AI makes building a new product easier, but...

By Ali Vahed

 

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Sell Me This Pen!

By Ali Vahed
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The Scene:   INT. OFFICE – DAY A sleek high-rise office with floor-to-ceiling windows. A formal interview is underway for a role in a Software development team. A table sits between the INTERVIEWER and the CANDIDATE CASTING The INTERVIEWER: Professional, relaxed. Someone who interviews for any role, from a Sales rep to Software Engineer to C-level Executive, inspired by The Wolf of Wall Street , loves asking questions that throw candidates off guard. The CANDIDATE:   Suited up, a bit nervous but composed. A seasoned software professional: Product or Project Manager, Business Analyst, or experienced Software Engineer, ready for whatever the interview throws their way.    ACTION INTERVIEWER:  (smiling confidently) Please sell me this pen! CANDIDATE  (pauses, raises an eyebrow, thinking: “Seriously? For this role?” but decides to roll with it) Sure... that’s a good question. (leans forward slightly, zoomed in on the candidate's face, thinking out loud) B...
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Product Helmsmanship (P1): Balancing Strategy, Execution, and the Storms in Between

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Product Management often feels like steering a ship through unpredictable seas. Over my career, I’ve learned when to grip the wheel and dive into execution, when to step back and chart the strategic course, when to find that sweet spot in between, and when to simply hand the helm to the crew and trust them to steer. I call this balance Product Helmsmanship . The Origin Story When I first stepped into tech, I started from the lower decks. I began in execution, first as a developer writing code since I was 12, then as a Business Analyst turning requirements into documents and diagrams right after university, and later as a Project Manager focused on delivery. The transition into Product Management felt natural , but in the early years my role often felt like translation, helping business leaders and technical teams understand one another, sometimes mapping business requirements to technical jargon and vice versa. Over time, I realised Product Management is less about translating and ...
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The PM’s Copilot: Reclaiming Time with AI

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Like many PMs, I didn’t really trust AI for serious product work. I mostly used it for general purposes: polishing emails and notes, drafting messages and creating images from time to time. I used AI in a project only as a second opinion and to validate my discovery work, but that was it. For more on that check my earlier  blog post . While AI felt adequate for technical tasks or copywriting, it didn’t feel reliable for the messy, ambiguous world of product management where curiosity, judgement, and breaking patterns matter most. Then everything shifted. Here is my experience report.
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