The Product Porch

Rebranding the Product Manager Title

Episode Summary

As someone interested in product roles, I want to reimagine the title of product manager, so that I can gain fresh perspectives on redefining the role in today’s evolving field.

Episode Notes

• Product Champions: a new title for PMs (1:00)
• Airbnb gets rid of product manager title (3:45)
• Chief No Officer / Head of No / Innovation Sponge / Walking Roadblock / Killer of Dreams, (5:55)
• Superman, Smokey the Bear and Lil Smokies, and User Psychologists (12:15)
• Group Therapist, Anger Manager, and The Negotiator (15:20)
• Outcome Architect and Director of Opinions (19:00)
• Aladdin and Product Genie wishing rules (22:30)
• Provlemologist and Innovation Specialists (27:15)
• The Fortune Teller, Product Facilier, and Product Gambler (29:45)
• Napalm Artist, sports cliches, and The Joker (33:40)
• Value Broker, Risk Mitigator, and Zookeeper (37:40)
• We discuss whether or not the PM title needs a rebrand (39:00)
• Which PM titles are our favorites (41:00)
• Why the Product Manager role needs a brand and marketing department (45:15)
• Key Takeaways (46:40)