15 korrents from this recording
Every claim below is a statement made in this recording, quoted word for word and linked to the second it was said, so you can hear it rather than take our word for it. The wording comes from the transcript published alongside the recording; the sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording.
Their wordsThat might give you some tooling to help you do the job, but that's not the job. The job of product is to solve problems for our customers and achieve outcomes for our business.
Our reading
Business viability matters far more in product work than his earlier advice made it seem.
Their wordsThere is no way for me to get around this. I completely understated the importance of business viability.
Their wordsIt's a much simpler space for viability. But for most products, especially for AI products, that is not true.
Their wordsYes, you obviously need to make sure you understand the problem, who you're solving it for, and what the definition of success is. But honestly, that's not very hard. It's not very hard. And if you spend a lot of time on that, you're not going to do the real part you're paid for, which is solution discovery.
Their wordsProbably the single most important question is why are people using our product or not using our product? And the part that really gets me is that's the key to unlocking so much innovation. And yet most teams never ask that question.
Their wordsAnd yeah, this might sound like a personality trait to you, but it's not. I would argue this contributes directly to the root cause of so many failed products,
Their wordsI honestly had no idea and I just didn't appreciate how powerful and deeply rooted the desire for predictability was. And that's from both product people and senior executives and how at odds that desire for predictability is with not just humility but innovation and outcomes.
Their wordsI guarantee your road maps are not going away. We all know that the issue is not whether they are there.
Their wordsIf you put a bunch of features that are somebody's idea of what might work and you put dates there, you're going to waste most of your time.
Our reading
Good product work alone does not carry the day; politics are in the fabric of every company.
Their wordsI thought good product work will carry the day. That was of course naive. And the truth is politics are everywhere. They're in the fabric of every company.
Their wordsAnd of course, what so many companies have learned is that in empowered product teams, you don't just need less management, you need better management. And the role of product leadership is so critical.
Our reading
To get people to switch, a product has to solve problems dramatically better than the competition.
Their wordsYou actually have to solve problems in ways that are dramatically better than your competition if you're going to get people to switch.
Our reading
Large language models may be used as an alternative to thinking, as process already has been.
Their wordsAnd I am worried that large language models will be used as an alternative to thinking, but the truth is that's already happened with process.
Their wordsBut look, in no small part, thanks to AI today, more places than ever understand the need for outcomes and not just output.
Their wordsSo here's the thing. Thanks to AI, the principles of the product model, the craft of product strategy and product discovery have never been more important.