I'm a father of three from Sydney, a Product Director and a Product Coach. I write about product management and run the Product Manager community.
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TIL: "Lighthouse Customers" - customers who get a better or discounted rate on your product in exchange for regular, meaningful feedback.
Lighthouse customers give you a strategic edge. These early adopters don't just use your product - they help shape it. Their feedback highlights gaps, confirms your direction, and sharpens your focus. In return, they get early access to a solution that feels designed just for them, often at a special rate. -
The Effective Manager, How to Pivot, Thick Skin, Team Alignment and Ship First
Key Takeaways #1
Take care of your team, set goals, and help them achieve those goals.
The Effective Manager by Mark Horstman
A successful pivot often leverages existing expertise and builds on prior ... Read more -
Ambiguity makes people freeze. But it doesn't have to.
Not knowing what's right or what's next stalls. That hesitation drags. Pair reflection with motion - thinking and doing - and clarity shows up faster than you expect.
Track your bets. Review what worked and what flopped. But keep moving. You don't need perfect answers. Just honest ones. Then act. -
10 Insights from "Lessons Learned from 1,000+ YC Startups with Dalton Caldwell"
I recently listened to Lenny's podcast, where he spoke to Dalton Caldwell, Managing Director at Y Combinator, and discovered a few interesting insights. Here are 10 of them:
To succeed in a startup ke... Read more -
Commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in
"Commitment is a function of two things: clarity and buy-in" -- Patrick Lencioni, The five dysfunctions of a team
Clarity in either a project or an organisation ensures that the involved parties unde... Read more -
Forces That Block Change
We will always be more comfortable with what already exists, even if it's š©.
Typically, we are not actively looking for better ways to solve problems we face. And this could be due to a number of reas... Read more -
Go Bold
If you're putting a lot of effort into creating a new product or feature to solve a customer problem, ensure you have the bold solution under your sleeve too. Even on paper (or in Figma), bold ideas p... Read more -
Stop sharing solutions with your team
One of the many mistakes I made when I started my product management career was thinking that if I shared a customer problem with the team, I must also present a ready-made solution.
This notion stems... Read more -
Podcast Highlights and Insights
Good Strategy, Bad Strategy | Richard RumeltJust evil enough: Subversive marketing strategies for startups | Alistair Croll4 questions Shreyas Doshi wishes he'd asked himself sooner | Former PM leader... Read more -
Strategic Balance and Flow
Prioritising product features sometimes means generating buzz rather than following traditional frameworks.
Sometimes, being first to market or achieving a quick revenue boost can override the standa... Read more -
The Power of "Stupid" Ideas
Have you ever found yourself hesitating to share an idea, one so weird or seemingly absurd that you questioned its merit?
I've made a conscious decision to share even my wildest and seemingly "stupid... Read more -
Company Values
It's been 18 months since we set our values, and they are still relevant and capture our team culture really well. It's a good sign. Here are our four values: ADAPTABILITY, TRANSPERANCY, OWNERSHIP, an... Read more -
"How We Roll" Team Activity
Looking for a team-building activity that's both enjoyable and beneficial for better connections and understanding among your team?
Let me share with you an activity called "How We Roll" that origina... Read more -
The Future of Product Managers
The news of product managers being removed from teams at companies like Dovetail and Airbnb has generated intrigue and speculation about the future of this role. Some argue that successful products c... Read more -
A Start-Up Morning Routine
Working from home has become increasingly common, especially in the era of small, remote-first start-ups. But remote work can be hard! Particularly when it comes to fostering team cohesion and mainta... Read more -
Building a Two-Sided Marketplace
Two-sided marketplaces demand precision and strategy. Balancing buyers and sellers is the core challenge.
The "Seed and Scale" approach solves the "chicken-and-egg" problem. Start with high-quality se... Read more -
Ambiguity & Decision Making
Navigating ambiguity can be one of the toughest parts of making product decisions.
The sense of ambiguity is often more intense in startups, where there is a new problem space or niche to explore, no... Read more -
Agile vs Strategy
The word agile has been hijacked.
Once a mindset rooted in adaptability and collaboration, it's now a corporate buzzword. Tossed around in meetings. Slapped on slide decks. Used to explain, excuse or... Read more -
The Purpose of a Strategy
I had to read a 30-page strategy document when I just started working as a software engineer.
I couldn't understand it.
I was lost.
Only later in my PM career did I realise that it wasn't my fault. T... Read more -
No-Reply Emails
Have you ever received an email from a service or business that you wanted to reply to because you had a burning question? But then discovered it came from a "no-reply" address?
Did a mixture of "Arg... Read more
Feel free to reach out: [email protected].
