Unfortunately, you're 100% right about all of that...
This is getting afield, but I'm in a rather tough spot: late stage startup that continues to grow, and one I've been involved with for a very long time, so I've invested a lot of my career here. I want to see it succeed (not the least because I have a not insubstantial option pool), and it seems we probably will, though perhaps in spite of ourselves. :) Customer engagement is high, we're seeing steadily growing revenues, and we've largely pushed aside any competition in our space.
But, senior management is only borderline functional and business focus is primarily customer acquisition rather than strategic product initiatives. Some recent changes in that area have been positive, but not transformative, and we continue to build a business on an original concept invented over a decade ago, while failing to keep up with changes in the industry.
Meanwhile, my direct report is essentially absent (which means product has no representation at the VP level), and the only other VP-level individual (who, notably, is not my direct report) with a strong product background is likely on their way out for various political reasons.
Tricky.
Anyway, barring a career change, at minimum, I really need to reach out to my network to find other folks in the role with whom I can share war stories and coaching/advice...
IMO: once you grok how PM is viewed by a management team, you need to make a stay-or-bail decision. Don't waffle. It sounds like you've already made the evaluation.
My 30 yrs of experience says that an idiotic mgmt team is going to stay that way until they fail and/or are replaced. PM's squishy nature just makes it a easy target for "oh, they're just marketing." And your particular direct report circumstances just make the decision that much easier.
This is getting afield, but I'm in a rather tough spot: late stage startup that continues to grow, and one I've been involved with for a very long time, so I've invested a lot of my career here. I want to see it succeed (not the least because I have a not insubstantial option pool), and it seems we probably will, though perhaps in spite of ourselves. :) Customer engagement is high, we're seeing steadily growing revenues, and we've largely pushed aside any competition in our space.
But, senior management is only borderline functional and business focus is primarily customer acquisition rather than strategic product initiatives. Some recent changes in that area have been positive, but not transformative, and we continue to build a business on an original concept invented over a decade ago, while failing to keep up with changes in the industry.
Meanwhile, my direct report is essentially absent (which means product has no representation at the VP level), and the only other VP-level individual (who, notably, is not my direct report) with a strong product background is likely on their way out for various political reasons.
Tricky.
Anyway, barring a career change, at minimum, I really need to reach out to my network to find other folks in the role with whom I can share war stories and coaching/advice...