One way to build a successful company – perhaps the best way – is to solve a big and relevant problem in the real world. For software companies, the solution to the problem is almost always deployed as a product, which customers hopefully will find useful and valuable enough so that they are willing to buy it.

Therefore, one could argue that the purpose of a software company is to ship the right product at the right time to the right market, so that the mission is accomplished.

Given the importance of the product, it’s no surprise that most tech companies have a C-level executive who is responsible for the strategy and execution of all product-related activities, the Chief Product Officer (CPO). Whether the title is CPO, Head of Product, VP of Product, or something else, doesn’t much matter. There needs to be someone who is responsible for the strategic product direction and who leads the product organization.

In my opinion, the single most important job of the CPO can be directly derived from the raison d'être of a software company. Given a company’s vision and mission (hopefully to solve a big and important problem), the job is simply to make sure that a winning solution, i.e. the right product at the right time to the right market, is developed and shipped.

Sure, the roles and responsibilities of a CPO can be described in much more detail, but first and foremost it’s a leadership role. The primary goal is to lead, mentor, and facilitate the product organization to ensure that a winning solution is developed – one that brings value and success both to customers and the company itself.

The CPO organization would typically be responsible for the following:

• Product vision

• Product innovation

• Product design

• User and market research

• Project management

• Product development

• Product marketing initiatives

• Product analytics and metrics

Considering the above mentioned responsibilities, a successful CPO must have a variety of skills and characteristics. Besides being a good and inspiring leader, the CPO should be a good communicator and have a burning desire to learn and improve. A good CPO should always be asking "how can we make this better?” and the answer will typically require a thorough understanding and interpretation of data.

The CPO should also be able to switch between a micro and macro focus, ensuring that while important deliverables are shipped in the short term, the ball must constantly be rolling towards the big vision. And as for all leaders, empathy is crucial. The CPO should in particular be able to understand how users and customers feel when using the product and what they desire.

To summarize, there’s a lot on the CPO’s table and in early-stage startups, where the headcount of the CPO organization is exactly 1, the CPO is responsible for everything. In practice that means heavy prioritization of tasks and responsibilities, which is fine, as long as the most important job isn’t compromised.