Stan Ng, recently retired from Apple Product Marketing, shared on LinkedIn a delightful anecdote about a 45-second call from Steve Jobs ahead of the original iPod launch. It’s short enough that I won’t spoil it here.

Ng adds “three foundational aspects of being a product leader” he learned from that call. The first two I agree with wholeheartedly. The third one, “Bring your POV,” I agree with in concept, but not in the particulars. Ng wrote that he “failed to give [his] recommendation” but I think what he said on that call was exactly what Steve needed to hear. It might not have been in the form of “I think we should do X,” but the way Ng shared his opinion was a tacit recommendation, and one that Steve clearly valued.