How to Speak Truth to Power Without Losing Your Job (or Your Mind)

Which of your number one ideas is the number oneiest?

In my early days as a product manager, I learned a lesson that has stayed with me. It all started when Jack, our company president, stormed into a meeting, declaring, “Development is broken!” He wasn’t entirely wrong — our company hadn’t had a formal product release in over a year. But it wasn’t the development team’s fault.

When I met with the developers, the problem became apparent: Jack had more ideas than we had resources. Whenever he had a spark of an idea, he bypassed product management and handed his latest inspiration straight to the development team, throwing priorities and roadmaps into chaos.

I sat down with Jack and made a bold proposition. “We can have a formal release in 90 days,” I said, “but only if you bring your ideas to me first instead of directly to the team.” To his credit, Jack agreed — though he still had another idea the following week.

That’s when I unveiled my secret weapon: a brand-new Feature Request form. “Congratulations, Jack,” I said. “You’re going to be the first to fill this out.”

That Feature Request form became a cornerstone of our product process, helping the company move from chaos to clarity. I still teach this tool in the Fundamentals of…