Key Failures to Avoid When Running a Product Management Student Club
In my experience as a product management educator, mentor, and advisor, I’ve had the opportunity to work with dozens of product management student clubs. Interestingly, any PM student organization can wind up failing, whether in their first semester or whether in their 10th year of existence.
In other words, you can’t rest on your laurels, and you have to stay ever vigilant against potential problems. It doesn’t matter how many members or sponsors you have right now - if you become complacent, you jeopardize the future of the club.
I genuinely want to see product management student clubs succeed on campuses all over the world, because student clubs are one of the foundational pillars to the product management profession and industry.
So, I want to share with you the top three kinds of failures that I’ve witnessed, as well as advice on how to avoid these pitfalls.
Failure #1: Too much focus on numbers
One of the biggest red flags that I see is when a product management student club is too focused on growing its numbers, rather than focusing on its core value.
Why might this happen?
Well, sometimes student founders wind up turning their product management student club into a game of ego-boosting. They become fixated on increasing the number of followers their club has on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms.
From that perspective, they then launch an unsustainable number of programs, which then fall apart within a year due to lack of bandwidth or resources.
While growing the numbers can be a sign that you’re solving a real problem, you don’t want to be overly focused on the numbers. Quality is what matters in the long run, not quantity.
So, focus on doing just one thing well. Building sustainable value is what really matters in the long run, and this holds true for both campus PM club founders and for full-time product managers.
The reality is that many companies work this way. As long as they do one particular thing at an A+ level, it’s okay that all of their other functions run at a B- level.
Whereas, if you have a company that does lots of different things all at a B+ level, that company is going to lose to the A+ one.
Here’s the truth. A small club of 10 members who are all raving fans will grow sustainably for many years to come. But, a club that has 500 members in its first year will typically break down after that first year, because it’s lost its way.
So, don’t be afraid to think small and to start small, because that’s what will help you win in the long run!
Failure #2: No succession plan
Another red flag is when the club’s founder graduates without a succession plan in place. What happens is that the club quickly collapses after their departure.
Many times, student organizations are driven at the start by the charisma and the passion of their founders. There’s nothing wrong with that, because you do need to have a compelling vision and a “run through walls” mentality to launch something new.
But, while it’s okay to have the founder drive lots of the decision making in the first year, there needs to be a succession plan for future club leaders (e.g. presidents or directors) to step up and take charge.
So, be sure to document what work you’ve been doing to make the club run. Documentation is a critical skill for product managers, so don’t look down on it! You’d be surprised how much easier it is to maintain a club when you’ve written down things like schedules, processes, and roles and responsibilities.
On a similar note, be sure to delegate your work to team members over time. Product managers and founders are assessed not on their own personal contribution, but rather on the total value that their organization creates.
Now is a fantastic time for you to learn how to delegate! As an example, once you’ve figured out how to create a newsletter, find someone trustworthy to be your Director of Student Engagement to own the newsletters in the future.
Or, once you’ve figured out how to get product management speakers to come to your club, turn these responsibilities over to a VP of External Relationships so that you can focus on other priorities.
As students, we typically don’t get the chance in academia to document our processes or to delegate our work, and that makes it hard for us to smoothly transition into a product management role.
Therefore, pay special attention to documentation and delegation, because it will help you in the long run!
If you’re looking to level up your club leadership skills while also leveling up your product management skills, check out the Product Teacher PM Masterclass.
Failure #3: Lack of funds or resources
Product management clubs can run quite far on limited resources in their first couple of semesters on campus. But, after a while, they will eventually hit a bottleneck.
Why is that? Well, running student programs can be expensive and resource-intensive, whether they’re social dinners or competitions or events.
It’s unreasonable to ask your leadership team to foot the bill - after all, you’re still students right now! Yet, if you don’t find a way to bolster your resources, you constrain your ability to run an effective product management student interest club.
So, to make sure that your club can sustain itself over the long run, you’ll want to find ways to cover your expenses.
Here are a couple of ideas for doing so.
First, consider charging a membership fee for your product management student organization. You can charge either a one-time membership fee, or you can charge every quarter or semester.
Of course, if you decide to go down this path, make sure that your value proposition is worth the cost, and that your fees aren’t too heavy for students to bear!
Second, look to get sponsorship from your school. Most campuses have set aside budgets for helping student organizations succeed, though these typically come with some sort of formal application process. Reach out to your career center or to your student body leaders to see what’s available!
Third, you can look for corporate sponsors from outside of your campus. Many companies are happy to help students succeed, and can support clubs in a variety of ways.
As an example, companies can provide you with paid student projects, student discounts, competition prizes, monetary grants, advertising, etc.
As a reminder, Product Teacher can also be one of your corporate sponsors!
We’re eager to help students become more successful at product management, and we’d love to find ways to work together with you. Whenever you’re ready, reach out to us at admin [at] productteacher [dot] com, we’re excited for you!
Summary
To successfully lead a product management club on campus, you need to know what kinds of pitfalls to avoid.
One of the biggest traps is to focus too much on the numbers, rather than on the core value. To prevent falling into this trap, prioritize doing one thing really well, and get lots of feedback from your club members.
Another trap is failing to plan for succession. Students will all eventually leave the school, so you have to find a way to transfer knowledge, responsibilities, and processes. To prevent this problem, make sure to document your knowledge and to delegate whenever you can.
Finally, many student organizations are bottlenecked by lack of resources, which causes them to run out of steam and causes their members to lose interest. To combat this problem, you can use membership fees, school sponsorship, or corporate sponsorship to sustainably grow your student organization.
Now that you’ve read this guide, you’re equipped to make a positive impact in product management - we can’t wait to see what you do!
