I'm truly surprised at how many negative sentiments there are in this thread about the role of Product Managers. Clearly there are some PMs who are more effecti

I'm truly surprised at how many negative sentiments there are in this thread about the role of Product Managers. Clearly there are some PMs who are more effective/competent than others, but for many companies, the role is crucial for success. As some have already mentioned, the PM is often the person who is kind of a "utility tool" within the departments. PMs have to be able to communicate effectively amongst each team, and translate each departments needs into positive action. I have also noticed that a lot of answers here are saying that all you need is a competent engineering lead instead of a PM. I don't agree with this at all. Engineers are critical to the success of a product, there is no doubt about that. But they also are generally more of a hard-skills player in the development of the process. PMs often have to be able to translate the work of hard-skill colleagues into understandable insights for other stakeholders. Some may see this as frivolous, but you'd be surprised at how many times I've seen an engineer deliver a report in a way that was impossible to understand, and far from relatable. While this post could literally be pages long, I am going sum up the final point here: PMs do the work that allows engineers and members of other departments to focus on their core responsibilities. Engineers don't always have the time to determine customer needs, assess market competition, develop sales strategy, move information through departments, or the many other tasks that are necessary to create a top-tier product. So before jumping to conclusions about Product Management responsibilities, be sure to do your homework and see what the best PMs have done to take their businesses into greener pastures.