Product management and the tech industry
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TLDR

In this episode, former Google product management director Tom Leung shares his experiences with recent tech industry layoffs and offers valuable advice for product managers facing career changes. Key takeaways include:

• 
  
• Seeing layoffs as chances for personal and professional growth
  
• Embracing a “gap year” mindset to explore new experiences and skills
  
• Focusing on solving big customer problems in product development
  
• Adapting to the changing job market for product managers
  
• Balancing innovation with practical value in the age of AI and new tech
  

Product managers can use these insights to navigate career shifts, boost their skills, and approach product development with a fresh focus on customer needs and market demand.

The Changing Landscape of Tech Employment

The tech world has seen big changes lately, with even giants like Google facing restructuring and layoffs. Tom Leung, who used to be a director of product management at Google, shares his firsthand experience with the company’s 2023 layoffs. His story gives us a peek into how the tech job market is changing and what it means for product managers, along with tips for navigating smartly.

Google’s Restructuring and Layoffs in 2023

In January 2023, Google started a series of layoffs. Leung remembers the strange experience of telling team members about the changes. He joined Google in 2006, and up until 2023 he saw very few layoffs.

The first wave of layoffs in January was followed by more throughout the year, affecting top-performing employees. This change in how Google treated its workers showed how unstable the tech job market can be and why product managers need to be ready for unexpected career changes.

Impact on Company Culture and Feeling Safe at Work

The layoffs had a big effect on Google’s company culture, especially when it came to feeling safe at work. Leung explains that one of Google’s core values is psychological safety because if you have really strong psychological safety in the team, you can bring out the best performance. The layoffs pierced the veil of safety.

This shift made many employees rethink how secure their jobs were and what their career paths might look like. It shows why it’s important for product managers to be flexible and keep learning new skills.

Personal Stories of Career Changes

Leung’s journey from Google to new opportunities offers valuable lessons for product managers facing career changes. His experience shows the importance of embracing change and seeing setbacks as potential opportunities to grow.

From Google to New Adventures

After working at Google for 10 years, Leung was already thinking about a career change. When he was affected by the layoffs in 2023, he chose to see it as an opportunity rather than a problem.

Embracing the “Gap Year” Mindset

Leung suggests looking at career changes as a “paid sabbatical” or “gap year.” He encourages product managers to use this time to grow personally and professionally. He shares his own experiences:

• 
  
• Working on a presidential primary campaign in New Hampshire
  
• Teaching product management classes
  
• Making angel investments in promising startups
  
• Exploring potential startup ideas
  

This approach allows product managers to learn new skills, explore different interests, and maybe even find new career paths.

Advice for Product Managers Facing Career Changes

Drawing from his experiences, Leung offers valuable tips for product managers navigating career transitions in today’s tech world.

Seeing Layoffs as Opportunities

Instead of viewing layoffs as purely negative, Leung encourages product managers to see them as chances for growth and exploration. He tells people to think about being in between jobs like a gap year, assuming they received a good severance package. Since they won’t get one again for a while, he advises them to take full advantage of it.

He suggests using this time to:

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• Learn a new language
  
• Pick up a new coding skill
  
• Start a side business
  
• Write a book
  
• Travel to new places
  
• Spend more time with family or coaching your kid’s team
  

The Current Job Market for Product Managers

Leung gives insights into the current job market for product managers, highlighting the imbalance between available talent and open positions. He notes the increased competition and higher employer expectations. Right now is an extremely imbalanced time. There’s a massive surge of very capable talent on the market and very few new roles being opened up.

Strategies for Job Seekers in a Tough Market

Given the challenging job market, Leung recommends the following strategies for product managers:

1. 
   
2. Keep learning and improving your skills
   
3. Try new experiences and learn new things
   
4. Be patient and persistent in your job search
   
5. Use your personal networks and connections
   

He emphasizes the importance of using this time for personal development. Take advantage of this time and invest in your own self-development learning new experiences.

New Ways to Approach Product Development and Startups

Leung’s experiences have led him to rethink traditional approaches to product development and startups. He advocates for a more problem-focused approach that prioritizes solving big customer issues.

