Leadership -People Challenges of Small Product Firms

While leadership is an issue in every firm, the challenges in start-up product and small firms (100 people) is a big challenge, in IT industry in particular. Leadership is required in both product as well as operational side of it.

Product firms face herculean task of creating world class product that can take on bigger firms, creating brand equity and building a team that would stay for long enough for the company to sustain in the chosen domain. To my mind, the major Leadership skill is in People area; if we address it, we would have won half the battle.

Leadership involves taking huge but calculated risks in developing products. Translating the vision into reality would require talented and passionate team. In the IT industry, with growing demand for attracting and retaining talent becomes highly critical and challenge. In my experience, retaining the talent can be achieved by innovative HR models, creating unique experience in. The innovation is not one time but each year, a new initiative to be taken to retain the talent. While HR role itself is not left to the imagination of HR, but played by one of the top management staff, since retention of talent shapes the very product and service that firm envisages.

For instance, we run a theme every year; the theme named which is close to the annual goal. Each department runs an initiative around the specific theme and showcase the progress on quarterly basis. This creates a unique experience in the minds of people and also motivates them to perform.

The people challenge continues beyond attracting and retention. The next level is to create strong middle management and bond between the three levels of staff. The leaders at the top would need to bring all their experience in bringing the middle tier to the desired level. In Product firms, the idea is also to ensure that risk-taking is institutionalized. While smaller firms, with resource and financial crunch faced all the time, managers tend to take safe position rather than taking risks. Product firms, in particular, need to take risk without which, it is definite road to failure. Thus, Leaders would have to encourage and empower the managers to take calculated risks; risks have to be rewarded adequately.