💡 Product Circle ⭕ Chat - The Shapeshifter's Dilemma with Daniel Kinal
Welcome to 💡 Product Circle ⭕ Chat on
🕗 Wednesday 7 October 2026 at 8am (BST - UK)
🕘 Wednesday 7 October 2026 at 9am (CEST - Germany)
🕒 Wednesday 7 October 2026 at 3pm (AWST - Perth)
🕔 Wednesday 7 October 2026 at 5pm (AEST - Brisbane)
🕕 Wednesday 7 October 2026 at 6pm (AEDT - Sydney and Melbourne)
🕗 Wednesday 7 October 2026 at 8pm (NZDT - New Zealand)
Topic: The Shapeshifter's Dilemma
Product management's continuing identity crisis, now accelerated 🪞
You mocked up the interface because design was stretched. You wrote the launch copy because marketing was two weeks out. You built the sales deck, then you built the prototype, because the tools made it possible and nobody else was going to.
Sometimes that is a real expansion of what a Product Manager can be. Sometimes it is the job quietly getting redefined without anyone agreeing to it.
The uncomfortable part is that in real time, those two things look identical. Both feel like helping. Both feel like ownership. The difference only becomes visible later, once the work has settled into your role permanently and the thinking you were supposed to be doing has been squeezed out of the week.
Daniel Kinal has spent decades watching Product Managers shapeshift into almost every gap an organisation leaves open. In this Chat he looks at what is worth taking on, what is worth pushing back on, and why that line keeps getting harder to see.
"The hardest part of being a great Product Manager is knowing which job you're actually doing." Daniel Kinal
What we’ll cover
✅ Two versions of the same behaviour. Genuine growth in the role, and the role being redefined around you without your agreement.
✅ The work that has drifted inward. Interface mock-ups, launch copy, sales decks, working prototypes, and what it actually costs to own them by default.
✅ Why saying yes feels so reasonable in the moment, and why the bill arrives long after the decision.
✅ Where to push back, and how to do that without becoming the person in the room who will not help.
✅ What shapeshifting looks like in complex B2B and operational environments, where the gaps organisations leave open tend to be widest.
Perfect for: Product Managers, Senior Product Managers, Product Leaders and anyone who has quietly absorbed a second job this year and is not sure whether that was a promotion or a problem.
About Daniel Kinal
Daniel Kinal currently leads product strategy and innovation for software solutions used by public transport operators across Australia and New Zealand. With more than 20 years of experience in product management, Daniel specialises in turning complex operational challenges into practical, high-value technology solutions.
His work spans digital transformation, decision-support systems, employee experience, AI-driven insights and operational optimisation.
Passionate about the craft of product management, particularly in the B2B software space, Daniel enjoys helping teams navigate uncertainty, make better decisions, and build products that create meaningful outcomes for customers and users alike.
Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn.
Zoom Link: See invite
You know we always have something special to give away at every Chat. This one is no different.
🏆 1 x lucky LIVE attendee will WIN a FREE 1:1 coaching session with Daniel Kinal.
You need to be there live to win.
Mark your calendar, and bring your questions for Daniel.
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thanks,
Irene
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Irene Liakos
Product
irene@phronesisadvisory.com
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