Navigating chaotic times in your company as a Product Manager

The moment Elon Musk walked into Twitter with a sink, we knew things were gonna get weird... and they have. If you're a product manager at a company like Twitter going through what it's going through, how would you navigate it? Let's talk about that.

First off, it's useful to state that Elon Musk is treating Twitter as a classic “Turnaround” situation where the company is in absolute crisis and needs immediate change as opposed to a “Realignment” where a company was once successful but has lost its way. I would argue that Twitter is actually in need of a realignment, but clearly Musk is going with a turnaround.

Turnarounds are characterized by big decisions made very quickly and massive shakeups in the leadership team. Clearly, everything that we're seeing at Twitter right now. Typically turnarounds are pretty controlled. If the leadership has a good plan and can communicate it well, but clearly that's not what's happening at Twitter. Elon Musk at Twitter right now is like Godzilla in Tokyo, pure chaos. That said, chaos actually brings a [00:01:00] lot of opportunity. So if you're looking to move to a new role or move to a different part of the company, this kind of a shakeup can actually be the perfect time to make that kind of a big move.

So here are some things you can do to get the most out of this situation.

Don’t get emotional

First off, don't get emotional. Elon Musk is a divisive figure. There's gonna be a lot of people that aren't happy with what's going on. Try and stay neutral so that you can talk to as many people and gather as much information as you can as things change.

Tune into your intuitions

Most people, especially at tech companies, solve problems with knowledge and rationality. However, in a chaotic situation, knowledge is of limited value. Instead, tune into your gut and that'll help you be able to react faster.

Stay open-minded

Elon Musk has been acting like a bully and a troll for quite a while, and he's a little bit insufferable right now. That said, he's still a smart guy: you know rockets, cars, solar panels. His ideas at Twitter might seem impulsive and extreme, but they also might be right. Turnarounds require extreme and unpopular ideas. When Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1996, he famously cut the entire product line to zero and rebuilt it from the ground up. Of course he held a town hall and he communicated that well, and people kind of understood it, so that was a positive, but still there was massive changes that happened.

Gather information.

In a chaotic situation. Information is gold. Talk to as many people as you can. Pool your information and try and understand the lay of the land so that you can make decisions that are more informed. What's happening on other teams? Who's talking to who? Do some research into the people on Elon Musk's team and try and understand where their focuses might be.

Prepare for all scenarios

With the information that you're gathering. Try and imagine what might happen and how you might react. For example, Elon Musk is very clearly interested in cutting costs and growing revenue. So what product ideas do you have for that? What might you do? What might you propose? Imagine you got in front of Elon Musk or one of his guys. What would your plan be? Have those things ready. Try and understand [00:03:00] how you might react and that'll help you to navigate the situation regardless of which way it goes.

Help your team

There's no question Godzilla Musk is going to leave a trail of destruction through the company, but not the whole thing is going to be destroyed. If you don't know for sure that your team is going to be impacted, keep them moving. Stay working on the things you're working on. Try and keep it business as usual. That will help bring a little bit of stability and calm to your team. After all, they're still gonna be looking to you for guidance.

Finally grab some popcorn

You are watching one of the most interesting dramas in recent tech history play out from the best seats in the house. So take it all in, build up your intuition, and in the worst case that you get fired by Godzilla Musk, you have some great stories to tell for the next several years. Also, there's a very strong case to be made that the best place to be in this whole situation is as far away as possible. So if you don't happen to make it through, consider it a mixed blessing that you've been thrown clear of the wreckage.

Hopefully that's helpful.