Airbnb's Chesky: "Eliminating PM Roles" — Insight or Oversight?

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky made headlines by mentioning the "elimination of PM (Product Manager) roles" and announcing the merger of PM and PMM (Product Marketing Manager) roles. This article chronologically examines Chesky's statements and their background, the UX community's reaction, and the implications and problems of Chesky personally taking on the PM role.

1. Eliminating the PM Role and Merging It with PMM

Chesky revealed in a recent podcast interview that he is "merging the PM's 'inbound' role with the PMM's 'outbound' role." This appears to be a measure to address the problem of Airbnb's PMs lacking clear market distribution plans or expertise when building products. However, questions arise about whether this approach is appropriate.

The Difference Between PM and PMM Roles and Problems with Merging

While PM and PMM overlap in some areas, each has unique roles and expertise.

• PM: Coordinates the product's technical feasibility, user requirements, and business goals to drive product development.
• PMM: Focuses on market analysis, go-to-market strategy, and marketing communications.

Chesky's merger plan blurs the boundaries between the two roles, requiring PMMs to understand technical feasibility or PMs to design marketing campaigns directly. This dilutes each role's expertise and ignores the practical reality that "one person can't do everything."

"Imagine a PMM determining the technical feasibility of an API, or a PM creating detailed marketing campaigns and content. This isn't simply a matter of training — these are areas requiring different backgrounds and expertise."

Potential Problems with the Merger

• Lack of expertise: The unique expertise of each role may be diluted.
• Divided focus: When one person tries to perform both roles, there's a risk that either product quality or marketing strategy will be sacrificed.
• Burnout risk: Both roles have high demands, and performing them simultaneously can quickly lead to exhaustion.

Chesky's approach may work experimentally within Airbnb's specific environment, but it could cause confusion at other companies. There is particular concern that it could deepen misunderstanding about the PM role.

2. The UX Community's Reaction: Cheering "Eliminating PM Roles"

The UX community responded positively to Chesky's statement. The idea of "eliminating PM roles" receiving enthusiastic cheers at a Figma conference is particularly noteworthy. This appears to reflect the frustration and dissatisfaction UX teams feel in collaborating with PMs.

UX Team Frustrations with PMs

1. Design compromise Chesky mentioned that UX teams often feel they have to compromise on design. PMs must coordinate market demands, business objectives, and technical feasibility to set priorities, and UX team opinions are often sacrificed in this process.

   "PMs must integrate knowledge about users, markets, business, and technology into the team and earn trust regarding product direction. But the final decisions and responsibility still lie with the PM."

2. Questioning PM value When UX and engineering teams see PMs as mere feature managers, they may question their value. If a PM simply manages backlogs or acts like a project manager, this is far from the true product management role.

   "If you're seen as just a backlog manager or project manager, it's time to find a company that truly respects the PM role."

3. Boundary violations in design decisions When PMs excessively intervene in design decisions without respecting the UX team's expertise, conflict arises. This disrupts the balance of collaboration and lowers team morale.

Impact of Chesky's Merger on UX

The merger of PMM and PM roles could worsen UX team frustrations. Even if PMMs take on a role emphasizing user-centricity, without accountability for product feasibility, conflicts with UX teams could intensify.

3. The Implications and Problems of Chesky Personally Taking On the PM Role

As Airbnb's CEO, Chesky personally manages the company's roadmap and reviews each team's work weekly. This shows his deep interest in Airbnb's product development, but can simultaneously create several problems.

Risks of the CEO Taking On the PM Role

1. Diminished PM role When the CEO determines all of the product's vision and roadmap, existing PMs are reduced to mere executors. This limits PM creativity and market adaptability, diminishing the role's value.

   "If the CEO owns the product's value, determines the vision, and sets the roadmap, PMs risk becoming mere executors rather than strategists."

2. Decision-making bottlenecks If all decisions must go through the CEO, decision-making speed slows and the company's agility deteriorates. Additionally, excessive CEO involvement risks burnout.

   "What if Chesky suddenly becomes unavailable? The entire company could grind to a halt."

3. Declining team morale When the CEO is deeply involved in detailed work, team members may feel their expertise isn't respected. This not only lowers team morale but also negatively affects developing future leaders.

4. Stifled innovation When the CEO is immersed in details, they lose time needed for long-term strategic thinking. Innovation often comes from team members solving problems on the ground, and this process can be suppressed.

5. Reactive leadership Chesky revealed that he directly intervened because he felt Airbnb was being too reactive to the market. However, excessively detailed leadership can actually hinder long-term strategic thinking.

   "What matters is not getting caught up in detailed decisions, but establishing clear strategy and providing teams with tools to make autonomous decisions."

Conclusion

Chesky's merger of PM and PMM roles and direct CEO involvement may solve specific problems at Airbnb in the short term, but could produce the following side effects in the long run:

• Role confusion and lack of expertise
• Decision-making bottlenecks
• Declining team morale and stifled innovation

Ultimately, the "eliminating PM roles" approach risks diminishing product quality, innovation, and team morale. Redefining the value of the PM role, respecting each team's expertise, and establishing clear strategy would be a better solution.