Builders and Optimizers; which are you?
There are two types of people in this world; people who cut their pizza into squares known as Tavern Style or Party Style and people who fold the slice.
Upon initial observation both styles appear similar. They have the same ingredients; crust, sauce, cheese, toppings, both smell great, and have the same outcomes; bringing joy to their consumer.
BUT asking someone their preference is polarizing. It triggers emotions and often sparks contentious debate.
In June 2020, 17 adults were surveyed on their pizza preference. Six preferred Tavern Style, 7 preferred The Fold style, and 4 pleaded the 5th. More interesting, supporters of The Fold were 3x more likely to begin a dialog about their pizza preference.
At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong answer, it boils down to what jazzes you up vs what exhausts you. It is your personal preferences. You might be asking yourself, what does the way you eat your pizza have todo with product management? Just like there are two types of pizza people in this world, there are two types of product managers.
Builders and Optimizers.
Both types of Product Managers are at the center of the HBT-L (Human Centered, Business Acumen, Technology & Leadership), share similar competencies, and are outcome driven. What makes the archetypes different is where they get their energy and where they burn out. Let’s take a look at each archetype starting with Builders.
Builders enjoy bringing new creations into the world. They have the ability to see what’s not yet created. They are the ones defining the future, think Elon Musk. No instructions, limited guardrails, and clean slates is a Builder’s dream. They light up when faced with greenfield problems. Builders like to be responsible for new product or feature launches. They enjoy thinking about expansion of a product line and the next set of user.
Builders are able to visualize the future, put a plan around getting there and rally others around their vision. They often take a risk based approach and are ruthless about stopping unsuccessful ideas to pivot onto the next.
If you are reading this and thinking how the heck do you know which way to go when there is no defined direction, you are probably an Optimizer. What excites Builders is utterly draining for an Optimizer and vice versa.
Moving on, the Optimizer.
Optimizers enjoy efficiencies and constantly working to become more focused and precise. They take something already built and bring it from good to great. They roll up their sleeves and get into the weeds of their product, polishing every nook and cranny to perfection. Optimizers are able to identify and squeeze every bit of value out the feature.
Optimizers can easily push beyond the face value of feature suggestions and turn them into hypothesis driven experiments. They are able to do this because of their deep understanding of their target user, pain points, and objectives to be achieved. They also value process, data, and analytics and invest in testing infrastructure, strategies, and data driven story telling.
Optimizers live to turn dials and pull levers to make the largest impact with the smallest changes whereas seeking out these opportunities is like finding a needle in a haystack to Builders.
There is no right or wrong type of Product Manager, every Product Manager does activities embodied in both roles, but with differing levels of focus. The key is to hone in on what you enjoy most and seek out opportunities that play on your strengths. Knowing the type of Product Manager you are will help you navigate your career and find opportunities that play to your strengths.
