AI is changing the way products are built, decisions are made, and teams work together. But for product managers, the challenge isn’t learning...

Gary Arlen
Gary Arlen

Gary Arlen is a seasoned product leadership consultant and author with over 15 years of experience guiding organizations through successful digital transformations. Specializing in the implementation of sustainable Product Operating Models, Gary has worked with Fortune 500 companies, high-growth startups, and established enterprises across technology, retail, healthcare, and logistics.

As the author of "Transform: A Practical Guide to Implementing The Product Operating Model," Gary bridges the critical gap between transformation theory and practical execution. His approach combines rigorous discovery practices, outcome-focused methodologies, and real-world implementation strategies that have helped numerous organizations move beyond "process theater" to build truly adaptive and customer-centric product organizations.

Prior to his consulting work, Gary held leadership positions at several companies, including serving as Director of Emerging Platforms at a Fortune 50 enterprise. He is currently Director of Product a major transporation and logistics provider. This frontline experience informs his pragmatic approach to organizational change.

Gary writes regularly on his Substack, where he shares insights on product strategy, leadership, and the evolving transformation landscape.

He holds BA from the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication. When not working with clients or writing, Gary can be found hiking and biking the trails near his home in Minnesota.

Connect with him at substack.com/@garyarlen.

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The Observability Gap The conversation circled hour by hour. Meeting

The conversation circled hour by hour.

Meeting by meeting.

Week over week.

Everyone agreed the technology could work.

Everyone agreed the problem was worth solving.

And still…nothing happened.

We were stuck in the observability gap.

The Gap Is Real

The observability gap is that stretch between seeing the potential of a solution and having enough lived proof to commit to the change it demands.

It’s not a technical problem.

It’s an organizational one.

In theory, a new system can save money, reduce...

Just a Bet Part One: CertaintyIn every product organization, there comes a

Part One: Certainty

In every product organization, there comes a moment when a decision feels too big, too irreversible, too loaded with consequence—when the pressure to be right overshadows the freedom to learn, and the very act of choosing becomes a referendum not just on strategy but on the chooser's fitness to choose at all. This is a story about one of those moments, about the particular kind of paralysis that afflicts the modern knowledge worker when confronted with equally compelling...

Put That Down, You Don't Need It  Put That Down, You Don't Need

Put That Down, You Don't Need It

Part One: The Human Jenga Tower

There's a moment that happens in every product manager's career—usually around year three, sometimes sooner if you're unlucky—when you realize you've become a human Jenga tower. Every new request, every "quick ask," every "just this once" commitment gets stacked on top of the previous one until you're swaying precariously, one breath away from complete collapse.

I watch this happen almost every week. A PM eating cold takeout as...

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