By Teresa Torres · producttalk.org · @ttorres on X · LinkedIn
Product managers constantly receive requests from sales, executives, support, engineers, and customers, and trying to satisfy all of them can derail a well-defined product. The author argues that you can rarely both respond to every request and build a focused product that solves a clearly defined problem. The remedy is to listen to requests but filter them through the lens of the problem you are solving and whether they move you toward it. Clearer communication of that problem also reduces how many out-of-scope requests arrive in the first place. The piece is a short, practical reminder that saying no is part of protecting product focus.
01Key takeaways
- Listen to every request, but don't commit to building it by default.
- Evaluate each request by asking whether it helps you solve your defined problem.
- Clearly communicating the problem you're solving reduces out-of-scope requests over time.
- You can rarely satisfy everyone and still build a well-defined product, so choose focus deliberately.
02Key sections
- The flood of requests
- Requests arrive from many directions, including sales reps, managers, client services, engineers, and customers, each with a plausible reason. The temptation to help everyone is strong because each person is simply doing their job.
- The core tradeoff
- Responding to every request leaves little room for building a coherent product around a clearly defined problem. A PM can rarely do both well at the same time.
- Filtering through the problem
- Requests should still be heard, but each should be evaluated by asking which problem is being solved and whether the request advances that goal. Helping where it fits the scope is the right balance.
- Communicating scope to reduce noise
- The clearer you are about the problem you are solving, the less often people bring requests that fall outside it. Scope communication is a preventive tool.
03From the post
“A sales rep comes to you and asks for a small product change to satisfy a prospective client. Your manager wants to A/B test her latest idea. Your friend in client services keeps asking for an updated FAQ even though nobody reads the one you do have. One of”
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.