Launch Blockers Worth Holding the Line On Despite Leadership Pressure

You are a product manager at OpenAI. Leadership is pushing hard for a major launch to go out on schedule. What would lead you to delay it anyway? ```hint Separate blockers from discomfort Not every open issue justifies a delay. Think about what makes a problem launch-blocking rather than something you can fix after launch, and what you would need to bring to an executive to make that case. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the launch a new model, a consumer feature in ChatGPT, or an API change for developers? Each reaches different users and rolls back differently. - What is behind the pressure: a public announcement date, a competitor's launch, or a revenue or partner commitment? - Would you like a set of principles, an example from my own experience, or both? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A short list of launch-blocking conditions, and why each crosses the line when ordinary issues do not. - How the candidate tells a real blocker from perfectionism, using severity, number of users affected, reversibility and how quickly problems would be detected. - Options short of a full delay, such as cutting scope, a feature flag or a limited release, that could protect both the users and the date. - How the candidate escalates and persuades: evidence, a written recommendation with a new date, and respect for who owns the final decision. - A concrete STAR example with a clear outcome and lesson. ### Follow-up Questions - The executive hears your case and still decides to ship. What do you do next? - How do you avoid becoming the PM who always asks for more time? - Tell me about a time you shipped something you later wished you had held back.