Why most product managers are replaceable (this isn't about AI!)

You have to look inwards

This post is a culmination of my observations and interactions over my product career.

When I think of building products I think of the word obsession - obsession with understanding customer problems, obsession with becoming the domain expert, obsession with finding innovative solutions to customer problems, and obsessing with making the world a better place. This obsession gives you a 6th sense.

I have had the pleasure of working with a few of these folks over the year - you know who you are - who have this obsession. They are not easy to work with because every time you think you have the answer, they go one level deeper and re-frame the problem, the solution or everything around it. For them no customer interaction is a transaction. They challenge every assumption. It’s exhausting but exhilarating. With that obsession comes the fuel to constantly learn. With that learning comes the ability to know exactly which problems to solve and how to solve them in the most innovative ways.

I can always tell with my first engagement with someone if they have what it takes to build a great product.

What I have found in my experience is that only a small percentage have that obsession. Most others are working on the wrong problems or what they call “a lot of problems” - ahem…that is just a feature factory. When it comes to building solutions it is worse because they are not thought through the lens of the customer - context, segment, persona. The lack of 6th sense creeps up in the product. Unfortunately there are also many who spend most of their time doing project/program management - building decks, creating & organizing Jira tickets, attending meetings, and many other tasks like these.

If you are a product manager (or leader) who isn’t obsessed then it’s easy to replace you - you’re not bringing the unique leverage you were hired for the product team. You have to look inwards and ask yourself - “Am I truly obsessed about solving this?”.

So pick a problem you want to be obsessed about and then chase that obsession.