PRODUCTHEAD is a regular newsletter of product management goodness,
curated by Jock Busuttil.
a product at a wedding (no no no no no no no no) #
every PRODUCTHEAD edition is online for you to refer back to
tl;dr
People are rarely idiots — assume they’re rational actors with good intent
Sometimes you have to compromise on finding the ideal job
What truly differentiates you from the rest of the market when anyone can build anything?
hello
This week I have a couple of podcasts for you to listen to while warm, turquoise waters lap at your feet — or if you’ve returned from vacation with a bump, something you can listen to to drown out the sound of the rest of your family.
This week Olga Skipper interviews Thor Mitchell on her Emotional Business podcast. Together, they talk about the human side of product leadership, how to be more emotionally intelligent with your teams, and why it can be lonely at the top.
Evie Brockwell chats to product management guru Beks Yelland about the current challenges of finding work at the moment, and how she has overcome them.
In a long read article, Ash Mann explores how teams can experience superficial agreement while still being fundamentally misaligned, how cultural norms and politeness can obstruct, and what it takes to build real alignment.
And to wrap up, Martin Eriksson describes why it’s critical to the survival of your SaaS company to get to the heart of why your customers will choose you over anyone else. If you don’t know, or if the answer is “because we’re cheaper” or “because we have more features,” you’ve already missed the boat.
Speak to you soon,
Jock
what to think about this week
Leading with Emotional Depth: The Art of Product Leadership with Thor Mitchell
n this episode of Emotional Business, Olga Skipper is joined by Thor Mitchell—a seasoned product leader, mentor, and former Google and Miro executive—who brings over 25 years of experience leading product teams across Europe, the US, and Australia. But this conversation isn’t about frameworks or velocity charts. It’s about the human side of product leadership.
Assume rational actors and good intent
[Olga Skipper & Thor Mitchell / Emotional Business]
What is a Full-Stack PM? & Landing a Product Role in the Current Market with Beks Yelland
From the early days of extensive documentation to the agile revolution and the rise of data-driven decision-making, Beks shares her insights on how the role has transformed. Discover how AI is reshaping the landscape and why embracing these changes is crucial for future success.
When to look for the role instead of any role (and when not to)
[Evie Brockwell & Beks Yelland / Product Confidential]
The illusion of alignment
Misalignment in digital projects often hides behind surface-level agreement. Cultural norms like politeness, power imbalance, and rushed decision-making lead to fragile consensus. Real alignment takes trust, open challenge, and shared definitions before delivery, not after.
Misalignment isn’t tactical, it’s cultural, and it’s preventable
[Ash Mann]
Fast Fashion SaaS: Will you be Shein, Hermès, or History?
Your software business is dead — unless you adopt the strategies fashion brands used to survive and thrive through their fast fashion disruption.
Failing to make a strategic choice is really to choose irrelevance
[Martin Eriksson / The Decision Stack]
recent posts
Are developers vibe coding themselves out of a job?
And is the increasing reliance by junior developers on AI coding assistants storing up a generational skills shortage for the future – ‘professional debt’, if you will?
So simple, anyone could do it. Wait – don’t fire me
[I Manage Products]
Cloud computing for non-technical product managers
To understand how cloud computing works, we’re going to start with the basic building blocks and work our way up.
And why is it a cloud anyway? (All is revealed)
[I Manage Products]
Navigating your product management career
Ross Webb and I have been chatting about product management career progression.
We cover topics including:
» Thinking of visibility as a strategic competency, not self-promotion
» Controlling your narrative through regular updates
» Building cross-organisational relationships deliberately
» Mapping your stakeholders’ preferred communication styles
A roundtable chat on moving into product leadership
[I Manage Products]
can we help you?
Product People is a product management services company. We can help you through consultancy, training and coaching. Just contact us if you need our help!
Helping people build better products, more successfully, since 2012.
PRODUCTHEAD is a newsletter for product people of all varieties, and is lovingly crafted from laverbread and cockles.