Only 5% of companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange 20 years ago operate independently today. Many went bankrupt; the others were acquired. “Fallen angels” include  erstwhile technology stalwarts such as Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, Netscape, Peoplesoft, and LinkedIn. Each of them pioneered in their respective categories and, at their peak, generated billions of dollars of annual revenues. So, why are they no longer members of the 5% Club? The common contributing factor: their innovation engines stalled. Innovation is the life blood of startups and mature technology companies alike.

Product management, a discipline honed over decades in successful Silicon Valley companies, holds the key. Through their mastery of product management, enduring companies sustain innovation as they mature, improving their offerings and identifying new ways to meet customers’ needs. Silicon Valley’s exemplars focus on:

• Principles. Product principles are a technology company’s North Star; they guide choices about what to build in ways that engage customers and yield profitable growth.
• People. Successful technology companies attract talented people as product managers (PMs), train them well, and empower them to set their product’s roadmap. 5% Club members also carefully select product leaders who supervise PMs and formulate product strategy.
• Process. Technology companies have honed the processes that PMs and product leaders use to decide what to build and to track product performance against objectives. These processes comprise an operating system (OS) for continued innovation.
• Pathways. Product leaders find safe and sound pathways as they navigate a series of challenges that evolving technology companies inevitably encounter. Such challenges include: when and how to pay down “technical debt” accrued by taking engineering shortcuts in order to meet launch deadlines; when and how to expand the venture’s product line; how best to integrate teams and technologies after acquiring startups; and when and how to enter international markets.

Our essays will be structured into four sections that correspond to the priorities listed above. In developing our arguments, we draw upon interviews we have conducted with dozens of product leaders; Deep’s experiences as a founder of Patkai Networks and product leader at LinkedIn and Google; case studies of startups Deep has worked with as a venture capital investor, and that Tom has profiled in scores of MBA teaching cases; and a survey of product leaders’ approaches to people and process management. 

The essays reveal strategies and tactics for sustaining product innovation at every stage of a company's evolution, from inception through maturity. We unveil the playbook for building great products and enduring companies, the Silicon Valley way.