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The Death of the Stubborn PM

Product Management is undergoing a seismic shift, much like programming did when compilers replaced assembly language or when Agile dismantled waterfall dogma. Stubborn PMs who cling to outdated rituals—like treating PRDs as sacred texts—will fade into irrelevance. The future belongs to those who embrace AI as a collaborator, not a threat.  

AI Will Disrupt the Tactics, Not the Thinking  

Historically, tools abstracted manual work: compilers automated code translation, A/B testing replaced gut-driven debates. Similarly, AI will automate tactical PM tasks—data aggregation, routine prioritization, even drafting specs. But this is liberating, not limiting.  

The stubborn PM obsesses over *how* to write a PRD; the adaptive PM focuses on *why* a product should exist. AI can’t replicate judgment calls that demand intuition: interpreting unmet customer needs, balancing ethics with growth, or navigating ambiguity when data is sparse. As AI handles execution, the PM’s role shifts to **curating problems worth solving**, not just prescribing solutions.  

The New PM Mindset  

1. Outcomes > Outputs: AI can generate feature ideas, but it can’t define what success looks like. PMs must obsess over outcomes (e.g., customer retention, not ticket counts).  

2. Human-Centered Strategy: AI reveals patterns, but empathy translates them into action. A chatbot can analyze feedback; a PM decides which pain point aligns with the product’s vision.  

3. Ethical Guardrails: AI might optimize for engagement, but PMs must ask, “*Should we?*”  

The Stubborn PM’s Downfall  

Resisting AI’s potential—or over-relying on it—spells disaster. Like programmers who dismissed high-level languages, PMs who conflate their value with documentation will be replaced by those who wield AI to sharpen their strategic edge.  

The future of Product Management isn’t about writing better PRDs. It’s about thinking harder.  

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Inspired by “The End of Programming as We Know It” (Tim O’Reilly) and “A Vision for Product Teams” (Marty Cagan). Both pieces remind us that progress favors adaptability, not stubbornness.

—This article was drafted with the assistance of multiple LLM tools.

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