Introduction by our Conference Chair
Summary
Key Insights
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Many aspiring and current product managers feel anxiety about their role’s future and influence within organizations.
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The speaker uniquely combines experiences from both sides of the product table, providing rare dual perspectives.
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Holding dual roles between product and other functions simultaneously is possible but not recommended.
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Common questions about what product management is and how to work with product managers remain largely unanswered in many communities.
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Product management roles are evolving, sometimes leading to feelings that their 'seat at the table' is slipping away.
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Understanding what’s going wrong in product management requires examining internal responsibility, not just external factors.
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There is significant agency among product professionals to improve current challenges and shape the future of the role.
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Community dialogues and workshops continue to uncover pain points and uncertainties in the product management field.
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Despite challenges, the product management role offers exciting opportunities that can energize practitioners.
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Ongoing conversations about product management need to be long overdue to confront and overcome current struggles.
Notable Quotes
"I wrote the book because people have a lot of questions about how to become a product manager or how to work with product managers or what is product."
"I feel a lot of pain and anxiety in the community people wondering, you know is our seat at the table slipping away."
"I myself career-wise went over to the dark side and became a product manager."
"I’ve sat on both sides of the table. I’ve sometimes help both jobs at once which I don’t recommend."
"This is a topic near and dear to my heart and I feel really long overdue conversation."
"What is going wrong? What’s the matter? What’s the cause of that?"
"What responsibility do we have for creating the situation? What agency do we have for making it better?"
"I hope you’ll come out of the day feeling energized and excited about the opportunities and the possibilities."
"These questions haven’t gone away as I speak and do workshops and things like that around the book."
"This is for me an amazing opportunity to see these ideas explored by brilliant people with a wonderful community."
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