(2017-03-21) Cagan My Favorite Pm Interview Question

Martin Cagan: My Favorite PM Interview Question: whether or not the product manager is “the CEO of the product,” and if it’s even a good metaphor.

I’ve found that people generally fall into one of three categories:

• Power: The first group loves this metaphor, because when they hear the phrase, they imagine power
• Fear: The second group of people have a viscerally negative reaction to this metaphor because when they hear the phrase, they immediately imagine the pressure the CEO is under.
• Consideration: The third group doesn’t have the visceral response. To them, well, it’s complicated

I want them to be ambitious, and hungry, and I want them to be confident enough in their abilities to take responsibility for decisions, and I want them to understand they need to worry about all aspects of the business, but I also believe strongly in the importance of humility for a product manager, and I need to make sure they’re not thinking the title gives them anything beyond a shot at earning the respect of their team.