Product Management's Success Became Its Own Problem

Product management used to be a craft. Now it's a career path. The role got so popular, so many people got hired, that the work itself started to splinter.

Product managers today are less makers and more managers — managing processes, managing tools, managing the people who do the actual building. The success of the PM role killed the craft.

This matters for everyone who builds things — la gente working in startups, small businesses, and tech shops. When product management becomes a layer of management rather than a layer of making, the people doing the work get further from the work. The cousin running a side business, the auntie building an app between jobs, the primos coding in garage offices — they all feel the shift. More meetings, more tools, more jargon, less time to actually build.

Why this matters for us: When the work gets further from the workers, the people who build the products — us — lose the craft that makes the work meaningful.