What Lego, Apple, and a golf startup can teach Silicon Valley PMs about designing with—not just for—your users. https://jakemckee.com/

Early to mid-career product managers in Silicon Valley often dream of landing the perfect job—high comp, strong team, great product, and a clear path for impact. But what if I told you that sometimes the smartest move is walking away?

That was the case for Elizabeth Haig, a seasoned marketing leader with two successful exits under her belt. She recently turned down a VP of Marketing role that came with a $350K offer, and her reasoning provides invaluable lessons for navigating today's brutal job market.

This post is packed with her insights, specific examples, and actionable advice to help you avoid career missteps and make smarter choices as you navigate your next big move.

Lessons from the Fireside PM podcast on how to stop missing top-tier candidates and make your next VP or Director of Product hire a game-changer.

Hiring a Great Product Leader Is Harder Than You Think

Team, we’re back on the Fireside PM podcast, and today, I want to talk about a topic that keeps coming up: why even experienced executives struggle to hire strong product leaders. If you’re a CEO or CPO at a mid-to-late-stage company and you need to hire a killer Director or VP of Product, this post is for you.

You go through the hiring process, extend an offer to someone who looks amazing on paper—only to realize months later that it’s not working out. Sound familiar?

The good news? Most hiring failures happen because of a handful of predictable mistakes. Let’s break them down, one by one, so you can avoid them next time.