May 2009 "Hot Button" Survey Results

What animal, plant or inanimate object best represents a product manager?

Cephalopods have a lot going for them. They're comfortable in deep water. They survive in shark-infested environments. They're deft at camouflage. And a surprising number of our survey respondents thought these were great qualities for a product manager!

Which sea creature are you?

"Squid," answered one PM. "When pushed, we squirt ink into the water so people have to pay attention to us."

"Octopus," said another respondent. "We need the eight arms to balance all of the things that need to be done!!"

What about our opposite numbers on dry land? It's a jungle out there, so this PM chose an animal with a high-level perspective: "Giraffe, the tallest one."

We liked this response, too -- not from the animal kingdom at all:

"The Rosetta Stone most accurately represents the Product Manager," a PM replied. "The amount of translation I do from customer needs and compliance changes to the end product makes this my primary function...right or wrong."

At least that one is less likely to end up on a skewer.