Proficiency with tools like JIRA or AI platforms is often mistaken for genuine product management skill. True competence lies in strategic thinking, problem discovery, and decision-making, not just operating the latest software. Tools are enablers, not credentials for the role.
Mandating training modules to boost AI competency is ineffective. It encourages passive behavior, similar to HR compliance training. True competency is only built and measured through hands-on experience and applying the tools to solve real business problems, not through completion certificates.
When leaders lack AI literacy, they are easily impressed by seemingly definitive AI-generated outputs. This creates a dangerous scenario where they accept overconfident, flawed AI results as fact, leading to poor strategic decisions that lack proper human scrutiny.
Companies are overcomplicating AI's role. It's not magic that alters basic business principles. It's simply a new tool to apply within the existing equation of applying a resource to a problem and measuring the outcome. The fundamentals of value delivery and measurement remain unchanged.
While AI allows anyone to build tools, this leads to a lack of focus. True growth comes from strategic alignment, not a high volume of disconnected outputs. Without a product function to prioritize problems and focus resources, you get a "hackathon every day" culture that fails to serve a coherent strategy.
AI can generate countless ideas and prototypes quickly, making ideation a commodity. This elevates the true, scarce value of product management: identifying and deeply understanding a customer problem for which people will pay for a solution. The "diamond" is the validated problem, not the AI-generated idea.
Job titles like "Product Manager" are less important than ensuring key accountabilities are met. A successful product engine needs someone who prioritizes outcomes, someone who investigates the problem space, and someone who prevents cross-team collisions. Assign these roles regardless of titles.
A product manager's value is not derived from their ability to use JIRA, a roadmapping tool, or an AI agent. These tools change, but the foundational credential remains the same: sound judgment. The ability to discern, prioritize, and make good decisions is the irreplaceable skill.