Product Thinking

The more thought we put in ahead of time, the more thoughtful and prepared we can be. I’ve long been of the opinion that no one is great at “thinking on their feet” as we like to say. Rather, some people have simply put more thought in ahead of time and can draw on that preparation more than others. 

So put in the preparation now.

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Weekly newsletter: Mastering Future Questions: Practicing So You Can Be Prepared
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

If you are like me, so much of the work you do, and the work your team does, is invisible to most outside observers. You may understand what you’re working on, and your team likely understands it as well. But as soon as you move outside of the inner circle, the work becomes opaque. Move further away, it becomes a black box that outsiders peer into, but can’t discern what is happening.

This is often the source of immense conflict and consternation. Which is why this month we review the book Making Work Visible: Exposing Time Theft to Optimize Work & Flow by Dominica DeGrandis. 

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Weekly newsletter: Making Work Visible: Exposing Time Theft to Optimize Work & Flow: Book Review
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

Another month, another host of great articles, listens, books and other finds from Product Thinking and around the internet. Here’s what you may have missed.

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Weekly newsletter: Lumber Prices, Second Jobs, Floppy Disks and Pax Romana: September Monthly Wrap
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

Bringing ideas from abstract concepts to reality is a critical part of product and design thinking. The better we understand how to do it, the better we can create the best experiences for our users.

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Weekly newsletter: Being Overconfident, Getting Stupider, and Banning NFTs: Monthly Wrap from July
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

It is easy to complicate our work. Many of the tools we use these days make it incredibly easy to add more and more with less and less effort. Steve Jobs knew that keeping things simple was the key to a good user experience. We can add two keyboards to an iPad, but users don’t need two keyboards to type on. We need to keep our work simple too. And we explore that in this episode.

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Weekly newsletter: The Importance of Simplicity: Keeping It Simple Early
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

It is easy to complicate our work. Many of the tools we use these days make it incredibly easy to add more and more with less and less effort. Steve Jobs knew that keeping things simple was the key to a good user experience. We can add two keyboards to an iPad, but users don’t need two keyboards to type on. We need to keep our work simple too. And we explore that in this episode.

Don't forget to subscribe at productthinking.cc
Weekly newsletter: The Importance of Simplicity: Keeping It Simple Early
Or just want to leave a tip: buy me a coffee?
Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

This month we're reviewing Loved: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products by Martina Lauchengco. It is the latest book from SVPG and focuses on product marketing. So how does it stack up?

Overall, I was disappointed by Loved. I had hoped for a solid book on product marketing with insights or tidbits I could use as a product manager or product leader. I didn’t feel like I got that. It felt more like a heavily corporatized book, focused on the boardroom or consultant.

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Weekly newsletter: Loved: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products - A Book Review
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

Another month, another host of great articles, listens, books and other finds from Product Thinking and around the internet. Here’s what you may have missed.

Don't forget to subscribe at productthinking.cc
Weekly newsletter: Systems, Three-Body Problems, Resurrectionists and Yellowstone: August Monthly Wrap
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

Another month, another host of great articles, listens, books and other finds from Product Thinking and around the internet. Here’s what you may have missed.

Don't forget to subscribe at productthinking.cc
Weekly newsletter: Systems, Three-Body Problems, Resurrectionists and Yellowstone: August Monthly Wrap
Or just want to leave a tip: buy me a coffee?
Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

It’s interesting to think about how much our pets influence us vs. how much they are a reflection of our existing preferences. I suspect it is both, though how much is an open question. We certainly can’t escape how our decisions shape our environment, which in turn shapes our decisions.

It seems like a stretch to say that dog owners take more risks and conform to their pets’ stereotypical traits without adjusting for many of the other factors at play. Which is why it is so important to look at all of these types of articles and research studies with a critical eye. And ask questions and examine sources. Which also goes for our own research for our products and our companies. It’s easy to confirm our own biases and assumptions, but we have to dig deeper and question our hypotheses rather than confirm our stereotypes. 

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Weekly newsletter: Dogs and Data and Assumptions: Bonus Week and Off Topic
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking