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As a Product Manager, you need to be generating 3x-50x return on your compensation.
Read that again. Let it sink in.
Product Managers and leaders who can’t generate — and can’t articulate — those returns end up sidelined. Reduced to task managers. Ignored. Undervalued.
Sadly, this describes most of Product Management.
Left unresolved, you risk stalling your career, even losing your job, unable to communicate your impact in interviews.
“But, Shardul,” I can hear the protests now, “we're not sales or marketing, so we can’t drive revenue.”
Wrong.
Every role is an investment. Every person is an investment. Investments must deliver a return. Including you.
Product Management has the responsibility of driving the financial performance of the product.
This makes many PMs uncomfortable. They’ve grown up on romantic ideals — “We make customers successful” or “We focus on the long-term.”
Meanwhile:
PMs complain of being stuck in feature factories.
They grumble about “not having the space for product thinking.”
Product leaders complain their PMs “aren’t strategic.”
Executives complain PMs “don’t understand the business.”
The result is you become indistinguishable in a sea of PMs who’ve given up their agency.
So, today, I’m going to unpack how we got here, why ROI accountability matters for PMs, and what you can do about it.
What You’ll Learn Today:
The hidden forces (free money, Big Tech, CTOs, Agile) that shaped a generation of PMs without commercial accountability
Why every PM role is an investment — and how you can prove yours
The brutal math of product ROI and why most teams aren’t even breaking even
Why missed deadlines cause stakeholders to hate PM and question its existence
Practical steps for Product Managers and product leaders to get taken seriously and show they’re worth it
The Accountability Problem
The last 10-15 years has seen an explosion in PM headcount. Three forces drove it:
Cheap money
CTOs
Agile
Become a Subscriber to Unlock the Rest
Become a Paying Subscriber or Inner Circle Member of Street Smart Product Manager to get access to this post and premium community events.
Click Here to Unlock Cool BenefitsA Paid Subscription also gets you:
- Subscriber-only comment section
- Monthly live group chat Q&As with me
- Discounts to monthly events and AMAs
- First/early access to new online courses before the general public
- Access to exclusive resources to accelerate your learning and impact
- An Inner Circle Membership gets you all the above PLUS free access to all events, full replay archive, 1 strategic resume review per year, and exclusive access to the PM Exchange