Being a Product Manager in 2023

"The designers are equal to the product managers, actually we got rid of the classic product management function. Apple didn’t have it either."

If there's a job that's often under scrutiny, it's that of a product manager. Few other roles have such a fluid and varied description. Perhaps because of this it has positioned itself on a precarious pedestal, just waiting for someone to swipe its legs from beneath it.

So, it wasn't entirely surprising when Brian Chesky announced at Config this year that Airbnb is removing the Product Management function. Well, to be precise, they're morphing those in Marketing and Product Management together and elevating Design.

This move makes sense for Airbnb, but whether it applies to your organisation is another question altogether.

Departments are always a collection of relevant and complementary skills. The specifics vary from one company to another, based on the skills needed to deliver the kind of value a company sells and the types of people within the organisation.

Product management is a broad role that changes based on various factors like the company's lifecycle stages, product size, customer base, and product type.

At Airbnb, a design-oriented company operating in 191 countries with a market cap of $74.34 billion, they are in the maturity phase. Here, marketing the product becomes a core responsibility for product managers.

It's important to note that the skills and tasks aren't disappearing. They are merely being reallocated. Product management is well-suited for this transition.

While the move may initially raise concerns, change is inevitable in our profession. As product managers, we must be resilient, adaptable, and ready to embrace challenges.