Why Product Management in Europe is Broken — And How to Fix It

Product Management in Europe is broken … with most of us still being stuck in the “Feature Factory” mindset.

Despite the rise of frameworks like Continuous Discovery, OKRs, and Marty Cagan’s “Empowered Product Teams,” most organizations — especially leadership — continue to treat Product Managers (PMs) as glorified project managers. Instead of focusing on business and customer outcomes, PMs are trapped in a never-ending cycle of feature delivery, roadmaps dictated by HiPPOs (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion), and stakeholder appeasement.

This isn’t just an occasional misalignment — it’s systemic. And it’s holding back innovation, user-centricity, and real product success.

The Three Core Issues Blocking European PM Teams

1. Executives Still See Product as a Delivery Function

Many European companies still operate under the assumption that Product Management is there to “execute the business plan” rather than to inform and shape the business strategy. As a result, PMs are reduced to backlog managers, juggling Jira tickets instead of solving real customer problems.

Reality check: If your leadership team measures product success by the number of features shipped rather than the impact created, you’re already losing.

How to fix it:

• Shift the conversation from “When will this feature be delivered?” to “How will this impact our customers and business?”
• Push for leadership buy-in on discovery-driven decision-making.
• Use OKRs properly: Tie them to measurable outcomes, not just delivery milestones.

2. Lack of True Product Discovery

Most teams say they do discovery, but in reality, they:

⛔️ Run usability tests on projects that are nearly finalized.
⛔ A/B test trivial UI changes instead of solving core problems.
⛔ Conduct user interviews, but still build based on leadership directive.

True Product Discovery means validating assumptions before investing in delivery. Yet, in Europe, the cultural tendency towards risk-aversion leads many companies to prioritize “safe bets” over iterative learning.

How to fix it:

• Treat discovery as a continuous process, not a one-off phase before development.
• Embed real user research into product cycles — test problems, not just solutions.
• Align incentives so that PMs and teams are rewarded for learning, not just shipping.

3. A Culture of Consensus Over Autonomy

In many European companies, there is a deeply ingrained need for broad consensus before making product decisions. While collaboration is important, excessive stakeholder management often leads to watered-down solutions, slow decision-making, and risk-aversion.

In contrast, successful product-led companies empower PMs and teams to make data-driven decisions with speed and autonomy.

How to fix it:

• Shift from stakeholder alignment to stakeholder consultation — PMs should drive decisions, not just facilitate them.
• Reduce layers of approval that kill speed and innovation.
• Encourage a mindset of “testing fast and failing small” rather than avoiding failure at all costs.

A Real-World Example: Lessons from My Experience

Like many Product Managers, I didn’t start my career in this field. I learned the craft through books, courses, and hands-on experience. It took me years to truly grasp the core principles:

🎯 Outcome Over Output
🎯 Continuous Discovery
🎯 Data-Driven, Yet Human-Centric
🎯 Cross-Functional Collaboration
🎯 Strategic Thinking & Business Impact
Bonus: Principles Over Processes

Yet, in Europe, I find that 80% of PMs either don’t know these principles or choose to ignore them for the sake of simplicity. Instead, we rely on A/B testing, engage with users sporadically, and occasionally jot down hypotheses — often without truly integrating them into our decision-making.

Even more rare are leaders who genuinely embrace Outcome Thinking or Continuous Discovery.

Until recently, I also believed I had to change my company’s culture to work on things like continuous discovery. I was wrong. The best thing we can do is lead by example within our teams. When we deliver great results, mindset shifts follow naturally.

It’s time for companies to treat Product Management as a strategic function, not just a feature delivery engine.

The Path Forward: What Needs to Change?

If European PM teams want to break free from the feature factory, we need to:

✅ Reward learning and impact, not just output.
✅ Lead by example to convince others of modern product teams.
✅ Adopt continuous discovery as a core practice, not an afterthought.
✅ Empower teams to own outcomes instead of just executing features.

The future of product in Europe depends on bold action, not incremental tweaks.

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