Ever notice how the most powerful question in product management is also the favorite of three-year-olds, philosophy professors, and 90s boy bands?

McKinsey’s recent article “The missing data link: Five practical lessons to scale your data products” has hit on something I’ve been advocating for years: treating data as a product rather than a project or resource. While I’m typically wary of consultancy research (aren’t we all?), this piece validates much of what we’ve observed in the field about the transformative power of data product thinking.

We’ve all seen it—-companies rushing to slap “AI-powered” on their marketing materials while implementing little more than basic automation or, worse, glorified if/then statements. The current marketplace is brimming with products that tout AI capabilities but deliver minimal value beyond the initial novelty.