WE ARE PRODUCT🌎

This piece isn’t meant to point fingers. It’s just me, thinking out loud, inspired by sub-headline from Ebi Atawodi’s incredible talk at the Inspire Africa Conference 2023: “WE ARE PRODUCT”. While her context was also on collaboration, I’m focusing this article on a call to — rethink how we all see ourselves in product building.

Let me take walk you through a conversation I recently had with a friend; a Software Engineer, resulting from a comment he made on his ongoing work call that I couldn’t ignore.

Him (to himself, clearly frustrated after the call): Product people have problem!. Me (confused): Are you also not a product person? Him: I’m an engineer, not a product person. Me: Is engineering not part of the product team? Aren’t you all trying to build the same thing? Him: How can you say engineering is under product team?! (His tone suggested he was insulted — ego, maybe?)

Me: Engineering team o, product managers o, designers o — everyone is still under the product team. Because no matter the justification of the engineering work you’re doing, you’re still building the product. Hence, you’re a product person and responsible for it.

I’ll save you the whole argument that ensued between us both🤣

There’s a common belief, particularly in the Nigerian tech ecosystem, that developers contribute more to a product’s success than the product managers. I believe this mindset is why my friend felt offended when I categorized him as part of the product team or suggested that the engineering team is a subset of the product team.

This isn’t about diminishing anyone’s role. It’s about recognizing that we’re all working toward the same goal — product success. And product success doesn’t care about your title, department, or ego. It only cares about the impact we create together.

The Problem

This reflects the issue of “sticking to my role” in many organizations — role silos. These silos create invisible walls between teams like engineering, design, marketing, and product management. While each function has its unique expertise, we often forget that all these efforts converge on one goal: the success of the product.

WE ARE PRODUCT

In truth, no one owns the product outright. The product owns us(everyone).

• The product manager is there to ensure the vision aligns with user needs and business goals.
• The engineer translates this vision into a functional, reliable reality.
• The designer ensures the product not only works but works beautifully and intuitively.
• The marketer communicates the value to the world.

Remove one, and the product suffers. Elevate one above the others, and imbalance takes over.

It’s not about being “under” product or “over” product — it’s about being part of product.

Everyone Plays a Role

Imagine the green circle is the Product at the center. Around it are interconnected nodes which can represent many entities or tagged teams: engineering, design, product management, marketing, sales, tech/customer support, QA, operations, etc.

Each node skews to the center and supports the other nodes. This structure emphasizes interdependence rather than hierarchy — because every contribution matters equally.

We Are All Product

So, to my engineer friend — and anyone else struggling with ownership of where you think you belong— I say this:

• We’re all product people. Whether you write code, draft user stories, sketch wireframes, or craft marketing campaigns, you’re building the same thing.
• The truth is, product success doesn’t care about your title, department, or ego. It only cares about the impact we collectively create.