Coaching – Ethics

Marty Cagan argues that ethics deserves its own explicit place in product decisions, proposing a fifth risk alongside value, usability, feasibility and business viability: 'Should we build it?' He notes ethics often gets lost inside business viability because so many functions compete for attention and no stakeholder is clearly accountable for it. Drawing on an interview with Airbnb's Chief Ethics Officer Rob Chesnut, he says companies must weigh stakeholders beyond shareholders, including customers, employees, partners and communities. He frames product managers as having a special responsibility because they conceive and deploy new products, and offers guidance on raising concerns constructively and, when a company clearly ignores ethics, considering leaving.

01Key takeaways

• Add an explicit ethical risk question, 'Should we build it?', to your product evaluation alongside the other risks.
• Consider how each solution affects all stakeholders, not just revenue and shareholders.
• Use signals like end-customer benefit, environmental impact, and whether you'd be comfortable if all internal discussions became public.
• Encourage a team culture where asking uncomfortable ethical questions is accepted and expected.
• Raise ethical concerns in a non-accusatory way that clearly shows you care about the company's best interests.
• Build strong understanding of your business economics so ethical concerns are not dismissed as naive.

02Key sections

The missing fifth risk

Cagan explains that ethics often falls through the cracks of business viability, so he adds 'Should we build it?' as an explicit risk to evaluate.

Stakeholders beyond shareholders

Chesnut contrasts short-term, shareholder-only thinking with a broader view that weighs employees, users, hosts, communities and the environment.

Why product managers carry responsibility

Because PMs shape new products early, they should check end-customer impact, environmental and third-party effects, and whether they would be comfortable with the decision being public.

Handling an ethical issue

Raise concerns thoughtfully, from a stance of protecting the company's interests, while understanding the business economics and involving your manager.

When to consider leaving

If a company clearly disregards ethics or leadership doesn't care about integrity, Cagan and Chesnut suggest it may be time to find another job.

03From the post

“A partnership dedicated to teaching best practices to product teams and product leaders”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.