for W3c validation

Note: as I’m currently evaluating and interviewing for product manager opportunities, I’m publishing many answers to the product, behavioral, business, and life questions I’m researching/practicing publicly rather than keep them private in a Google doc.

Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager

David G was my manager for the majority of my time at Zillow. He and I disagreed on a range of issues. One specific time I remember was about the Local Market Explorer wordpress plugin. I’m not going to get into the super specifics here, but the disagreement was around strategy of accepting data integration of data providers in other verticals.

What did we do to resolve the disagreement?

Talked.

We talked the issue through, each explaining our rational — and myself explaining my actions that he was upset over. Ultimately, most of the disagreement ended up being communication — or lack thereof to be precise. We had a great working-friendship relationship, which made it easy to talk about issues such as this in a casual environment.