PRODUCTHEAD
PRODUCTHEAD is my free curated newsletter of the best articles, videos and podcasts from product leaders and commentators all over the world. All neatly packaged up in a weekly email delivery for your reading, viewing and listening pleasure.
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Recent editions
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» Understanding cultural lenses is a must when working across geographical teams » Financially viable products must earn back multiple times their ongoing costs » AI may help to solve (or exacerbate) long-standing operating problems » With digital transformation largely ‘done’ in UK public sector, the next challenge is coherence
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» Only having geniuses at the top of an org defining strategy for everyone else to enact is a relic of a bygone era » The allocation of ‘time’ and the allocation of ‘capacity’ are very different concepts
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» Bare facts by themselves are not persuasive; they must be “storified” in a way that triggers people’s sense of self » A smaller initial ask can increase the likelihood of agreement to a larger, related ask
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» Bad services can arise from not realising the service and the user need have drifted apart » GenAI shifts the focus from shipping products to stewarding living systems that are continually learning and adapting
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» Changing behaviour and beliefs is crucial for people to adopt a fundamentally new org strategy » Culture optimised without alignment has unintended consequences
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» KPIs measure what you’re already doing, OKRs are for change » Problematic OKRs are too big in scope, activity-focused and disconnected from strategy » The Narrative, Commitments, Tasks (NCT) framework offers an alternative to OKRs
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» Product duos and trios can enhance the team, but are never more important than the team as a whole » If a team depends on an external decision-maker, could that person join the team to empower them?
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» Most read edition: ‘Where does the time go?’ – a developer explains the work around the work » Edition with most clicks: ‘The rift between design and product’ – reportedly designers covet the PM position » Most clicked article: ‘How to structure a product organization’ – John Cutler and Leah Tharin talk product OS
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» Product-market fit is more elusive than ever in a dynamic market » In deep-tech companies, it’s unrealistic to compete with your team on technical knowledge » ‘Financial theatre’ occurs when the Board and product leadership aren’t communicating effectively » There is room for both concrete and abstract thinking
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» Thinking purely in problems to solve can limit you » The words you use to describe your proposition are really a test of how well you know your target users’ needs » Find ways to ‘tilt the umbrella’: small considerate features for your users
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» Too often, ‘building’ becomes the default state for a product team, at the expense of other valuable ways of working » An product team should not be so rigid that it cannot cope with the occasional mandate from above
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» Extreme work as a product leader is a systemic issue, not a failing of individuals to set boundaries » Define performance expectations for your product team clearly using customer value, velocity and quality
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» Dysfunctional overwork has been rebranded as a desirable attribute in some organisations » Working at a slower, more natural pace actually increases productivity » Continuous accesibility via mobile devices has eroded autonomy and increased stress » AI means every organisation is facing their ‘Kodak moment’ right now
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» Delegate the same kinds of task to an AI agent as you would to an intern » Generative AI won’t help you find product differentiators » Evals are a way of checking the quality and effectiveness of your LLM and AI tools
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» Learning their skills hands-on is the best way to appreciate specialists’ roles » A good roadmap can be a valuable way of showing reliability and building trust » CEOs fall on a spectrum of ‘only assigning work’ and ‘collaborating with staff’ » Master the genAI tools relevant to your skillset before someone less experienced makes you redundant
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» Services are inherited, messy, and rarely a clean slate » There are different types of prioritisation, and we should consider them in combination » The knowledge economy is being upended by genAI
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» Why is it so hard to forecast return on investment (ROI) for a product? » ROI is not the only measure of product value » You can take account of uncertainty in your estimates in a systematic way
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» Defend against short-termism by making your team’s strategic thinking visible » People are increasingly working to live, not living to work » Teams should only split their Decision Stack when their answers to “How?” diverge » Repetition and reward are intrinsic to behaviour change in teams
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» Rank stacking has fallen out of favour because it breeds internal sabotage and mediocrity » Orgs drift between varying degrees of horizontal and vertical ‘coupling’ » We are arguably in 3 AI bubbles: speculative, infrastructure and hype » Better methods than roadmaps exist when there’s a broad gap between vision and execution
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» Product managers have to fill the gap when strategy is absent » When taking a decision, first consider how reversible it it is » Communities of practice evolve through different stages, which need different approaches