PMs Feeding the Lions
There was a tradition at Microsoft in the early 2000s: when the Excel MVPs came to campus, someone from the product team had to present new features and take questions. It sounds routine, like any product review meeting. But make no mistake—this wasn’t a safe meeting room. This was the lion’s den.
The MVPs weren’t hostile. Far from it. They were passionate, deeply knowledgeable, and eager to improve Excel. But that passion could feel overwhelming to a young program manager standing at the front of the room. Imagine showing off your three carefully polished features, only to face 20 people ready to pounce with questions, edge-cases, and “what about this?” scenarios you hadn’t even considered.
Rob Collie, who managed several ...
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