Simonetta Batteiger: Product Managers Need to Understand the Financials... Not Just the Users

On this episode, I speak to Simonetta Batteiger, a product leadership coach, trainer, speaker and co-organiser of ProductTank Cologne. Simonetta began her career in accounting and finance before moving into product leadership while still maintaining a strong sense of the numbers that the rest of the leadership team really cares about. We explore why product teams can be seen as cost centres rather than sources of business value, how to connect product decisions to meaningful financial outcomes, and why the ability to build more quickly with AI makes sound commercial judgement more important, not less.

Episode Highlights

We cover a lot, including:

• Building more isn't the same as creating more value. Product teams can be busy delivering features without being able to explain what the business gets in return. A stronger starting point is to consider the commercial outcome an investment is expected to generate, rather than treating delivery itself as proof of success.

• Product teams need to show a return, not just a cost. Headcount, infrastructure and tools appear clearly in budgets, but the value created by product work often doesn't. Understanding how an initiative might generate revenue, protect existing revenue, reduce costs or avoid future expenditure changes the conversation from funding a team to investing in an outcome.

• Know the financial reality your decisions sit within. Product managers don't need to become accountants, but they should understand the basics of the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, as well as what the organisation is trying to optimise. The size of the business, the cost of the team and the scale of a potential opportunity all matter when judging whether an investment is worthwhile.

• Prioritisation requires more than choosing the biggest number. Understanding the drivers of revenue and cost helps product teams compare opportunities and develop stronger proposals. But business strategy, customer needs and longer-term opportunities still matter, e.g. an investment that enables a new market may be worth making even before its financial benefits are realised.

• Roadmap disagreements often reflect competing commercial pressures. Sales leaders may be trying to meet revenue commitments while executives may be advancing a strategic opportunity. Rather than treating these requests as arbitrary interference, product leaders can uncover the underlying rationale and make trade-offs using shared business objectives.

• Indirect impact is still impact. In B2B sales-led organisations, platform teams and internal products, the connection between a particular feature and revenue may be difficult to trace. That doesn't remove commercial accountability. It calls for a broader understanding of how product, engineering, sales and other teams contribute to outcomes together.

• Finance should be a partner in product decisions. Learning how the business makes and spends money starts with looking at the information already available and asking finance colleagues what matters. Building a shared understanding of the numbers can improve business cases, clarify priorities and strengthen the credibility of product investment proposals.

• AI can accelerate delivery while making the economics worse. Faster development isn't necessarily a better investment if increased tooling and token costs outweigh the benefits. Usage-based AI costs can also erode margins as adoption grows, so teams need a credible explanation of how AI will bring forward revenue, reduce costs or create value customers will pay for.

• Technical judgement and commercial judgement now have to work together. AI's unpredictable behaviour introduces new questions about reliability, security, evaluation and operational safeguards. Understanding these risks is not separate from understanding the business. Unreliable or unsafe experiences can increase costs and damage retention.

• Trust is part of the business model. Customers pay because they believe a product will deliver its promised value. When that promise breaks - through poor experiences, unsafe AI behaviour or diminished value - revenue and reputation are at risk. Building responsibly and protecting customer trust are therefore commercial priorities, not merely ethical extras.

Connect with Simonetta

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonettabatteiger
• Inclusive Leaders: https://inclusiveleaders.blog

Work with Me

Through One Knight Consulting, I help product companies build better products and stronger product teams. If you're a business leader and would like to chat about how I can help you, email me at hello@oneknightconsulting.com or book a free advisory call here: https://okip.link/advice