Marty Cagan argues that most companies fail to get results from product teams not because teams lack discovery skills, but because they are not truly empowered. He contrasts teams that serve the business with strong…
“Listen to this episode on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts Product leaders are overwhelmed — and it’s not just you. Between shrinking headcount, constant AI disruption, economic uncertainty, and nonstop context switching, many product leaders are trying to do more with less while still protecting their teams. In this episode of All”
Marty Cagan argues that strong product organizations are built on teams of missionaries, people who are engaged, understand the business context, and empathize with customers, rather than mercenaries who simply execute…
Lenny Rachitsky argues that three core Buddhist teachings (dukkha, impermanence, and non-self) map well onto product management work. He explains that dissatisfaction is a built-in feature of human psychology, so PMs…
In this interview-based essay, Marty Cagan talks with serial entrepreneur Danny Shader about what makes a CEO effective at building products customers love. Shader argues that the CEO's personal attention to product…
Marty Cagan announces the pre-order launch of his new book EMPOWERED, co-written with Chris Jones, and explains how it complements INSPIRED. He argues that many companies can teach product teams strong practices but…
Hiten Shah recounts how his analytics startup KISSmetrics went from a near-breakthrough to a stalled company. After two failed products, the team did customer research and found a strong market, building features that…
Marty Cagan argues that most tech product companies struggle to find enough very strong product managers, and that strong product teams depend on them. He points to Google's Associate Product Manager program, which…
This tribute essay by Christian Idiodi remembers Jeremiah Ivan, a former VP of Engineering he worked alongside at Merrill and Snagajob, using anecdotes to show what makes an agent of change. Ivan's unconventional…
Teresa Torres and Petra Wille argue that individual contributors can build real leadership skills before receiving a title. They suggest first clarifying what leadership means in your own organization, since official…
Teresa Torres and Hope Gurion, both coaches, examine how resistance surfaces on pilot teams during a product operating model rollout, even among volunteers. They identify three common objections: "we don't have time,"…
Teresa Torres and Petra Wille argue that the best way to develop a team's skills is often a small, intentional learning group rather than either training everyone at once or leaving people to self-direct. They contrast…
Marty Cagan argues that the real alternative to dedicated Agile coaches is competent line management: engineering, product, and design managers coaching their people in hands-on skills. He contrasts a 'Team Red' that…
Marty Cagan argues that leadership and management are distinct, both essential competencies that many people wrongly conflate. He draws on an excerpt from Marty Abbott and Michael Fisher's The Art of Scalability to…
The piece argues that organizations asking their teams to find ways to use AI for company benefit are undermining that goal by stripping away the agency people need to experiment and decide. The core claim is that…
The article argues that product and corporate leaders should manage their teams the way professional sports coaches and general managers do: continuously evaluating talent, upgrading skills, and filling critical gaps…
Marty Cagan reviews Tony Fadell's book "Build," written from a CEO's perspective, and argues it is a standout guide to what the best product companies do. Cagan notes that Fadell's advice is deliberately old-school…
Chris Favorite Interview Question describes a hiring question a PM manager can use: ask candidates to rank four work attributes (execution, creativity, strategy, growth) from strongest to weakest. The exercise reveals…
Marty Cagan responds to a Product Therapy interview with Shreyas Doshi, which described three product leader archetypes: craftsperson, operator, and visionary. Cagan argues that deep product craft is non-negotiable…
Lenny Rachitsky and Noam Segal report results from a survey of over 8,200 tech workers on burnout, optimism, manager effectiveness, work setup, company size, career clarity and AI anxiety. The core argument is that…
Shreyas Doshi argues that blunt feedback can be transformative, but its value depends heavily on the giver's intent and judgment. Feedback delivered bluntly without care or accuracy can cause harm rather than growth…
Lenny Rachitsky relaunches his dormant newsletter as an advice column on growth, product, and leadership, built from reader questions he previously answered privately or on Twitter. The first installment answers three…
Marty Cagan argues there is a wide gap between how the best product companies work and how the majority of companies work, and that many people don't realize how different the two worlds are. He notes that practitioners…
This essay extends an earlier sports-management analogy about actively managing a team's skills and composition, now using gardening instead. It argues that managers cannot simply hire people and wait for results; they…