The Importance of Focusing on Customer Problems

Leung contrasts his current approach with previous product-first methods. His advice is to force yourself to spend several weeks only thinking about the customer problem. Don’t go down the path of solutioning, even though as product people, we can’t help but want to do that. More to the point, everyone is quick to jump to solutions once a problem is uncovered. As product people, we need to be acutely sensitive to this and first gain a thorough understanding of the problem.

This shift in thinking aligns more closely with design thinking principles, emphasizing the importance of deeply understanding customer needs before developing solutions.

Common Mistakes in Product Development

Leung identifies two major pitfalls in product development:

1. 
   
2. Building solutions for problems that don’t really exist
   
3. Overestimating how much people will value small improvements
   

He warns against creating products that are only slightly better than existing solutions, emphasizing the need for truly innovative and impactful products.

Evaluating if New Products are Really Needed

Before starting a new product development journey, Leung encourages product managers to critically evaluate whether the world truly needs another solution to a given problem. He proposes a checklist for evaluating potential products:

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• Is it solving a huge problem that people get really frustrated about?
  
• Are the current solutions really bad?
  
• Is your solution a big leap forward, not just a small improvement?
  

Leung gives an example to illustrate this point. A product manager might want to create an AI-powered CRM solution. That’s an improvement over an existing CRM system. If AI is going to completely disrupt CRMs and not just accelerate existing workflows, that could be a cool product. But unless you work at a CRM company, Leung wouldn’t suggest starting a new CRM product.

This example highlights the importance of not just improving existing solutions, but finding truly innovative ways to solve big problems.

The Role of AI and New Technologies in Product Management

As AI and other new technologies continue to shape the product management world, Leung offers a balanced view on their role in innovation and creating value.

Being Careful Not to Get Too Excited About New Tech

While recognizing the potential of AI and other new technologies, Leung cautions against getting caught up in the hype. He recognizes that it’s so tempting to just fall in love with Gen AI, but it’s just a tool that won’t change the laws of economics.

He reminds product managers that while these technologies are powerful tools, they’re not solutions in themselves. The focus should always be on solving real customer problems.

Balancing Innovation with Practical Value

Leung emphasizes the importance of combining new technologies with significant customer problems to create truly innovative and valuable products. He encourages product managers to focus on solving real, substantial issues rather than simply applying new technologies to existing workflows.

For example, instead of just making an existing process slightly faster with AI, product managers should look for ways to completely reimagine how a problem could be solved using these new tools.

Conclusion: Thriving in a Changing Tech Landscape

Navigating career changes and personal growth as a product manager in the ever-changing tech industry requires flexibility, continuous learning, and a focus on solving meaningful problems. By embracing the opportunities presented by career transitions, staying aware of market demands, and approaching product development with a customer-first mindset, product managers can thrive in challenging times and drive innovation that truly matters.

Remember these key points:

• 
  
• See career changes as opportunities for growth and exploration
  
• Stay flexible and keep learning new skills
  
• Focus on solving big, meaningful customer problems
  
• Don’t get caught up in the hype of new technologies – use them as tools to solve real issues
  
• Network and stay connected with other professionals in your field
  

By applying these insights and strategies, product managers can better navigate career changes, enhance their skills, and create products that make a real difference in people’s lives. As the tech industry continues to evolve, adaptability, continuous learning, and a customer-centric mindset will be key to success in the exciting and challenging field of product management.

Useful links:

• 
  
• Connect with Tom on Linkedin or Twitter
  
• Check out the Fireside Product Management podcast
  
• Subscribe to Tom’s product management essays on Substack
  
• Check out Tom’s courses on Maven
  

Innovation Quote

“Product-market fit is important. But before you think about product market fit, convince yourself that the world needs yet another solution to this problem.” – Tom Leung

Application Questions

1. 
   
2. How can product managers best prepare themselves for unexpected career changes in the fast-moving tech industry?
   
3. What strategies have you found work well for identifying and confirming significant customer problems before jumping into creating solutions?
   
4. How do you balance the excitement of new technologies like AI with the need to create practical, value-driven products?
   
5. In what ways can product managers use a “gap year” or career transition period for personal and professional growth?
   
6. How might the changing job market for product managers influence the skills and experiences companies will look for in the future?
   

Tom’s Bio

 

Joining us is Tom Leung, whom we talked with in episode 390 about experiences that help product managers grow. At that time, he was the Director of Product Management at Google Heath. We’ll find out what more he has learned about growth as a product manager, including through challenging changes.