Why product managers are getting fired – Dave Wascha (CPTO and Advisor)

Product management is facing a crisis — and Dave Wascha calls it The Reckoning. In this episode, Dave joins Lily and Randy to unpack the growing backlash against the product profession. He shares stories from his time at Microsoft, Moonpig, and Zoopla, revealing why product people lost the room — and how to win it back.

Featured Links: Follow Dave on LinkedIn | 'Product Management is NOT dead' feature by Dan Olsen | 'What we learned at #mtpcon London 2025' feature by Kent McDonald and Louron Pratt

Chapters
1:50 – What is ‘The Reckoning’?
3:00 – The Origins of Product in Europe vs. US
6:00 – How We Lost the Commercial Plot
10:45 – Product’s Accountability Problem
17:00 – The Power of Empathy (Internally)
20:00 – Teaching PMs How Their Business Actually Makes Money
25:00 – The Dogma Trap of ‘Best Practice’
29:30 – Product-Market Fit for Product Managers Themselves
34:00 – What Good Looks Like Now
39:00 – Are There Just Too Many Product Managers?
42:00 – Escaping The Reckoning: Dave’s Final Tips

Key takeaways

• The Reckoning is Real: Product teams are losing credibility by being commercially tone-deaf. The backlash has already begun.
• From Hero to Headache: The “customer-first at all costs” narrative has made some PMs appear unaccountable and out of touch.
• Empathy Goes Both Ways: Great PMs must empathise not only with users, but also with internal stakeholders — especially during financial pressure.
• Commercial Literacy is a Cheat Code: Understanding how your business makes money isn’t optional — it’s foundational.
• Context is Everything: There's no single "right" way to do product. Dogma hurts more than it helps.
• Mismatched Product Managers: Hiring brilliant people into the wrong phase of the product journey leads to frustration, churn, and wasted potential.