“Oh, so you manage projects?” Grrr, it’s really no fair – the two disciplines really have nothing in common. Well wait a minute, maybe they do. No, no they really are different. Dang it. What’s the difference between the two?

A lot of the confusion comes from the simple fact that the two jobs do share a lot of things in common. However, never fear, they really are completely different no matter what your friends or your boss tell you. In a nutshell, the differences fall into three different categories: scope, execution, and results.

Scope: A project manager has the somewhat enviable benefit of having the hope of there existing clear cut boundaries that define what he/she is responsible for.

They are responsible for a project that uses resources, has a schedule, and has a clear set of deliverables. A successful product manager on the other hand has a less defined job of creating a successful product. The product will be driven by no so much a set of requirements, but rather a customer need which may be fickle and change over time. A product manager has to be able to see through requirements and determine what the root cause of the customer’s issue is and create a product that solves that.

Execution: The project manager is responsible for basically reporting on the status of the project and he/she has a whole host of tools to do this with.

However, the product manager is not responsible for designing the product. In fact the product manger does not have to be a subject matter expert – they can mange projects that they know nothing about the underlying technology. A Product Manger on the other hand desperately needs to know everything about how the product works. They need to know the motivation behind every design decision so that they can explain it in non-technical terms to a customer. A product manager is going to have to be able to sell (something a project manager never has to do) his/her product to others both internally and externally.

Results: How is a project manager judged? If a product follows a set schedule, delivers what was requested when it was promised and does not exceed its budget, then it is considered to have been a success. Basically, the less attention a project attracts, the more successful it is deemed to have been. The product manger on the other hand is expected to have created a product efficiently (similar to a project manager’s project), but has the additional burden of having to be successful no matter if it is delivered to an internal or external customer. If the product is a runaway success and gets lots of vocal praise from the customer than the product manager is deemed to have done a good job.

Yes, there are a lot of similarities between the jobs. However with due respect to both project mangers and product managers, you can’t switch them around and expect success. Product Management really does require a speci

Timing

There are two distinct times when you will be performing Time Management (TM) functions and then specific times when you will be performing Maximizing Production (MP) functions. Doing them in reverse order will be counter productive. Time Management activities are without doubt the absolute foundation on which everything is laid. If you start off with a faulty foundation, everything else that lies on top will be, in varying degrees, either out and out wrong or just less effective than if the foundation was correct. I use another analogy that I like; it seems to clear up the difference between these two very important functions. You are thinking about going on a vacation. The original thought came from where? You have time off from work, you take a yearly vacation, you are tired, need a rest; the idea for a vacation came from some thought process. That thought process is the start of you organizing your time.

You have started the ball rolling on your vacation, you get out the brochures, you call your travel agent, you look at locations, and you compare prices. Those are all Time Management functions. You are deciding how, when, where, why you will be spending your time over a block of future time. You are setting up the framework in which your future time will be allocated. In this case, you are predeterming where and how a week of your future time will be spent. Unless you woke up one day and jumped on a plane, it would be pretty hard not to do some pre-planning, some Time Management functions to plan for your vacation. In this scenario, you are almost forced to do some planning to get the details worked out so you can leave at a specific time and arrive at a location where they are expecting you and everything is in order. That’s TM in action.

Now, you have just arrived at your vacation destination, you have a whole week ahead of you, what next? The Maximizing Production functions now kicks in. What you do within that week, what you do within that block of time is the function of Maximizing Production. On a vacation you are not really looking to Maximize your time the same way you look at your production at work or in your business but you still want to cram as many things that you want to do as you can. You won’t want to spend all day on the beach because you want to spend some time playing tennis. You want to go on some tours so you have to pay attention to how long you sleep in the morning. These are all Maximizing Production functions. The decision has been made to be on vacation, Time Management function, now that you are on vacation, MP functions take over and you know are deciding how to get the most out of the vacation.

