Marty Cagan Just Said What We've All Been Thinking

I just finished Marty Cagan's latest piece on "The Era of the Product Creator," and he's spot on: the traditional product manager role is becoming obsolete, and AI just massively sped up that timeline.

The Writing Was Already on the Wall

When I wrote about the 10x Product Manager last week, I was describing what Cagan now calls "product creators"—those rare PMs who actually shape products. I thought we still had time for PMs to evolve. Cagan's piece suggests that time is up. And honestly? He's right. The shift is binary: you're either creating products or you're becoming irrelevant.

What I'm Seeing in the Wild

In the last 9 months, I've personally built multiple products that would have otherwise taken me months, if not years. Take Knowa, an AI-Powered Creative Assistant I launched that helps users plan trips, talk about their feelings, or simply find the right move to watch. Or Faro, a new way for friends to spontaneously get together without endless group chats. And now, HablaRico, my personal spin on how to learn Spanish (and it actually works for me!). These aren't just side projects; they're fully functional solutions built at a speed unimaginable just a few years ago.

I'm also seeing a fundamental shift in how teams operate. Engineers, no longer just implementing specs, are now actively questioning product decisions and proposing better solutions. Designers, previously waiting for requirements, are now driving product strategy and leading discovery. Even founders, who once relied on PMs as a buffer, are now directly collaborating with their delivery teams. These AI tools didn't just boost our individual productivity; they completely broke down the traditional barriers between roles.

The Great Unbundling of Product Management

Cagan perfectly nails it: the title "Product Manager" always served as a catch-all for fundamentally different jobs. It was a blend of:

• Product creators: People who truly solve customer problems and shape innovative solutions.
• Project coordinators: Those who manage schedules and update Jira tickets.
• Requirements translators: Individuals who turn business needs into engineering tasks.

AI has now rendered the last two jobs obsolete. Project coordination is automated, and requirements translation happens in real-time. But product creation, the actual strategy, crucial trade-offs, and deep user focused thinking, that's not just still valuable, it's exponentially more valuable than ever before.

The Uncomfortable Reality Check

Cagan isn't sugar-coating the disruption. Many PMs are about to find AI can handle their current work better, faster, and cheaper. But the flip side is empowering. The bureaucracy trapping great product creators is gone. Engineers with product instincts can prototype. Designers with vision can build and test directly.

What This Means Going Forward

So, ask yourself: Are you truly creating products or are you primarily managing processes? If your day is dominated by status meetings and drafting endless requirements, you're on shaky ground. But if you're deeply focused on customer problems, rapidly testing solutions, and making tough trade-offs based on keen product intuition then, you're not just secure, you're becoming more valuable with each passing day.

The Real Revolution

What excites me isn't just validation, but Cagan's prediction of "an unprecedented wave of innovation." When you remove friction between a great idea and the market, when you eliminate bureaucracy, when you democratize product creation, you don't just improve existing products. You unlock entirely new categories of products that couldn't exist before.

The Choice Remains Yours

The transformation is happening. The only question is whether you'll be creating the future or watching it from the sidelines.

Choose wisely. The tools are ready when you are.