Why You Want to Know More — Even If You Don’t Know It Yet

Insights are a product manager’s lifeline.

Without them, you become a coordinator — someone who manages the delivery of all the features someone else wants. You might execute well, but you’re not driving. You are not shaping. You’re reacting.

Domain expertise puts you in the driver’s seat.

When you understand your industry’s language, your users’ world, the workflows they rely on, and the numbers that drive decisions, you get the power you need to thrive as a PM.

Let’s break down why it’s worth building your domain expertise and what it will do for you.

In Heated Discussions, Knowledge Wins

When I work as a product manager, I get feature requests weekly—sometimes daily—that challenge what I had planned. Some are easy to dismiss. But when a CEO makes a strong case for a feature they believe is crucial, I need solid arguments to ensure that we invest our time and money on the right initiatives. Saying “It’s not on the roadmap” or “The next development cycle starts in two weeks” rarely helps. Those responses signal resistance to new ideas rather than a thoughtful stance. And clinging to processes too tightly often blocks real progress.

In situations like these, I want to be the most informed person in the room.

This is where domain expertise makes the difference. A strong knowledge base supports nearly every step of our work as product managers.

Here’s what it enables:

Professional Communication

We spend a lot of time aligning with teams and stakeholders on what to build and how to build it. Everyone brings their own opinions, and it’s our job to help the group converge quickly.

To do that, we need solid arguments. And those come from real insight and clear thinking. The more you understand your users, your market, and your product, the easier it is to form a perspective, explain your reasoning, and persuade others.

Assessments and Prioritizations

You’ll never run out of ideas or stakeholder requests. Backlogs are always full. The challenge is spotting which ideas are worth your time.

You don’t have time for deep dives into every suggestion. That’s why a strong knowledge base matters — it helps you filter early. Good insight lets you quickly discard weak ideas and champion the right ones with confidence. The same principle applies to prioritization.

You don’t need to test every idea if you already know it won’t work. The right insight—a single data point—can help you kill a weak idea early and save energy. That’s how you stay focused on what matters.

Credibility

When you speak from a strong foundation of knowledge, your credibility grows.

I’ve seen it happen: instead of being the person others dump ideas on, you become the person they come to for insights. Stakeholders seek your perspective because it helps them make better decisions. The same goes for your team. When your input is grounded and your decisions are solid, the whole team benefits—things move faster and change less often.

Discovery

This one is counterintuitive.

Have you ever sat through a lecture, and at the end the speaker asks, “Any questions?”—but you’re so lost you don’t even know what to ask?

The same thing happens in product discovery. Without a knowledge foundation, you don’t even know where to look or what to ask. But with a good base, you ask sharper questions, avoid rabbit holes, and connect dots across domains. You’re not assuming you know everything—you’re just better equipped to explore meaningfully.

Strategy

Connecting dots doesn’t just improve discovery—it fuels strategy.

When your knowledge spans domains and goes beyond your immediate product, it gives context. You stop making decisions in isolation. You can link day-to-day work to team goals and company strategy. You can challenge leadership constructively and help inform better decisions.

How often do we realize too late that a project had no real impact? With a strong information base, that happens less. You spot red flags earlier. You make smarter bets.

Build What Matters

Even though solid domain expertise helps you in the daily practice, the most important reason is to build what matters.

Yes, insights help us work more efficiently. But more importantly, they help us understand how user needs translate into business outcomes.

Now you’ve got a few reasons why insights matter in your daily work.

But… Where Do You Find the Time?

You might think: “This all sounds great, but I don’t have time to add this to my plate.”

I get it. As a consultant, I often work in unfamiliar domains. Even in familiar ones, my knowledge is often out of date. And no client wants to pay for weeks of research.

Here’s the thing: you don’t need that much time.

A few hours a week over a few weeks is enough to build a strong base. I track insights that show up in conversations, books, and market reports—it doesn’t take much to get started. Continuity matters more than intensity. You don’t need a perfect knowledge foundation before taking action and feeling the impact of insights.

Most teams already work with a good sense of common sense. But if you add just 1% more insight to every decision—and keep doing it—the compound effect changes everything.

The Knowledge Adds Up

Knowledge has a compounding effect. Each new piece of information builds on the last, strengthening your understanding of the landscape. When you consistently add information faster than the world changes, you’ll soon end up with a solid understanding of what drives decisions.

As you build your knowledge, you'll gain two key benefits: speed and quality.

Speed of execution: With a solid knowledge base, decisions, prioritizations, and alignments happen quickly because you're pulling from a well of existing insights. No need to start from scratch every time—your knowledge accelerates your ability to act.

Quality: The more you know, the higher the quality of your decisions. Each piece of information connects to others, forming a network of context that makes complex decisions easier and more effective. This knowledge gives you the ability to see patterns and connections others might miss, speeding up your decision-making process and allowing you to make smarter choices.

Building domain expertise is a must for product people. It makes our work predictable, stable, and impactful.