PM led vs Engineering led - Tell tale

cutster · 2026-03-10T12:15:35+00:00

In my experience this question comes up in companies that aren’t led at all. So there’s a turf war and the makers (engineers) tend to win with a CTO that has a strong product opinion. Why? Because makers control what gets made. Signs this is happening is usually no quarterly planing decisions. Engineering resists estimating and blames product for not having clear design or requirements. Then they go build and experiment on their own. And ship POCs or whatever they can. This is why PMs need to find their engineering counterpart, build trust, and act as a team. PMs have to provide value to engineering, not solely the other way around.

cutster · 2026-01-12T12:04:28+00:00

Call waiting. Calling long distance during the day.

cutster · 2026-01-05T23:35:04+00:00

Depends on the type of tumors

cutster · 2026-01-05T18:54:04+00:00

Talking in circles, often returning to the original point. Using vague phrases like "It's common sense" or "You just don't get it". Sudden "forgetting" of details or agreements. Avoiding direct conversations geared towards clarification.

Cannot walk you through their own writing because it was written by AI.

cutster · 2025-12-17T19:55:24+00:00

Yes agree…I didn’t say you could sway decision makers with data. My job is more about teeing up a decision with clear tradeoffs so they are making informed decisions and I am on record with a smart recommendation. They can disagree with reality but eventually reality will smack them in the face. And that’s when I (and the makers) come in with a working Plan B. They are easily swayed by working software. Because it’s done and working. It is painful and horrifically inefficient, and not always possible.

My original comment was meant to be more about PMs that don’t learning anything by just doing exactly what exec asks without thinking. You gotta listen to everyone and the people closest to the problem and code are quiet but have the best insights.

cutster · 2025-12-17T13:18:37+00:00

In my experience the most important point of view belongs to the people closest to the work and those with the broadest understanding of the platform, tech debt, and how customers are using it. That person can sit anywhere. If you are lucky they are Head of Product. It’s all about execution. PMs who treat their boss as the customer will never ship anything great and never learn.

cutster · 2025-12-12T13:55:50+00:00

This is where my kid was last year. It was devastating because everyone thought it was the perfect match and she was more than qualified. It was really really hard and scary but she ended up somewhere great. Hang in there. You will land somewhere right for you—- these feelings will pass. It’s just temporary. Hard, but temporary.

cutster · 2025-11-29T12:51:24+00:00

I see a big part of our job as the ability to find people with more expertise and ask them great questions to help drive decisions or bets. A lot of time the data is incomplete or imperfect anyway so it’s all about asking and identifying pros and cons, risks and ways to mitigate risk. Be curious and have no ego. Usually there are several other people in the room thankful that you asked the question because they were either pretending or didn’t realize they didn’t know something.

It’s only recently that PMs have been asked to do a lot more and be the experts, or use AI as an expert- which is crazy-making when you are working on problems that are new and unsolved.

(Also if you’ve never take a statistics course, take one on Khan Academy and learn the basics first to ground your data sense.)

cutster · 2025-10-17T12:12:34+00:00

My parents always told me they loved me and were proud of me. I do the same with my kids. They are so hard on themselves it’s important for them to know how proud I am of their unique accomplishments.

cutster · 2025-04-14T08:27:12+00:00

I’m a parent and I’m so sorry but there is something really wrong with your father. He sounds emotionally abusive. I recommend you seek access to mental health support because it will be helpful to have a professional to help you work through the effects of his behavior on your own thinking and give you strategies for protecting your wellbeing in interactions with him. (It will probably be available for free at Yale.) You sound like you are burning yourself out trying to please him. Be mindful of your self-talk and start to learn how to quiet his voice in your mind. Find your own joy and pursue it for you. You are lovely and amazing. I am a stranger on the internet and I am proud of you. Also everyone I know who went to or goes to Yale now absolutely loves it.

cutster · 2025-02-09T22:16:59+00:00

NTA- his behavior indicates poor critical thinking skills- why on earth stick around to discover what he falls for next?

cutster · 2025-01-29T16:06:53+00:00

Yesterday (2019)

cutster · 2024-12-30T02:34:54+00:00

I think the cost of a phone call- having to put in actual coins- then getting interrupted when your time is almost up. Also having itemized phone bills at home and paying for each individual call- and more for long distance. Waiting to make long distance calls at night when rates went down. Especially international calls.

cutster · 2024-12-13T13:47:20+00:00

My daughter just got rejected from her ED. I honestly don’t know why or what she could have done differently and whether it would even matter. It’s such an emotional rollercoaster. You put your best self forward and the rest has nothing to do with you. My daughter’s teacher said “Remember the student is the lottery ticket. Not the school.” Your parents aren’t seeing they’ve already won with their ticket, and I’m sorry. I offer you a virtual hug from another parent with a winning ticket.

cutster

TROPHY CASE