I’m a former engineer (was Principal at an SF company most of HN will have heard of), CTO (of startups nobody will know), and a former engineering manager and c

I’m a former engineer (was Principal at an SF company most of HN will have heard of), CTO (of startups nobody will know), and a former engineering manager and current product manager at a household name. Engineers should develop product skills, but most of them are absolutely abysmal at it. But they should try. One of the key things I run into is smart people thinking they are the smartest people in the room. Engineers tend to have this quality more than most. I can not overstate how toxic that can be when having a product meeting with a customer. I think the article is broadly right, just remember: product management is much more about empathy than it is engineering, and it’s OK to leave that to somebody else in a commercial setting if you’re not prepared to be humble at every step.