I don't like running in the morning. Or rather, I don't like the idea of it. What I really want is to have breakfast first, drink my coffee and then, a couple of hours later, think about exercise. But once the run is done, it feels great - like I've earned that big breakfast.

This morning, I went for an easy, scenic 10km run. My legs were still sore from Thursday's hill session, so I didn't (and honestly couldn't) push too hard.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my progress (112km) in January. I've built up mileage quickly, especially considering I was struggling to run 3km at the end of December.



And I snapped a few pics of beautiful Sydney along the way.

The concept of a Trust Battery is that it typically starts at 50% and then every interaction charges or drains the trust battery.

It's interesting how, once you pass a certain percentage - let's say 80% (mind you, it's a bit abstract) - on the other person's Trust Battery, a shift happens. Walls drop. And suddenly the next level of collaboration unlocks.

Love these moments.

Progress motivates action. It's not just the reward; it's the feeling of progress that drives commitment.

Two groups of customers were given punch cards awarding a free car wash once the cards were fully punched. One group was given a blank punch card with eight squares; the other was given a punch card with ten squares that came with two free punches. Both groups still had to purchase eight car washes to receive a free wash; however, the second group of customers - those that were given two free punches - had a staggering 82 percent higher completion rate.

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

It's Thursday, which means hill running day. I can feel the gradual improvement compared to my last two hill runs - I'm feeling much stronger. It's still tough, but I'm covering more distance and tackling more elevation.

Today I did 12km, 437m elevation. The first 9km, I didn't switch to walking - I ran all the hills, which is a huge improvement! Looking forward to an easy run on the flats this weekend though!

Most engagement surveys don't measure engagement.

They measure vibes.

The problem isn't the intent - it's the output. You run a survey. You get a 67.8% “engagement score.” Someone builds a deck. Charts go up, comments stay anonymous, nothing changes.

That number doesn't tell you who's struggling. It doesn't tell you why trust is low. It doesn't tell you where the rot is starting. It just tells you people clicked a box.

Real engagement isn't a metric. It's a conversation.

Ask them how they're feeling. Ask what's blocking them. Ask what's making their work better - or worse. Then shut up and listen. Not just in surveys. In 1:1s. In retros. In offhand comments. The signal's already there. You don't need a dashboard. You need ears.

Pie charts don't build trust. Conversations do.

A quick training session tonight: SkiErg, rowing machine, plus some shoulders and arms work.
Went all out on the SkiErg 500m, then rowed 500m too. Hit a PB on the SkiErg at 1:42.7!

Strangely enough, I'm actually looking forward to the hills session tomorrow!

Success comes from repeating the right words, not just saying them once.

Getting used to running hills is definitely going to take some time. Feeling good about building up to running them without needing to switch to walking.

On Thursday, I had a decent go at the hills in my local area. Did 9km in 1h 8m with 307m of elevation. I ran more this time compared to the week before, cutting my walking time down to 7m 24s. Last week, for the same distance, my walking time was 19m 50s, so that's already solid progress.


Yesterday, I tackled the Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach run and back - on tired legs. There are plenty of hills and steps along that route, adding up to 283m of elevation. It was just over 14km in total. I managed to run all the way to Coogee but walked the hills on the way back. Calves were sore. Legs felt a bit heavy, which makes sense as I'm ramping up both mileage and intensity.


Overall, I'm pretty happy with the progress, but there's still plenty of hard work ahead before UTA50.

110 days to go!

Struggling to write? Shrink the task.

Blog post too much? Write a tweet.
Tweet too hard? Write a sentence.
Sentence still suck? Write a shit one.

Start small. Start ugly. Start anyway.

The point isn't brilliance. It's movement. You don't find your voice by thinking. You find it by writing. Quantity leads to clarity. Bad drafts build muscle.

Write badly. Then write better.

Misalignment is one of the most common (and costly) issues in product development, project planning and team collaboration. Whether it's about the problem you're solving, the solution you're building or simply the language you're using, assumptions often go unnoticed until it's too late.

Who This Is For

• Product Managers, Product Designers, engineers and team leads who are struggling with unclear priorities or conflicting understandings.
• Anyone working in cross-functional teams who wants to reduce rework, missed expectations and confusion.

Common Questions This Addresses

• “Why does everyone think we agreed, but we all had different ideas?”
• “How can I surface misalignment before it causes delays?”
• “What's the fastest way to get everyone on the same page?”

Why Writing Down Your Thinking Matters

1. Surface Hidden Assumptions
People often agree verbally, but are visualising completely different things. Putting ideas into writing reveals these mismatches early.

2. Create Shared Understanding
Writing clarifies your own thinking and gives others something concrete to react to, challenge, and align with.

3. Enable Asynchronous Collaboration
Not everyone is in the same room or timezone. A written artefact (like a user story map or brief) allows everyone to engage in their own time.

4. Reduce Future Friction
What feels like a tiny misunderstanding today can snowball into big problems later. Written alignment now prevents costly rework down the line.

Practical Tip: Use User Story Mapping

User story mapping is a collaborative visual exercise that helps teams define the user journey and prioritise features. More than just a diagram, it's a tool to:

• Capture what users are trying to achieve
• Break down features into meaningful slices
• Highlight disagreements early

How to Start

• Write it down. Even a rough sketch or bullet list is better than nothing.
• Invite collaboration. Ask others to review, question, and contribute.
• Don't assume agreement. Check for true understanding, not just nodding heads.

