Why Mastering Foundational Product Management Skills Is Non-Negotiable In 2026
Every year, nearly 30,000 new products are launched, and around 95% fail according to research from the Harvard Business School. Think about that. Almost every new product on the market fails. That’s a nightmare scenario for any business.
Even large companies and tech giants like Google, Coca-Cola, and others have experienced spectacular product failures. Remember Google Glass? It received millions in investment and vanished from the market almost as quickly as it appeared. Or, how about New Coke? Despite extensive testing, backlash against the new Coke flavor prompted Coca-Cola to revert almost immediately to the old formula. Being big, doing plenty of research, and using all the data in the world can’t protect your products from failing.
The Problem With Relying Solely on Data For Product Launches
In today’s product landscape, we’re drowning in data about everything. With the emergence of AI, this problem has only accelerated. Did you know that we generate over 402 million terabytes of information daily? With sophisticated analytics tools and new AI tools at our fingertips, many in leadership and product management roles have embraced a “data-driven” approach, relying solely on numbers to inform product and launch decisions.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: that’s hard to swallow. Data without empathy or insight leads to shallow and incorrect assumptions and decisions.
- Data measures what was true yesterday instead of what will be true tomorrow. The market, your customers, and fads can change overnight.
- It misses what is undiscovered. There was no data demonstrating that customers wanted cell phones with cameras; however, Apple proceeded to try it anyway. Now, cameras are expected in phones.
- Huge chunks of data favor the majority’s opinion. The majority may not include your customers or may miss the situation driving it. Situations change, and so will your customers' purchase behavior.
- Data can show you what happened, but they can’t tell you WHY it happened. Context is key, and nuance is often lost to big data.
- It’s easy to use data to support pre-existing beliefs, and you may miss the larger point.
A Common But Avoidable Problem With New Products
We hear this time and time again from customers around the world. When a new feature is released for a product, many users are confused by it. Typically, it’s not something they actually wanted or asked for. However, their needs weren’t taken into account by big data or by the potential revenue the latest feature could generate. This is why products fail. If product managers and leadership don’t connect to their customers, then mistakes like this become all too prevalent.
Here's another real-life example you may have encountered. During customer discovery, the product team initially assumes business owners want to maximize revenue. However, through empathetic questioning, they uncovered something different. Many of their customers wanted to maintain their businesses while running them more efficiently, so they could have more free time. Others wanted to build a sustainable business to pass on to their kids.
This insight is near impossible to capture through analytics alone. It also fundamentally changes the product’s value proposition, enabling the product team to lead with a solution that truly resonates with their target customers. We can’t state this enough, empathy by product managers and leadership is the secret to a product that succeeds in today's volatile market.
The Additional Cost Of Empathy Deficits
The absence of empathy doesn’t just lead to product failures; it can create products that harm users. Here are some examples of products that made it to market but ultimately failed to serve customers well.
- Speech-to-text tools: These tools can be revolutionary for customers who need them, like folks who have hand tremors, blindness, dyslexia, and more. Yet these tools are not equally accessible across racial groups. According to User Interviews and a Stanford & Georgetown University published study, mainstream speech-to-text tools misunderstood and mistranscribed Black speakers nearly twice as often as they did for white speakers. This tool reduces accessibility for Black users and others with accents.
Was there a need for this tool? Absolutely! But did a lack of empathy and awareness for all customers lead to a glaring problem in the tool? Also yes.
- Car safety systems were designed primarily for male bodies. This has resulted in women being 47% more likely to be seriously injured in car crashes. In fact, it wasn’t until November 2025 that the first crash test dummy resembling a woman was created, enabling car manufacturers to test their safety systems for women as well as men.
These are just two of the many examples of products that are still in the market but continue to overlook important segments of their customer base because of empathy. These products often stem from research processes that defaulted to limited user perspectives and failed to empathetically consider diverse human experiences.
The Solution To Data-Driven Mistakes: Product Managers
Data doesn’t make decisions, leaders do. Skilled and experienced product managers are the solution to a growing disconnect between businesses and their customers. Svafa Grönfeldt, faculty member for MIT, shares more insight into the ever-increasing issue:
“Some of these failures arise from a lack of empathy on the part of the organization, with those in decision-making positions not taking the necessary time to study and understand the customers’ true needs. Without putting themselves in their shoes, it’s often too late when they realize there’s no market for their solutions.”
Product managers sit at the bustling intersection of business objectives, technical feasibility, and customer needs. We have more information, more data, and more analytical tools than ever before. But only empathy from people for people can ensure a product connects with customers. Customers don’t want just any new feature or product; they want the one that meets their needs.
Building Your Empathy As A Product Manager
Empathy isn’t just a soft skill; it’s a learnable and practicable concrete skill that all product managers can develop. Here are some steps to strengthen your empathy so you can create products that succeed!
- Immerse Yourself In User Contexts: Escape your desk and get some real-world experience under your belt. Shadow customer support teams during busy periods. Visit users in their “natural” environment.
- Ask Deeper “Why” Questions: The era of surface-level feedback is over. When interviewing users, explore their motivations, what success means to them, and the emotional impact of their challenges. You’re trying to understand what they really need, not just what they say they want.
- Combine Qualitative & Quantitative Insights: Data is still an important tool. It can tell you what happened, and empathy will tell you why. When metrics move or don’t move in unexpected ways, use qualitative research to understand the story, the “why” behind the numbers.
- Build Diverse Research Practices: Ensure your research actively includes diverse perspectives from your customers across race, gender, ability, and more. If you research only one part of your customer base, you’re missing huge swaths of your potential market.
A New Generation Of Product Managers
In a world of data overload, the product managers who succeed are those who can engage with their customers empathetically. 95% of products fail in their first year; the difference between products that succeed and those that don’t comes down to whether product managers genuinely understand their customers. Those who invest in empathy and go beyond AI tools and spreadsheets packed with data to connect with the real people on the other side of their products are far more likely to create solutions people actually need and want. Great products aren’t built for dashboards; they’re built for humans.
Are you prepared to lead with empathy as a product manager? Build the foundation you need as a product manager through a worldwide-recognized course and certifications from AIPMM, like Certified Product Manager or Certified Product Marketing Manager. Not only is it great to brush up on key fundamentals, but you’ll also learn the latest strategies in our quickly evolving business landscape.
Sources:
Bose, D., Segui-Gomez, M., & Crandall, J. R. (2011). Vulnerability of female drivers involved in motor vehicle crashes: An analysis of US population at risk. American Journal of Public Health, 101(12), 2368-2373. https://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/case-studies/crash.html
Iyamah, J. (2025, January 9). 6 design failures that could have been avoided with inclusive UX research. User Interviews. https://www.userinterviews.com/blog/design-failure-examples-caused-by-bias-noninclusive-ux-research
MIT Professional Education. (2021, December 13). Product innovation: 95% of new products miss the mark. https://professionalprograms.mit.edu/blog/design/why-95-of-new-products-miss-the-mark-and-how-yours-can-avoid-the-same-fate/
Nobel, C. (2011, February 14). Clay Christensen's milkshake marketing. Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/clay-christensens-milkshake-marketing
Quantive. (n.d.). 4 myths that misguide data-driven decision-making. https://quantive.com/resources/articles/data-driven-decision-making-myths
U.S. Department of Transportation. (2025, November 21). Transportation Department endorses crash test dummy that more closely resembles women [Press release]. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2025/11/21/g-s1-98694/crash-test-dummy-resembles-women
