Top 12 Product Management Insights From 2022

Your teammates are starting to go offline and Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You looms all around, so you know what that means: It’s time to reflect on the top product management insights from the last 12 months and explore pop culture’s highest peaks and lowest lows. Starting with…

January

High: Comic book industry reels as VIZ Comics ties Marvel Comics in the Top 10 Graphic Novels Sales chart (2 titles each)… and Boom! Studios and Image Comics tie for first place (3 titles each). Where is DC?
Low: Patton Oswalt throws Dave Chapelle under the bus on Instagram.
Product: Vincent Wu, Google Group Product Manager, explains how to communicate effectively with executives.
RIP: Betty White dies on Dec 31 2021 at age 99, just days before her 100th birthday.

February

High: Reacher earns a second season within a week of its premiere on Amazon Prime.
Low: Marvel and DC agree to re-release the JLA/Avengers crossover to support dying superstar artist George Perez — but with restrictions that needlessly blunt its impact.
Product: Tanguy Leborgne shares why Product Managers make great CEOs.
GTM: Alexander Estner highlights 8 common Go-To-Market mistakes (#7 is a killer).

March

High: The Batman starts with reckless vengeance, ends with light in the darkness.
Low: R-Rated reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuts, trades heartfelt laughs for gritty drama.
Product: Rich Mironov explores how prioritization is a political problem as well as an analytical one.
Hero: NYC doorman tackles monster who sucker-punched a 9-year-old girl.
Creative: Artist creates two battling origami warriors from one sheet of paper.
SLAP: You know what I’m talking about.

April

High: Jonathan Pageau announces what’s next for the dog-headed Saint Christopher.
Low: Morbius bombs due to blandness.
Product: Sukirti Arora shares 30 Product Manager job interview questions she’s been asked.
RIP: Estelle Harris (who played George’s mom on Seinfeld), Liz Sheridan (who played Jerry’s mom on Seinfeld), comedian Gilbert Gottfried, and superstar artist Neal Adams.

May

High: Top Gun: Maverick debuts, delights audiences, grosses over $1 billion worldwide.
Low: Dave Chapelle attacked on stage by person who finds the comedian’s content “triggering”.
Product: Elena Seregina explains how the metrics pyramid aligns product and business goals.
Radio Legend: Matt Siegel of Matty In The Morning retires after 41 years on the air in Boston.
Madness: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness explores other realities… and the execution of the concept is a bit of an omnium-gatherum.
RIP: George Perez.

June

High: Kate Bush’s reaction to Running Up That Hill becoming 2022’s song of the summer 40 years after its debut.
Low: Theories abound as to why Lightyear fails to lift off.
Product: Alex Magee explores how to understand and use data smartly as a PM.
RIP: Iconic artist Tim Sales.

July

High: New comic book publisher Rippaverse crowdfunds $3 million for its debut project Isom.
Low: Electronic Arts and other video game companies come out in support of abortion.
Product: Toby Rogers shares 10 resources to help PMs grow from managers to leaders.
Viral: Father Mike Schmitz explains why God allows suffering using DC’s Injustice.

August

High: The Kaiju No. 8 Twitter account reveals the series is getting an animated adaptation.
Low: DC can’t catch a break – Batgirl movie canceled due to poor audience test screenings.
Product: Anubhav Sharma outlines how to effectively manage a product lifecycle.
Monkee Business: The Monkees’ last surviving member sues the FBI for secret files (!) on the band.

September

High: Amazon Prime’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power debuts, earns mixed reactions.
Low: Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis fail to bring live-action Pinocchio to life.
Product: Looi Qin En shares insights from 52 PMs on what makes a great PM.
RIP: Queen Elizabeth II.

October

High: Dollywood’s Hoot Owl Hallow takes flight with a 14-foot bird composed of 150 pumpkins.
Low: She-Hulk creative team prioritizes owning “the trolls” over telling a story fans would love.
Mixed: Dwayne Johnson tries to engage audiences with Black Adam… and kinda succeeds, maybe.
Product: Zander Pease illustrates the difference between a user story and a job story.
Seemingly Super: Henry Cavill announces he’s returning to the DC Universe as Superman.
RIP: Angela Lansbury.

November

High: Mythic Quest returns for an epic season three. But where’s C.W. Longbottom?
Low: Andor might be the best Star Wars show of 2022, but critical praise does not generate big viewership.
Product: Nadiem von Heydebrand shares insights from his experience with data product management.
RIP: Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman for 30 years.

December

High: Henry Cavill announces he’s building a Warhammer Cinematic Universe… after announcing he’s not returning to the DC Universe as Superman.
Low: Jennifer Lawrence bizarrely claims the first female-led action movie was The Hunger Games.
Product: Userpilot reveals product trends for 2023. Hint: AI is involved.
Still Flying High: Iron Man inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
RIP: Kirstie Alley.

What Were Your Favorite Moments From 2022?

I was shocked by how much I enjoyed Reacher and Top Gun: Maverick. I’m a huge superhero fan and I love comedies… and neither of these projects fits those requirements. But both of them shared something sorely missing in many TV and movies today: Emotional, optimistic, entertaining storytelling with characters that resonate and relatable motivations. Hopefully that trend continues into 2023 and beyond.

What moments from 2022 stand out to you?