Marty Cagan, Author at Silicon Valley Product Group · Marty Cagan
articleprincipleExperts Lead Experts
25 September 2026Product
We are still early in the journey to learn the long-term impact of AI, but one trend that continues to capture attention is that managers and other leaders will be much less important, and that all we really need are skilled individual contributor builders. We’ve all seen the headlines about companies pushing for fewer managers... The post Experts Lead Experts appeared first on Silicon Valley Product Group.
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Apollo layer
What a founder can learn
Founder takeaway
A flatter, AI-enabled organization does not eliminate leadership. Expert builders still need leaders with enough domain credibility to guide judgment, align work, and support other experts—not merely add managerial layers.
Why it matters
Founders who remove managers without redesigning how decisions, coaching, and accountability work may replace bureaucracy with confusion. The goal should be stronger expert leadership, not leadership absence.