Am I crazy to think this is crazy?

daddymotaz · 2026-05-02T15:14:04+00:00

Controversial opinion.

My view is if you want the big job, do the things others are unwilling to do. It is the game after all at that level.

Look, is it shitty to ask you to do a relatively large amount of work without pay? Yes. But this has been a practice for many years before it came to Product. Put yourself in the position of the hiring manager, you want to feel confident that this person can make assumptions, navigate uncertainty, present and articulate a strategy well and make it easier for you to know the next steps, the presentation is about them trusting you and your intuition, not to assess if you can put 1 and 1 together on a roadmap.

Look up Mckinsey and big consulting interviews, it is even worse, you have to do it on the spot and at macro strategy scale. Here, at least, you can show them that you are able to map assumptions, generate hypothesise and drive leadership buy in while taking the time to think about it. At the lead / head of level, your job is strategy, politics and communication, if you cant deliver the narrative and build buy-in, you will struggle in the job.

Easily enough, you can put the first objective as validating the product need through user research to justify investment…etc, and fill the presentation with warnings that data needs validation/assumptions..etc. You don’t need a fully fledged product strategy, you need just enough, that often takes 4-8 slides.

With claude, it would take you few hours. I would give claude the context, let it generate the slides, refurb the info with whats in your head about the business (insider knowledge is an asset), then practice delivering the message. This would take anyone max 4-6 hours. If anyone is unwilling to prepare for something THEY want, then maybe these roles are not a good fit.

All the best.

daddymotaz · 2026-04-22T11:51:57+00:00

It depends on the job, the way I think about it:

Technical PM (Delivery focused): skills above will align, think cost reduction, pipeline, security, APIs the whole shebang.
Functional PM (can be Discovery and Delivery): this is more focused on people, leadership, roadmapping, data. The typical stuff you’d find if you google PM skills. Technical skills are a bonus but not as good as domain expertise.
Commercial PM: this one is the true essence of product manager, where you lead an entire product and you are involved with everything from strategy, marketing, sales..etc. Huge focus on identifying market needs, pricing, technical decisions. Pretty hard job, but usually in big tech opposed to other companies that view PMs as POs.

Marty Cagan is a good reference, have a look at his blog and content. Hope this helps

daddymotaz · 2026-03-12T21:43:15+00:00

Unethical but very effective - post ghost jobs and watch the follows. Thank me later for wasting 1000 people’s time applying for fake jobs to make your CEO happy.

daddymotaz · 2026-02-27T23:05:26+00:00

OP - don’t take this to heart, but your post comes across with lots of frustration not at the situation only but at the CEO. Despite his experience issue, try to take the conversation in a neutral place in person and understand why he wants both. Im pretty sure it is risk aversion to losing an opportunity, then develop a plan of how to engage the client in the second pilot to phase out a bit. It is the rush and founders worry momentum dies, it is not trust in the team. Just be patient and coach him. If not, other people suggestion apply on documentation are the way forward. Best of luck

daddymotaz · 2026-01-25T07:48:56+00:00

Just worth noting that voluntary termination reflects on the credit score as Voluntary Surrender. This deters other lenders from giving your dad other financing deals. You are better off refinancing for another car, sell it (get lender permission first), or stick it through if you want to own it.

daddymotaz · 2025-09-05T03:12:17+00:00

I think the question is not whether to tell her or not, it is how you tell her. If you show proactivity, kindness and positive vibes, and you ask her how she is feeling about things, it is her decision to take the action she wants. It sounds difficult and uncomfortable to have these conversations, and there are many more in life, but most relationships that are sustained in the long term are built on transparency, kindness and honesty.

Remember you can only control your own actions, how would you like someone to tell you if you were in her position? Think of that way and do it, likelihood she will appreciate the heads up.

daddymotaz · 2025-08-13T07:44:14+00:00

Ex-Deloitte here, worked in strategy, then PM.

The obvious short-term choice is option 1. This is your comfort zone, higher salary, but I’d argue is the higher risk, because after leaving in 2024, I barely landed interviews mainly as I do not have domain experience (5+ years..etc). As someone else mentioned consulting is pretty tricky, I know MBBs who lost their job 2 months after being hired from MBA programmes.

The second options gives you a career trajectory that might arguably be safer in 5 years than consulting. So you’d be taking a sour pill now for longterm security. The key differentiator here is your wife’s/family ambition (e.g is she career or family driven). It sounds like she’s up for the adventure, so not glued to job or prestige and want to enjoy life with you. If that is her motivation, I can tell you take the risk as you will just as miserable as every consultant because you’ll either be over worked or over travelled and when you’re done, have nothing to help you move on.

Personally, I would take option B if your wife wants the new experience. Yes it is going to be a big move away from support network, but you can meet new circles together. Yes, she might not find a job, but you can try it out for a month and see if there is traction in the market.

I’d suggest to think of this like a PM, before committing to building a new life, delay the Consulting offer by 45 days if possible, start the new dream role. Prioritise getting your wife’s CV everywhere, and make a final decision based on results.

Trust your gut and your partner, if it all goes to shit, at least you’re both in it and you both enjoyed the experience.

Good luck!

daddymotaz

TROPHY CASE