I've written plenty about remote work and the isolation it can bring to both your mental health and work life.
It’s been a drum I’ve been beating for a long time.
Like many, I’ve benefitted *tremendously* from the opportunities remote work has opened up, from the flexibility of scheduling to the elimination of long commutes.
I’ve had the privilege of coaching PMs across cities, countries and continents.
It would have been possible in the past but it wouldn’t have been the norm.
But, these days, it’s feeling that the downsides of remote work are outweighing the upsides, specifically for product development teams.
Before you come for me, I’m not advocating for a full return to the office.
But I do want to make a case for product leaders gathering their teams in person more regularly.
The Irony of our Agility
Funnily enough, product teams were better positioned than most to make the sudden shift to remote work when the pandemic hit.
When everything shut down, we moved our stand-ups to Slack, our sprint planning and retros to Miro boards, and our meetings to Zoom.
We adapted fast and the transition was smoother1 for us than for many other functions.
I watched as loved ones and non-tech orgs struggle to bring their practice online: learning Zoom, password managers, cloud drives.
And, I watched how much harder it was for other industries that lacked the digital-first mindset we take for granted in product.
But, this early adaptation advantage may have clouded our thinking about remote work's long-term viability for product teams.
Product Management Today
Spend any time in product circles or on LinkedIn2, and you’ll hear that product management is changing—or worse, that people are leaving.
There are many reasons.
But, one that’s stuck out the most, and something that was driven home for me last week at Marty Cagan’s Transformed workshop was the lack of colocation.
Marty made the case for colocation, particularly during product discovery phase.
Maybe more importantly, he drove home that to get a great product you need friction.
Friction in building good products
Marty argued, and I astutely agreed, that best innovation happens with friction: healthy debate and a clash of ideas to get real polish on a product.
Pre pandemic, we spent time collaborating on designs looking at the same screen, meeting customers in real life and gently arguing over which solution to build.
Because remote relationships are more fragile, friction is more dangerous.
Remote friction isn’t so overt and, worse, it takes longer to fester over time.
Not only is it unproductive, its wasteful.
Worst of all, people take path of least resistance and dont’ fight. As a result, outcomes, and thus the business, suffers.
And because of this, innovation has taken a hit.
Because collaboration has taken a hit.
Yes the pool of talent is bigger than its ever been.
But innovation is lower.
Product teams thrive when they’re in the same room—brainstorming, ideating, and problem-solving face-to-face.
Sure, you can have a productive online brainstorm or a heartfelt retrospective over Zoom. But, we’ve lost the intangible but critical magic of in-person, singular focus.
Further, product management is a misunderstood, often undervalued function within an organization.3
Remote work has amplified that misunderstanding.
Requests via Slack land flat, nuanced feedback feels light and impersonal in an email. In moving our communication online, we’ve lost the ability to connect deeply with our partners and demonstrate the true value we bring.
It’s easy for you to say…
Saying, "Bring your product teams together more regularly," is easy for me to say. I fully own that privilege.
I live in New York City with one of the highest concentrations of product jobs. I run my own business, and I get to choose who I work with and where.
But my flexibility hasn’t stopped me from investing in face-to-face time whenever I can.
For local clients or those visiting the city, I always suggest meeting in person if possible—because I’ve seen the difference it makes in building trust.
And I believe product teams need to make a concerted effort to do the same.
The logistics are challenging, and not everyone has the luxury of being in a tech hub with access to a plethora of office spaces.
But if you have any influence over this decision, I urge you to prioritize it.
The struggle isn’t just within your product team.
Your engineering teams are feeling it too.
Designers sense that nuanced feedback gets lost in translation.
We can’t bring everyone back to the office full-time.
But we can be intentional about bringing our core product development teams together on a regular basis, especially for product discovery.
I worry that as we continue to live in these tidy, isolated digital boxes, the connection and collaboration that give rise to great products will decline.
And as that happens, the value of the product function itself may continue to diminish in the eyes of our organizations.
So, if you can influence it, find ways to get your teams together.
It doesn’t have to be all the time, but enough to remind teams to foster creativity, connection and really great products.
Hi - I’m Jori and I’m a Product Coach. Here’s how to work with me ↩️
I work with Product Leaders and their teams to unlock their biggest product moments. If you’re looking for support - drop me a note, I’d love to connect. 🤝
I co-host Product Leadership Breakfast NYC, a monthly product breakfast series to bring together curated groups of PM leaders to connect over casual breakfast. If you live in NYC or find yourself passing through, join us! ☕
Curious how you could benefit from coaching? I’m hosting a FREE Product Power Hour December 17th. Join me to get your product questions answered in real-time. 💪
I kind of enjoyed it.
Nah, you don’t need to spend more time on LinkedIn.
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