This is What Top 1% PMs Do Differently

Fulay describes three common strengths among product leaders: thinkers, builders, and harmonizers. To influence a leader, notice what they focus on in reviews, then shape your pitch to match, using data, a compelling story, or evidence of alignment as appropriate.

When pitching to a visionary leader, Fulay recommends exploring how an idea could scale and what its 10x success case might be. He recalls a Google Wallet review where Larry Page challenged the team’s analysis of card fees by asking whether Google could buy MasterCard. Fulay also expects AI tools to make interdisciplinary skills across product, design, engineering, and data more valuable.

Fulay’s career trust ladder starts with dependable, excellent work, moves to putting users and the company ahead of personal or team interests, and culminates in leaders being clear about their values. He says candidly weighing a product’s opportunity cost, including whether to stop investing in it, can build credibility. Hiding problems or presenting a rosier picture damages trust.

Fulay advises first giving managers the benefit of the doubt and sharing concerns with them. If they remain unaddressed, use a receptive channel to surface the issue, while bringing options or a recommendation. He cites Pixar CEO Ed Catmull’s principle that communication should not have to follow the org chart.

Fulay says Microsoft’s culture has shifted toward leaders openly discussing struggles and mistakes, which he connects to CEO Satya Nadella’s influence and a growth mindset. In managing teams, Fulay learned to spend more time challenging and supporting top performers and to assign people work that fits their strengths, like a coach placing athletes in suitable positions.