (adding small features, cosmetic improvements) because it's easier and invites less scrutiny
• This creates a cycle where:
  • More teams add "rhinestones" to the product rather than improving the "engine"
  • The product becomes increasingly complex and harder to maintain
  • Companies add program management layers to handle dependencies
  • This makes high-impact work even harder to accomplish
  • Teams go deeper into low-impact work until the next round of layoffs

Three Steps to Become an Impact-First Product Team

1. Set team goals no more than one step away from company goals

   • Don't let goals get "cascaded into oblivion" through multiple layers
   • Use Christina Wodtke's model: company goal as center of gravity with team goals orbiting one level around it
   • Express your goal in terms that directly contribute to what the company cares about most
   • Example: "By converting X single-product users to multi-product users, we'll generate $Y additional revenue"

2. Keep impact first at every step

   • Don't just set impact goals during planning then forget them
   • Maintain focus on impact throughout execution
   • Avoid getting lost in intermediate frameworks (OKRs, initiatives, bets)
   • Regularly check: "How does our work add up to the company-level goals?"

3. Connect every bit of work back to impact

   • When prioritizing, estimate impact in the same unit of measure as your goals
   • Don't use abstract scoring systems that disconnect from business outcomes
   • Be willing to pursue high-impact work even when it requires coordination with other teams
   • Example: Redesigning an entire onboarding flow might be harder but could deliver 100% of your goal

How to Navigate Pushback and Executive Requests

• You never have to say a flat "yes" or "no" - instead, present options with trade-offs
• When executives request features that don't align with impact goals:
  • Show how the request affects your ability to hit agreed-upon goals
  • Present multiple options with a recommendation
  • Acknowledge that executives may have information you don't have
  • Frame the conversation around trade-offs rather than refusal

Reframing Your Approach to Business Constraints

• See business constraints (regulation, quarterly targets, B2B requirements) as guides rather than restrictions
• These constraints shape your work and give it meaning
• Working with, not against, commercial realities creates more opportunities
• Embrace the reality that some things are outside your control
• Focus on doing what you can from where you sit to contribute to business success

The Mindset Shift

• Move from "doing things the right way" to "doing things that matter"
• Stop fixating on intermediate frameworks and focus on direct business impact
• Recognize that you are accountable for business outcomes even when they're beyond your control
• Surprisingly, commercially-minded PMs often report being happier and less stressed
• They understand their role in the business and can set better boundaries between work and life