Two Hats

You want there to be a seamless flow between your TM activities and you PM activities. At the same time, to be most effective, you want to be aware that at times you are wearing one hat and at other times, you have to wear the other. It’s best summed up this way; there are times for thinking, and then there are times for action. The thinking time is TM, the action time is PM. I’m not for a second saying that you do not think in the PM phase, far from it, what I’m putting forth here is just separating the two functions into categories for easier assimilation. Let’s go at it another way, a clearer way to define the two, for this discussion only. When you are working on TM activities, and you clearly have to work on them, you would be usually sitting down at your computer, your desk, in your car, you would be sitting down somewhere.

Where would you normally be when you are dealing with Maximizing your Production issues? Most times, you would up and about, on the floor of your facility, in your shop or store, in front of a customer; most times you would not be sitting down. I hope the point here is becoming clear. You want to work on joining TM and PM functions so they work together, for your maximum benefit. For that to happen, it’s best for you to spend the appropriate time on TM activities first, and then work on your PM activities. TM and PM activities form a very powerful one-two punch, you definitely want them working for you.

Every manager wants to use successful motivation techniques to drive production. These techniques should be a part of a long term strategy, and so, should not use negative short term threats if you want to retain your best personnel and nurture their productivity over time. Threats of time pressure and “take away’s” are not the best management tools in most situations, especially where you are trying to build trust that will in turn bring greater long term commitments to improving your bottom-line.

It should also be said that the very best managers who demonstrate long term success do not usually find a short cut method for learning the keys for motivating their workforce. It takes time, effort, and dedication. Managers who truly care about their personnel build relationships through regular “positive” communication. Discovering your individual personnel’s motivation for success and productivity comes easily for some skilled or intuitive managers and may be a very difficult skill to develop for most managers. Knowing whether your personnel are driven by financial considerations or by other forms of recognition are important keys to learning skills in motivating your staff. People are driven to succeed by several main factors.

A person driven by “Economic or Utilitarian” as their prime motivation, require financial payments that clearly reflect the amount of effort they put into their work. These people would be more successful and self-motivated as salespeople, independent business owners, and entrepreneurs.

This is a different motivation than a person who is driven by “Social” considerations. A “High Social” is a person would wants to be recognized as successful for the “good work” they do for society. These people are motivated by “doing good deeds.”

Some people are driven by their need to understand and want to be recognized for their intellect and cognitive interests and abilities. These people may be labeled as “High Theoretical.” They get most from work that solves problems and celebrates new education or learning.

“Aesthetics” are driven by their desire for nice things, comfortable environments, and lack of discord. They appreciate beauty and their work is motivated by their desire to fill their lives with “beauty” in whatever form most attracts them. (They clearly avoid arguments, anger, and uncontrolled aggressive behaviors.)

Some people are drawn by their need for recognition as “Individuals.” This can be so powerful that they hide this vanity within other values types. For example, these people might require attention drawn to them by their actions in other areas such as being successful in business (Utilitarian) or by being recognized for their good deeds (Social) or for their problem solving and intellect (Theoretical.) They like to be associated with successful people and are driven to be seen in the company of powerful people.

Another main value that can be at the core of people’s motivation is a value labeled as “Traditional.” People who have this value as their main motivation are driven by philosophy or religious beliefs. Though in some cases their behaviors may seem extreme as they try to manifest their deep seeded values, as in fanatical religious expressions, they are motivated by long standing, deeply held belief systems. A “High Traditional” believes that they are right and people who disagree are wrong. They can be profoundly loyal and dedicated to their work if it matches their “cause” or belief system.

These patterns were first described in 1928 by a German Psychologist, philosopher, and educator, Eduard Spranger. He taught that most people are “driven” by their top two values from the list of six previously described. By knowing your own values and the values of the people who you manage, you can understand and motivate your workforce to be loyal and productive.

Today many managers can be aided by targeted assessment such as “Personal Interests, Attitudes and Values” (PIA&V) which was developed for business use by Targeted Training International. This simple, and quick, assessment takes the guess-work out identifying the deeply held values that drive your personnel. With a little coaching, you can learn to apply this knowledge to work situations and make sure that you match the right person to the right job or work team. In some companies, using these assessments prior to hiring personnel can reduce costly mistakes by avoiding placing people incorrectly into situations where they can not or will not succeed.