The Next Release

Remember the product transformation I shared in my previous post , where we turned never-ending custom reports with an exhausted dev team into a self-service analytics engine that became a new revenue stream? That shift from execution to strategy did not happen by accident. It came from asking three questions that have guided my career in product for years. Today, I am sharing those questions with you. Before diving in, revisit Part 1 to refresh your memory on the Helmsmanship mindset in product management: the art of balancing strategy, execution, and everything in between. ---------- The Problem Most product management advice naturally focuses on the product work: interview techniques, discovery frameworks, data analysis methods, prioritisation matrices, roadmap templates, or PRD and user story formats. Older frameworks were even designed on the assumption that the product lifecycle is predictable. These resources are often heavy on management tactics but light on leadership skills....

𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸: Write a requirement document. 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗜: 1. Write the draft. 2. Spell-check in Microsoft Word, fix errors one by one. 3. If it is a client facing document, get a friend or colleague to review as a second pair of eyes. 4. Publish. 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘶𝘵: 𝘈 500-𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳-𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵: 2 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗜 *𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜): 1. Write the draft. 2. Get one of the models to review and update. 3. Publish. 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘶𝘵: 400-𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘮. 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵: 1 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳. *𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗜): 1. Casually chat with your AI agent about what you mean in 5 minutes 2. Your agent writes and publishes the document on your behalf. 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘱𝘶𝘵: 500-𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵-𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵: 6 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴. *𝗔𝗜 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: 1. Write the draft. 2. Feed it to 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗚𝗣𝗧 to rev...

Over the past few months, I’ve reached out to a few people whose work or ideas had an impact on me, asking for their feedback on my work or ideas. Many responded and provided valuable feedback, and I’m genuinely grateful to them. But a few, like a teacher I learned from, an author whose article inspired my approach, and start-up founders in different countries who implemented similar ideas, didn’t respond. Each time, I shared my thoughts or work, asked for feedback, or simply asked if I could learn from their journey. Each time, there was no reply. Assuming they received my messages but chose not to respond, I wondered: Why no reply? Was I doing something wrong? Am I invisible to them? Was it my message or my name? Or do I have unrealistic expectations of replies to an old student or a stranger from a far, far away country down under? I reviewed my messages again and could not find any issues. Talking it through with my “unofficial therapist / copywriter” ChatGPT(!) to have a second op...