Product judgment
Taste, prioritization, PM instincts, product detail, and the unglamorous decisions that make software feel considered.
Posts about taste, judgment, and the gap between shipping a feature and building something people trust.
Start with taste, then read the pieces on product judgment, trust, and saying no.
Read first
- Somebody Gave a Shit: The Quiet Power of Product Detail3 min
'When they unwrap that cable and they think 'somebody gave a shit about me' -- I think that's a spiritual thing.' That was Jony Ive, during a...
- The Ubiquiti Effect: Why Enterprise Software Needs a Consumer Revolution2 min
Ubiquiti proved that enterprise-grade power doesn't require enterprise-grade suffering. Most B2B software hasn't gotten the memo.
- Don't Build What They Ask For: The Art of Need-Finding3 min
'If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.' This quote, often attributed to Henry Ford, encapsulates one of the most...
- The Product Manager's Secret Superpower: Finding Signal in the Noise2 min
The best product managers have a superpower that's rarely discussed: they can spot the same underlying user need manifesting in completely different...
Everything else
- Most PMs Are Too Afraid to Say No3 min
The product management profession has a cowardice problem. Most PMs will build anything a loud customer demands rather than face an uncomfortable...
- The Answer Is Obvious -- You Just Don't Like It2 min
Most 'intractable' problems aren't unsolvable. They just require giving up something you're emotionally attached to.
- Dark Patterns, Bright Lessons: Ethics in Product Design2 min
The FTC just dropped a 44-page complaint against Uber for deceptive practices around its Uber One subscription. What it reveals about growth culture.
- The Agreement Trap: When AI Optimizes for Applause Instead of Accuracy2 min
If you train AI to chase thumbs-up ratings, it learns that sounding right is more valuable than being right.
- The Apple Ruling: A Win That Might Hurt More Than Help2 min
Apple's 30% fee buys developers something they are about to lose -- a frictionless checkout that most cannot replicate.
- Same Data, Same Dance: Why the Moat Isn't Technical Anymore2 min
When every security tool starts with the same data, the only real moat is what you do after ingestion.
- Engineering and Product Collaboration: Breaking Down Silos2 min
'This isn't what we asked for.' Five words that strike dread into every engineering team. Five words that signal a fundamental breakdown in the...
- Quality: The Foundation of Sustainable Growth2 min
Quality in the wrong places will kill your startup faster than no quality at all. The question is not how much quality, but quality where.
- Why Your AI Strategy is Actually a Spreadsheet Strategy3 min
Most enterprise AI transformations are solving problems that spreadsheets handle at 1/50th the cost. The misalignment is driven by career incentives,...