Bernie Maloney: Problems vs. Solutions: The Great Product Owner Distinction

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The Great Product Owner: The Strategic Problem Solver

Bernie describes an exemplary Product Owner from a stealth program sponsored by a CTO, where the company needed to create new intellectual property. This Great Product Owner understood that Agile operates in three dimensions: most organizations only focus on outputs and delivery (first dimension), some reach outcomes (second dimension), but the truly great ones operate in the third dimension of strategic or business agility - defining problems worth solving. This Product Owner knew that high-performing teams need to understand what problem is worth solving rather than just receiving solutions to build. They embraced the Mobius loop approach, focusing on discovering the right problems rather than jumping straight to solutions.

In this segment, we refer to the Mobius Loop, and to Steve Blank’s work on the job of a startup. 

We also refer to the episode with Elliott Parker on the critical importance of the “startup mindset” to foster innovation in larger organizations. 

The Bad Product Owner: The Backlog Jockey with Authority Issues

Bernie identifies the anti-pattern of Product Owners being treated as mere "backlog jockeys" by their organizations, which forces them into solution-building mode rather than problem-solving mode. These Product Owners don't understand the importance of saying "no" and lack clarity about intent and goals. The worst case Bernie encountered was a team manager who also served as Product Owner, wielding positional authority that shut down team communication. This person would interrupt daily scrums, causing teams to revert to waiting for direction rather than self-organizing. The combination of unclear intent and positional authority creates a toxic environment that destroys team autonomy and psychological safety.

Self-reflection Question: Is your Product Owner focused on defining problems worth solving, or are they primarily managing a backlog of predetermined solutions?

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About Bernie Maloney

Bernie Maloney has helped teams grow businesses to beyond $4B / year, delivering products from consumer electroni