If no one has written it down yet, that's your cue. Misalignment loves ambiguity. Writing brings clarity and saves time, money, and trust later.

Document early. Share often. Align before you act.

There are two types of product teams - the slow-learning and the fast-learning.

The slow-learning team wants to deliver. They manage projects, write tickets, attend internal meetings and ask colleagues for design feedback. They mostly care about delivery and managing expectations.

The fast-learning team wants to learn. They talk to customers, read market news, push hacky code to production, and sometimes break things. They embrace ambiguity, but they learn fast.

The difference? The slow-learning team builds products for their bosses, and the fast-learning team builds products customers actually need.

Shift your focus. The best products come from deep insight, not just efficient delivery.

It's Tuesday - sprint day, yay! I mixed things up a bit this time and here's how it went:

• 2km warm-up
• 400m x 3
• 200m x 3
• 100m x 3

I hit a PB for the 200m (39.5s @ 3:18 pace) but couldn't quite beat my PBs for the 400m or 100m, even though it felt like I was flying!

The 400m x 3 was brutal. It's basically an all-out sprint the whole way.

Next Tuesday, I'm thinking of switching things up again and focusing on training for a 5km PB. The plan:

• 2km warm-up
• 1km @ 5:00 pace x 6, with 2 min rest in between

Let's see how it goes!

Recently I wrote about the most important skill for Product Managers.

Regardless of whether you are a Product Manager or not, the communication will help you with all aspects of your career. If you want to manage or be a leader, you have to be a good communicator. Specifically, you need to get better at framing.

What's your goal? Are you looking for feedback, sharing information, wanting to influence, asking for approval or something else entirely?

What are you sharing? Is it a problem? Maybe a solution? A vision? Or a mix?

How much detail are you planning to share? Is this a helicopter or detailed view? Or perhapse, both?

Who's your audience? Your team, the entire organisation or the executive group?

Your communication needs to be adjusted depending on the answers.

Early in your career, you use the same message no matter the context.

To grow, you need to get better at tailoring your message - what you say, how you say it and when to say it.

Sometimes I walk past the Sydney General Post Office - it's a cool spot right in the centre of Sydney.

Underneath it, there's this whole network of tunnels and basements (not sure if the public has access to it). Back in the day, they were used for postal operations and deliveries.

These days, though, it's now there: the Fullerton Hotel Sydney, shops and restaurants.

Misaligned leadership doesn't announce itself. It creeps in. Slowly. Quietly. Then it wrecks your team.

Leaders think the damage is minor. Temporary. Invisible. But it's not. It's heavy. It's real. It shows up in whisper networks, in backchannel Slacks, in passive standups where nobody commits because no one knows where things are going.

You see it when smart people play it safe. When the loudest voice wins. When meetings drag on because no one wants to be the first to say what everyone's thinking. You feel it in the hesitation. That's the real killer.

Disagreement isn't the problem. Lack of alignment isn't even the real issue. Teams can live with that. What they can't survive is hesitation. Leaders who won't commit. Who won't decide. Who stay neutral until it's too late and now the team's solving the wrong problem. Again.

Indecision isn't neutral. It's destructive. Especially when disguised as “consensus-building” or “being thoughtful.” Teams need a decision. Even the wrong one. Because wrong moves can be corrected. Hesitation can't.

Leaders, pick a path. Say it out loud. Then stand behind it until you know it needs to change.

Make the fucking decision. Your team's already waiting.

Caught the UFC at on of the pubs in Manly. I was supporting the Russian fighters, Umar and Islam. Absolute machines. They're incredible athletes, sharp and relentless.

Watching with my mate, we couldn't get over how insanely well they understand movement - both their own and their opponent's. Every single move is calculated and lethal.

Me in the cage? I wouldn't last 10 seconds.

Trust breaks when promises break. People notice, even in silence and they remember. Honour commitments - trust depends on it.

Sydney tonight ❤️

One of my posts on LinkedIn went viral'ish. It wasn't exactly groundbreaking or full of deep insights.

But it's certainly a topic that has two completely opposite camps and no one in between.

I've written better and more helpful content (at least in my opinion), but LinkedIn's algorithm doesn't promote it because it doesn't drive engagement.

That's why I don't like algorithms. Instead of promoting good content, they push controversial or clickbaity posts that spark engagement.

Thoughtful and insightful content stays invisible.

This afternoon I spoke with the team about the challenges for any leader and their team in finding the balance between telling them what/how to do (Directive Leadership) and letting the team figure it out themselves, make some mistakes and learn (Empowering Leadership).

The balance is hard.

You definitely wouldn't want to over-index on either side. So you've got to find a sweet spot.

But it also could be multidimensional, and the balance might shift depending on the area.

For example, you might want to give more direction in terms of the problem the team is solving compared to how the problem is solved. Or you might want to give less direction in the team's communication style but more direction in terms of the standards of produced work.

Regardless, it might be helpful to be open about that balance and have a regular conversation about it.

Because that balance isn't static either. As the team gets better and better, it requires you to adjust the balance.