At what point in building out your PMM team does it make sense to think about moving from a horizontal org chart to a vertical one? What factors do you consider when making the decision to grow horizontally vs. vertically?

I believe the answer to this 'depends' on many factors, a couple of which are: 

• Company size 
• Org (PMM or reporting org) size

If you have a large PMM team, having a more vertical org may make the most sense. At Cisco, I believe our PMM org is very balanced, not too flat or too tall, but would be considered vertical. That said, Cisco is a large company and having PMM leaders with teams of PMMs has been incredibly beneficial from a messaging and communications perspective. Each PMM is responsible for their product line, and their PMM leader is responsible for that product portfolio. 

I've found it depends on the number of direct reports, where a manager loses productivity if they have too many direct reports, but smaller/more manageable teams are make for a more productive work environment for all parties involved. 

I think the switch from horizontal to vertical org charts depends on a few key factors:

• Product scope

  • Do you have multiple products where a vertical play is needed to support company goals?

• Team maturity

  • Do you have people leaders on the squad who are ready to manage ICS?

• Company stage

  • Do you need to specialize to support certain business goals and opportunities?