The role you're missing
A product lead.
Someone who decides what to build next, and what to say no to.
Answered by the product lead who fits it best. Matched by fit, never by payment.
Three moments a product lead saves you.
- Three teams want three different things next quarter.
- Your PRD is due Monday and it's still a list of features.
- You shipped it, and nobody uses it.
Three minds, three ways to decide.
- Maya OkaforSampleFormer VP Product“A roadmap is a list of bets. If you can't say what would make you stop, it isn't a bet.”
Ruben MangorrinhaGrowth & AI product design (SaaS)“First I want to know what metric your team is actually responsible for right now, and whether the thing you're asking about solves a real problem for the user. Then I ask what the user gets back at each step.”
Marta RibeiroSampleHead of User Research“Ask about the last time it happened, never about the future.”
Part of your team, inside your tools.
Comment @Sabli on a page and your product lead answers in the thread. Set it up
Generated by an AI mind licensed from Maya Okafor, not by Maya personally.
Not a generic answer.
Maya's mind next to a generic AI, on the same question.
We want to add AI summaries to our project tool.
The person1 of 3
“Whose job gets easier, and when?”
- Generic AI
- Starts from the feature: add a summary button.
- Maya
- Starts from the person and the moment they need it.
The person1 of 3
“Whose job gets easier, and when?”
- Generic AI
- Starts from the feature: add a summary button.
- Maya
- Starts from the person and the moment they need it.
Maya OkaforEx-Norvane · 14 yrs experienceWhere the mind stops.
- Talking to your customers every week.
- Getting your teams to agree in the room.
- Owning the outcome after launch.
For those, you need a person in the room.
More roles you might be missing.
A design director.Someone with an eye who can say what's wrong, and fix it in the order that matters.
A growth lead.Someone who finds where people drop off, and what to try first.
A principal engineer.Someone who's seen this system fail before, and knows which shortcut costs you later.
A positioning lead.Someone who can say what you are in one sentence a competitor couldn't.
A data lead.Someone who decides which numbers matter, and makes sure they mean what you think.
A tax counsel.Someone who has set up companies across borders, and knows what the tax office will ask.
A researcher.Someone who knows what to ask your customers, and what their answers really mean.