Which Secret Superhero Product Manager are you?
Batman
The silent guardian and a watchful protector of the Product. Trusts no one, has a secret Plan B always ready. Works mostly alone, in the shadows. Brutal and ruthless in keeping the Product quality high, almost to a fault. Highly alert and analytical, believes in secret skunkworks. Finds authority figures to be harsh critics of his methods, barring a few, whom he covertly co-opts in his missions. The underdogs, who usually don’t get a say in decision making process, are always rooting for him.
Superman
(Christopher Reeves’ version, not Jack Snyder’s) The ever helpful team-player PM. Heavy lifts any project without missing a smile. Is always sought after by the team when the tasks become impossible. Evokes an all-round positive acclaim for his heroic efforts and positivity in taking the Product forward. Authorities love him for his commitment and unquestioned belief in the processes.
Iron Man
The self-loving, eccentric, creative genius PM, who does not care about bruised egos or adhering to workplace formalities when pummelling through high intensity projects. He will belt out one awe-inspiring solution after another. Always has a snarky quip appropriate for the situation; and always has an opinion on everything. There is no beating his resourcefulness and raw creativity in tackling 0-to-1 problems.
The Flash
The youthful and smart-assed, young-gun PM. Brimming with energy and has a penchant for humour. Runs around with incredible energy to hustle and get the job done. Has a run-in occasionally with the Batman type, and is the only one who dares to take a friendly jibe at him. Team player, and following a ‘servant leadership’ model, spreads infectious zeal in his peer group.
Green Lantern
The dream-big PM, sometimes not connected to ground reality. He can concoct wacky solutions out of thin air to problems, all by the power of his imagination. Not the best fit solutions, but can’t be faulted for not being audacious. He is connected to a diverse group of similar powered PMs outside of the organisation. All of them collectively keep imagining bigger and greater out-of-the-world solutions.
Aquaman
The infrastructure / API layer PM. Works in the depths of the organisation, keeping the currents flowing. Those depths are his domain and he does not allow people to mess around in his product. His mission is to keep his platform ocean clean from all the garbage dumping sought out by PMs from layers above. Be cautious in not creating requirement spills into the platform, and you will never even come across him.
Thor
The heavy-duty PM, meant for tackling Operations heavy projects. To him, all problems are nails for which he has the one and only hammer. He brings heft to the problems where technology meets humans on the ground. Well versed in the art of influence by part persuasion part intimidation, he uses the weight of his personality to get the job done.
The Hulk
The silent PM who just wants him to let be. Avoids getting in the way of others and wants to work on side projects & research without attracting too much attention. Why? Because he has learned the hard way that he can’t stand things being done the wrong way; it causes his anger barrier to break. Then he goes berserk. And then there is destruction of accepted norms and back-slapping. He realised his spike in anger can’t bring lasting change to the environment, so he prefers to find his own space and prevent the next outburst.
Hawkeye
The ever dependable, trustworthy, all-weather PM. Can fit like a glove into any situation. Has arrows in his arsenal for tackling all sorts of problems. May not come across as the star member of the team, but is indispensable. Provides the bulwark in many situations when more passionate PMs are going nuts.
Professor X
The experienced, sage-like PM. He has seen it all, multiple times. He knows how shit goes wrong and how it is brought back together. Keeps the flock of younger PMs together as they learn the ropes. His experience allows him to be nearly clairvoyant. He has the respect of the team and inspires by meaningful intervention.
The Comedian
The middle-career stagnant PM. Like Professor X, has seen quite a lot. But that has made him cynical. Canned projects, failed products lie behind him. Now he just sneers at any mention of “innovation”. He has figured it out all. And it is not pretty. And he doesn’t attempt to hide that one bit.
Which Secret Superhero Product Manager are you?
Or anyone you have worked with is one?
