Recently, I have pivoted into the role of Product manager and wow, the clichés about my role are popping up left and right, turning into real conversations!
One being that Product manager and Project manager are the same- the janitors and herders of people. Cleaning up the chaotic messes because they seem to share the same acronym PM.
Two, the engineers seem to find issues and problems that the product manager is not as eloquent as them at coding and thus needs to take all their sass. People go on to pass judgement on "do you want to be a dev? Then why do you want to know this?"
Engineers dismissed PMs’ ideas, claiming superior knowledge of code and systems, turning meetings into battlegrounds where technical expertise trumped vision. I’ve seen this firsthand—engineers in their "small pond" domains, as David Deutsch might call it, overrule PMs with fresh perspectives, clinging to implementation details as proof of authority.
Three, the product specialist or enablers seem to think that their knowledge of the application of the product is so awesome- that product managers don't need to be informed or looped into the communication. And that their knowledge and expertise on the product is great enough to drive product discovery.
Coming from the world of science where individual intellect and contributions are respected - this new world is rather a strong contrast- where opinions are strongly held and as a product manager - we have 0 individual benefits and 100% accountability of the team and the product.
It amazes me to see that there is so little value placed on quality, on user experience or eliminate unnecessary features for intuitive designs. So I have endeavored to use AI as my buddy to prototype real models, obsessing over every pixel and transition, proving quality matters everywhere. To learn how to innovate by showing things to a future users which they don’t yet see, ignoring market research that demands "better horses."
In situations like this- I thank that AI came at the right time to my rescue. The first principles and leaning on infinite progress is not as far- and of course this problem that I am sharing is not just in the pivot. We all face them in our individual struggles.
One being that Product manager and Project manager are the same- the janitors and herders of people. Cleaning up the chaotic messes because they seem to share the same acronym PM.
Two, the engineers seem to find issues and problems that the product manager is not as eloquent as them at coding and thus needs to take all their sass. People go on to pass judgement on "do you want to be a dev? Then why do you want to know this?"
Engineers dismissed PMs’ ideas, claiming superior knowledge of code and systems, turning meetings into battlegrounds where technical expertise trumped vision. I’ve seen this firsthand—engineers in their "small pond" domains, as David Deutsch might call it, overrule PMs with fresh perspectives, clinging to implementation details as proof of authority.
Three, the product specialist or enablers seem to think that their knowledge of the application of the product is so awesome- that product managers don't need to be informed or looped into the communication. And that their knowledge and expertise on the product is great enough to drive product discovery.
Coming from the world of science where individual intellect and contributions are respected - this new world is rather a strong contrast- where opinions are strongly held and as a product manager - we have 0 individual benefits and 100% accountability of the team and the product.
It amazes me to see that there is so little value placed on quality, on user experience or eliminate unnecessary features for intuitive designs. So I have endeavored to use AI as my buddy to prototype real models, obsessing over every pixel and transition, proving quality matters everywhere. To learn how to innovate by showing things to a future users which they don’t yet see, ignoring market research that demands "better horses."
In situations like this- I thank that AI came at the right time to my rescue. The first principles and leaning on infinite progress is not as far- and of course this problem that I am sharing is not just in the pivot. We all face them in our individual struggles.
So I wonder if we have now arrived to a time where sometimes opening the door of AI sludge is far superior than battling the judgement of human despair.
Image: real painting by yours truly