Marty Cagan, Author at Silicon Valley Product Group · Marty Cagan
articleprincipleAgency vs Ambition
2 July 2025Product
I want to believe that all product people are both ambitious and have high agency. But recently I’ve come to realize that this is not always the case. It pains me to admit that, and my first instinct was that these are not people that I can help. But I’m not quite ready to give... The post Agency vs Ambition appeared first on Silicon Valley Product Group.
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Apollo layer
What a founder can learn
Founder takeaway
Don’t treat ambition and agency as the same trait. Assess whether each product team member both wants meaningful outcomes and takes ownership to pursue them, then tailor coaching and responsibilities to the specific gap.
Why it matters
Founders who assume motivated people will automatically act—or that proactive people share the company’s ambition—can misdiagnose performance problems. Separating the two enables better coaching, role design, and product-team accountability.