The role of a product manager is not to be a mini-CEO, according to John Cutler, Head of Product Research & Education at Amplitude. The product manager should not be the only decider. Instead, the product manager should function as a team facilitator bringing context and guiding discussions. 

John was fanatical about that view of the product manager’s role. He still agrees with it, but he’s softened his stance a little. 

In the three years he’s worked at Amplitude, which offers digital optimization tools used by more than 1,000 enterprise customers, John has met with more than 500 product development teams. 

Seeing how different teams operate has given him an appreciation for the role culture plays in team dynamics. “Different versions work in different settings,” John says on this episode of People Driven Products. 

Before joining Amplitude, John was a consultant and had no desire to go back to working for an employer. Then, Amplitude’s Head of Marketing reached out and recruited John as a product evangelist. That was three years ago.

“My philosophy was that the product would just sell itself. I really do actually believe that Amplitude sells itself,” he says.

In this episode, hear John discuss his obsession with cross-functional teams (and how to make them work effectively), and why analytics and research are essential for building a successful team.