E241: We Need to Rethink Product Management in the Age of Societal Collapse
An interview with Sam Greenwood, Emotional Resilience Coach for PMs
YouTube Link | Podcast Link (all platforms)
Who is Sam Greenwood?
Sam Greenwood is an emotional resilience coach who works with product managers to help them survive at the intersection of emotional stress and product leadership. His goal is to help product managers build EQ, communication and leadership and AI-proof their careers.
Sam's hot take? That we are on the cusp of societal collapse and product managers, as well as people in tech in general, have taken their eye off the ball. Product people need to adopt new mindsets and build different kinds of products to help us weather the storm... although, maybe the storm can't be weathered at all.
Given that Sam’s an emotional resilience coach, I thought we’d be having a conversation about how to survive and thrive at work, and I guess we kind of did, but I didn’t expect to go down such an existential rabbit hole!
Episode highlights:
1. We’re going through a societal collapse, and most of us are just navel-gazing
Sam believes that we’re already trending in a bad direction and that people in tech should be on the front line. Product managers specifically have a role to play in helping to define the future, but instead of seizing the opportunity and thinking about what’s next for humankind, most of us are constrained in our thinking or obsessing over smashing cool AI features into our products.
2. That said, from a systems thinking, planetary level, maybe it’s not a bad thing
On the one hand, by many measures, we’ve never had it so good. On the other hand, humankind seems intent on destroying itself and taking the planet with it. Obviously, societal collapse would be devastating for humanity, but these things come in cycles, and who knows what might come next?
3. We have three options for dealing with societal collapse
If it’s coming, we either have to 1. Take a stand and try to fight it 2. Try to work out how to live with it 3. Give up and start looting. Sam believes that, to some extent, we’ll end up trying some of all of these things, and that it’s important to reevaluate your priorities and work out what you want to spend your time working on and the change you want to make in the world.
4. It’s important to acknowledge your fear
It’s easy to get caught up in your emotions, but it’s important to acknowledge them, accept them and do your best to concentrate on things you can solve. Product managers are problem solvers, so we can work on breaking down the problems we believe are important and make sure we do our best to get involved in the right initiatives and build products that solve meaningful problems while we can.
5. Community is everything
If we’re all going down, let’s at least go down together. In today’s AI-driven world, it’s easy to think that we can automate everything away, but human connection is still crucial, and we can and should still find ways to support each other. Everything’s fragmenting, and it’s important to find your people.
Connect with Sam:
Find Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-greenwood/