Essential lessons in Product Management and its intersection with human-centred design, effective communication, and leadership without hierarchy.
I had the great opportunity to speak with Chema Miranda, Director of Personalisation Product at Spotify, and his perspective left me with profound reflections on what it truly means to lead digital products today. In an era where technological solutions emerge at a dizzying pace, pausing to inhabit the problem feels like a revolutionary act.
Inspired by Chema's career — spanning Telefónica, Netflix, and Spotify — we reflected on how Product Management and human-centred design find their fullest expression in the relentless pursuit of context, empathy, and narrative. This post is an invitation to rediscover the passion for exploring, questioning, and building from what is essential.
The Journey into the "Problem Space"
Chema began his career as a software engineer. Yet, beyond technical solutions, what truly captured his attention was the "why" behind things: how do we know whether what we're building generates real value for users?
This shift in focus led him to inhabit a vital territory in modern Product Management: the problem space. Working in this space requires resisting the natural impulse to jump to quick solutions, and developing the capacity to observe, understand, and define problems deeply before even thinking about how to solve them.
Furthermore, he dismantles the myth that a Product Manager is the "CEO of the product". Far from holding formal authority, a PM influences through building trust, effective communication, and consistency of action. Leading without explicit authority is, in his view, one of the most critical skills of the role.
Complementing Business Knowledge with User Experience
One of the recurring themes in the conversation was how Product Management rests on two pillars that must coexist in harmony: a deep understanding of the business and empathy towards the user experience.
In his particular case, coming from a technical background, Chema had to make a conscious effort to complement his grounding in technology with a greater understanding of business dynamics and user experience. It was not about abandoning his prior training, but enriching it in order to navigate effectively between different worlds.
Chema emphasised that being an effective PM requires more than mastering just one of these worlds. It is necessary to translate user insights into tangible business decisions, and conversely, to understand strategic priorities in order to design experiences with real impact.
The combination of these competencies enables Product Managers to navigate complex conversations, prioritise with discernment, and build bridges between the different teams involved in product creation.
Context: The Fuel of Product Decisions
In Chema's own words, "our job as Product Managers is to capture and share context". This statement resonates strongly within the field of UX Research and human-centred design. Whether through interviews, quantitative data, or usability testing, our success depends on how we gather meaningful information and transform it into a narrative that guides our teams.
Building context is far more than collecting data: it means structuring it, interpreting it, and above all, sharing it effectively in order to influence key decisions without the need for formal authority.
Counterintuitive Thinking: Navigating the Unexpected
One of the most fascinating aspects of the conversation with Chema was understanding how Product Management is full of logic that defies intuition. Repeating concepts over and over again — something that might seem inefficient or redundant — turns out to be a crucial strategy for aligning diverse teams. Equally, being aware that our role is not to seek the immediate happiness of all stakeholders, but to prioritise the right problems, often means generating healthy "discomfort" in the short term.
These counterintuitive insights are a reminder that, at the heart of building valuable products, we must be willing to unlearn acquired reflexes and adopt a flexible, critical mindset.
The Silent Power of Storytelling
Perhaps one of the most inspiring messages was Chema's insistence on the importance of storytelling as a fundamental skill for those of us who design products. Storytelling is not only about grand presentations: it is present in every email, every brief, every strategic conversation.
Good communication helps to align business, design, and technology teams that often "speak different languages". And, curiously, the key is not in saying something new every time, but in repeating essential messages with coherence and clarity, until they become part of the team's DNA.
Chema also shared how he applied storytelling to his own personal story when seeking career opportunities in the United States. Coming from a background little known in Silicon Valley, he had to learn to narrate his trajectory in a way that highlighted his unique value, creating connection and relevance for those unfamiliar with his previous context. This experience illustrates that storytelling is not only fundamental for the products we design, but also for building our own professional narrative.
Navigating Different Ecosystems with Curiosity and Humility
Chema's journey through companies such as Telefónica, Netflix, and Spotify reveals a crucial lesson: there is no single correct way to do product. Each organisation has its own "incentive ecosystem" that shapes behaviours, practices, and priorities.
Learning to read the room — observing the culture, understanding the incentives, adapting the way you communicate — is just as important as mastering frameworks or methodologies. This capacity for constant adjustment is vital for any Product Manager, and indeed for UX Designers or UX Researchers who want to have real impact in highly complex environments.
How to Move from UX Design to Product Management
Chema also shared valuable advice for those looking to make the transition from UX Design to Product Management. The first is to identify and address knowledge gaps: strengthening business understanding and acquiring a basic technical literacy that enables fluid conversations with engineering teams.
He also suggests proactively engaging with product teams within the current organisation. Working side by side, taking on shared projects, and beginning to think in terms of business problems and priorities paves the way for a natural transition.
Finally, Chema emphasises that the mindset shift is essential: moving away from focusing exclusively on "how it is designed" to also focusing on "what problem are we solving and why now".
An Essential Reading Recommended by Chema
Among the many resources a Product Manager can explore, Chema particularly recommended the book "The Art of Product Management" by Rich Mironov. This text, less well known than others in the usual product training circuit, offers a pragmatic and in-depth perspective on the real challenges of the role.
Mironov places emphasis on managing expectations, handling stakeholders, and navigating organisational complexities — themes that resonate directly with the vision Chema shared throughout our conversation. A highly recommended resource for those seeking not just frameworks, but also practical wisdom built from experience.
The Future: AI, Productivity, and the Soul of Product Management
On the rise of artificial intelligence, Chema invites us to maintain a pragmatic and open outlook: "we don't know how it will evolve, but we do know that we must embrace it as a tool to enhance our productivity".
In a world where many operational tasks may be automated, what will remain as a distinctly human differentiator will be precisely what was never easy to replicate: empathy, genuine curiosity, critical thinking, and the ability to build stories that move people.
3 Key Takeaways
- Inhabiting the problem space is an act of courage. Questioning before building is not always natural or easy, but it is essential for creating real value.
- Context is a powerful currency. Capturing and sharing it intelligently enables you to influence without the need for formal authority.
- Storytelling is the secret tool of every great Product Manager. Knowing how to tell stories is not a luxury; it is a strategic necessity.
The conversation with Chema Miranda is an inspiring reminder that, beyond frameworks, tools, or technologies, our work as experience and product designers is deeply human.
It is about observing with curiosity, listening with intention, connecting ideas and people. And, above all, never stopping to ask ourselves: what is the real problem we want to solve?
We leave you here with the full interview — don't miss it!
