The Product Management Rules You Can’t Break

Ever feel like you're following frameworks, but still not sure if you're actually doing product management?

In this episode, Todd Blaquiere, Joe Ghali, and Ryan Cantwell lay out their personal tier lists to define what makes product management real. They debate which principles are fundamental laws - those you can’t break without breaking product - and which are just flexible preferences shaped by context.

From "outcomes over outputs" to stakeholder management, the conversation challenges conventional wisdom and surfaces surprising disagreements. It’s a candid look at what separates core product truths from passing trends.

If you’ve ever struggled to know which product advice is worth following and which ones you can safely ignore, pull up a chair for this episode of the Product Porch.

Time Stamped Notes:

Introduction and Podcast Overview
[00:00] Internal products – Is product market fit always required?

The Product Management Tier List
[00:35] Tier list concept – Sorting laws, principles, and practices

Ryan's Tier List
[02:25] The cone tip – Defining non-negotiables
[04:00] Best practices – Flexible tools and methods
[05:30] Trends – Temporary tactics and ceremonies

Joe’s Tier List
[06:03] Product concert – Priorities in customer value and impact
[07:00] JTBD – Why it’s core for Joe
[08:00] Measuring success – Linking problems to business results

Todd’s Tier List
[08:22] Spinning top – Laws, principles, practices, style
[09:30] Product law – Break these, break the product
[10:28] Practices vs. principles – What’s flexible vs. fixed

Debating Product Laws
[11:00] “You are not the user” – Universal agreement
[12:00] Outcomes over outputs – A debated essential
[15:04] Team sport – When product requires collaboration

Product Principles
[17:56] Saying no – Strategy and focus
[20:00] Agile mindset – Beyond the process
[22:30] Working with vendors – Can you still do product?

Product Practices & Styles
[24:38] Roadmaps, personas, roles – What shifts by org
[26:00] Stakeholder management – Style or standard?
[28:00] JTBD – Tool or foundational belief?

Trends & Tools
[34:36] Tools & templates – What doesn’t define product
[36:00] Product market fit – Still relevant for internal teams?
[38:00] Positioning – Practice, not principle
[39:09] Product-led growth – Trend or truth?

Takeaways & Close
[39:28] Define your own tiers – What matters to you?
[41:00] Training ≠ truth – Not all practices are essential
[42:00] Share your tier list – Hosts want to hear from you

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