PMs Present Options Not Yes Or No

Matt LeMay believes product teams must align their work directly to business-critical outcomes to survive and thrive, especially in today's environment of tech layoffs.

The core challenge is that many product teams focus on "doing work around the work" rather than driving meaningful business impact. As LeMay explains, "If you are contributing to the business in a way that the business at large can understand, that the CEO can understand, that the CFO can understand... then the business will continue making that investment." Without this alignment, teams become vulnerable during cost-cutting periods.

LeMay advocates for an "impact first" approach built on three key principles. First, set team goals no more than one step away from company goals. This means having a direct, traceable connection between what your team delivers and what the business needs most. Second, keep impact at the center of every step in the product development process, preventing goals from getting "cascaded into oblivion" through excessive abstraction. Third, connect every bit of work back to impact by estimating and measuring impact in the same unit as your goals.

A powerful question product teams should ask themselves is: "If you were the CEO of this company, would you fully fund your own team?" This perspective shift forces teams to evaluate their work through the lens of business investment rather than just completing tasks or following best practices. Most teams initially struggle to answer this confidently, revealing a disconnect between their activities and business priorities.

The "low impact PM death spiral" occurs when teams gravitate toward low-risk, cosmetic improvements rather than tackling core business challenges. This pattern compounds as products become "a collection of loosely connected features rather than a single guided experience," making it increasingly difficult to do high-impact work. Breaking this cycle requires courage to pursue meaningful outcomes even when they involve more risk and scrutiny.

For product managers navigating stakeholder requests, LeMay offers a practical approach: "If you're doing product management really well, you never have to say yes and you never have to say no. You're giving people options and you're helping them understand the trade-offs." This means presenting multiple options with a clear recommendation, rather than simply refusing or acquiescing to requests that don't align with business goals.

The impact-first mindset ultimately creates more freedom and satisfaction. By accepting that business outcomes are partially outside our control but still our responsibility, we can focus on making the best possible contribution while maintaining healthier boundaries between work and life.