Max Antonov - Page 15

Max Antonov

Fractional Product Leadership Product Leadership Coaching

I'm a father of 3 from Sydney, a product and technology leader. I write about leadership, product management, technology and the messy reality of making work work.

I'm currently building and experimenting with a mildly alarming number of things. I also work as a fractional product leader, stepping in where the founder or CEO is still carrying product decisions on their own, and offer 1:1 product leadership coaching for senior PMs and emerging product leaders. I founded SoundingBoard, practical peer exchange for product people. Connect via LinkedIn, or follow me on X.

May 6, 2024

The Effective Manager, How to Pivot, Thick Skin, Team Alignment and Ship First

Key Takeaways #1 #1 The Effective Manager Take care of your team, set goals, and help them achieve those goals. The definition of an effective manager is one who gets results and keeps their people. Y...
May 1, 2024

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.
Subscribe to the best posts on product, strategy, and AI. Just one email a month.
Apr 29, 2024
Takeaways

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: #1 Airbnb To succeed in a...
Jan 10, 2024
Faster Decisions

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 under...
Jan 8, 2024

Forces That Block Change

We will always be more comfortable with what already exists, even if it's 💩. Typically, we are not actively looking for better ways to solve problems we face. And this could be due to a number of rea...
Jan 7, 2024

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...
Jan 5, 2024

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...
Oct 11, 2023
Product Strategy

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...
Sep 15, 2023

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"...
Aug 13, 2023

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...
Jul 17, 2023

"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...
Jul 9, 2023
AI & Product

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 ca...
Jul 3, 2023

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 maintai...
Jun 28, 2023
Product Strategy

SCQA Framework in Practice: A Product Prioritisation Example

In this fictional (or maybe not so much) story, you might recognise some common patterns. Alex, a Senior Product Manager, has just over 50 items on the roadmap. Seven of them are marked as urgent and...
Apr 24, 2023

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...
Apr 16, 2023
Product Strategy

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...
Apr 15, 2023
Product Strategy

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. Th...
Apr 15, 2023

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 "Argh...
Mar 13, 2023
How to Get Into Product Management

Breaking Into Product Management

Product management is a key role in modern companies, especially medium-sized startups, where PMs drive the development of products that meet customer needs and achieve business goals. For those new t...
Mar 12, 2023
Product Management

Raising Problem Awareness for Niche Products

The look on someone's face when they finally get it is hard to describe. You explain what Backpocket does, a payment option that makes group events easier, no more chasing, no more wondering who's pai...