“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
-William James
#Quotes
When plans derail (and let’s face it, they do), it can be an opportunity to reassess priorities.
What’s really and truly critical for your product’s success?
Start there first.
” Every man I meet is in some way my superior; and in that I can learn of him.”
-Emerson
#Quotes
“The fact that you “can’t do” something can be embarrassing.
But if you are “learning to do” something that is admirable.
There are only tiny baby steps between can’t and learning.”
-Kevin Kelly
#Quotes
Repeat after me: Words like “users” and “clients” and “customers” are describing actual human beings.
Understand their goals, their needs, their hopes, and their pains.
And how do you do that? Empathy.
We should talk more about timing as product managers.
Too early, and the market isn’t quite ready for you.
Too late, and someone (everyone?) is already there ahead of you.
Think about “when" when you’re planning out all of the “what” and “how”.
Delivering new features feels good because it seems like measurable progress.
That’s why it’s easy to find yourself stuck in “feature factory” mode.
Remember: More features doesn’t necessarily mean more value to your clients. Focus on delivering on outcomes, not just outputs.
“In the old days, children had to memorize many irrelevant things they didn’t understand, but they also didn’t have a concept of their future then. Thanks to AI, the information in their lives is no longer so disconnected, so random.”
-Kai-fu Lee
#Quotes
”It is a happy talent to know how to play.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
#Quotes
Translating MVP as “the simplest thing we can get away with building” is problematic.
Instead, it should always be “the simplest thing we can learn from.”
Build to validate your product assumptions quickly.
Remember: product-market fit is not a static “once-and-done” sort of thing.
What worked well yesterday might never work again.
You re-evaluate, redefine, and iterate with the constant goal of staying ahead of market change.
Tell me without telling me about product management:
“It is crucial not to teach students only how to make gloves without ever telling them to practice by shaking hands with their neighbors, or carelessly removing their gloves with the indolence of a great theater actress”
-Renato Troncon
#Quotes
“Hope clouds observation.”
-Frank Herbert (Dune)
#Quotes
Think about the standout products and services, the game-changers, the ones that fundamentally shaped your life.
How would you improve them?
Life happens pretty fast.
You’re busy. (Everyone is busy.)
It’s easy to lose touch with friends, both at work or in your personal life.
But don’t underestimate the value of keeping these connections alive.
They’re a vital source of support, camaraderie, and perspective.
“Prosperity and pessimism don’t travel together.”
Quote fron the Westinghouse exhibit at the 1939 Worlds Fair
#Quotes
Maintain transparent communication with your team, your stakeholders, and your clients.
Write things down and share them.
Close open loops.
Meet as often as necessary to stay engaged and coordinated.
Clear communication reduces misunderstandings and maintains alignment.
“We go where reason - and not the absolute truth - leads us.”
-Seneca
#Quotes
No. It’s really not your To Do app’s fault.
Let’s talk about anti-patterns in productivity, shall we?
I’m a semi-reformed addict of trying out new productivity apps.
Do I still hear that sweet, sweet siren call of the perfect To Do app - the one that will FINALLY make me perfectly productive and organized?
I confess that I do… but these days I manage to resist it just a bit better.
Whenever I feel that familiar tug, that my current To Do app is utterly and completely failing me and I need to try something new, it’s normally because one (or more) of these anti-patterns has crept into my life:
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When capturing an next action, it’s vague and not fully actionable (e.g. “Goat” instead of “Milk the goat”)
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I’m not breaking down larger tasks into smaller, actionable steps. (This leaves gigantic, utterly untenable icebergs floating around within my todo list.)
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I don’t always determine the context for working a given action item. Instead, I try again and again to combine contexts and projects into a single list, thinking that this reduces complexity and friction. (It does not.)
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When I capture a next action, I sometimes fail to set a deadline. Tasks linger longer than necessary on the list (e.g. “Water the geranium” instead of “Water the geranium by 8:30am every other day”)
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When I capture a next action, I sometimes set an entirely arbitrary deadline for it. I think that this will help prioritize my work or motivate me. (It fails to do so.)
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I’m not capturing everything - all the things - into a single, trusted system. One telltale sign: piles of yellow sticky notes begin to stack up around the edges of my workspace.
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I’m not routinely scanning through all my disconnected notes for outstanding next actions / dangling tasks at the end of the work day.
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I’m not consistently making time for a comprehensive weekly review of everything. (And then I lose trust in what I’ve captured.)
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I don’t spend enough time ruminating within the Someday/Maybe list.
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I don’t always start each day by scanning through my lists of next actions and prioritizing. (Which means sometimes I spend time on less important things for entirely arbitrary reasons.)
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I don’t keep a standalone list of all my personal and professional projects updated. Where is all my energy going? (I’m doing work - but am I working on the the most meaningful, impactful things?)
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I don’t fully articulate what success / completion looks like for all of my projects. (How does my brain know it can stop thinking about this stuff?)
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I rarely celebrate - or even acknowledge - my progress, the series of smaller wins throughout the day, the week, the year.
To summarize:
When it seems like my software is at fault, sometimes it ’s because I’m being inconsistent. I’m not reviewing things as often as needed. I’m generally not thinking enough about the work to be done, the value I expect it to generate, or the opportunities I need to explore.
And sadly, no software tooling can compensate for this.
“Let our advance worrying become our advance thinking and planning.”
—Winston Churchill
#Quotes