How to Make Hard Decisions

Making tough decisions is messy—no perfect answers, just trade-offs and courage. Here’s how to keep moving forward without letting complexity hold you back.

5 Steps to Breathing Again: A Time Management System for Busy Product Managers

Product management can be overwhelming, with endless to-do lists and constant demands. To thrive, you need more than just getting by. It’s about taking control of your time. Here is a simple, proven way to prioritize, reduce stress, and focus on what really matters.

Sure, but Why?

Explaining the ‘why’ when asking for something is important both in personal and work relationships. In product leadership, clear context and purpose make all the difference, building trust and understanding across teams. Here’s a guide to making sure your ‘why’ is as clear as your request.

The Mistakes You Can and Can’t Afford to Make

We all make mistakes—some help us grow, while others can chip away at trust and success. Here’s how to recognize which mistakes you can afford to make, which ones you can’t, and find the right balance in product management.

How to Help Your Team Take More Ownership

Getting your product team to take full ownership can feel like an uphill battle. It’s not just about giving instructions but about changing mindsets. Here’s how to help your team step up, take charge, and own the outcomes—inside and outside their usual boundaries.

When the CEO Doesn’t Get It

Product leaders and CEOs often see things differently. That’s how it should be. But many product leaders take it personally, and instead of partnering with their CEOs they try to minimize the interference. Here is what you really need to do when you feel they don’t get it.

Don’t Forget the ‘Up’ in Bottom-up Planning

We all know that good planning starts top-down by understanding the strategy and drawing your actions from it. Unfortunately, for various reasons, it’s not always possible to do so. Sometimes, you need to plan bottom-up, but don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Here is how to ensure you don’t remain at the bottom, even if you can’t start at the top.

Three Reasons to Insist on Outcome-Based Planning

Outcome-based roadmaps are considered the best practice; however, they are not as common as you would expect. While the idea is nice, implementation is much trickier, and many companies revert to simple feature stacking instead. Here are three reasons not to give up and stick to the important principle of working with outcomes.

Turning Home Assignments From a Necessary Evil into an Opportunity

Most candidates hate home assignments. They view them as a chore, an unfair or unnecessary request from the potential employer. But it doesn’t have to be this way. While home assignments are a lot to take in, they can also give you an opportunity to shine and make sure the job is right for you. Here’s how.

5 Ground Rules for Giving Home Assignments

Home assignments are a hot topic in the product management community these days. Candidates complain, and some recruiters overuse or even abuse them. If you still want to use them (and I think you should), here are five ground rules for doing it right.

Meeting Preparation That Drives Results

Product people attend meetings day in and day out. But many approach meetings passively—attending because it’s expected, sharing updates, or responding to questions. Effective meetings though are far from spontaneous. A well-prepared leader uses every meeting as a strategic tool to influence outcomes, build momentum, and clarify direction. Preparation is key to achieving this. Here’s a simple guide to mastering this art.

How Watching HBO’s Chernobyl Can Help You Become a Better Product Leader

Product people at all levels need to be great storytellers. Since communication is our primary tool, we need to use it smartly to achieve the desired results and impact. However, our world is typically not so easy to explain, so great storytelling starts with knowing what you want to say. Here is a method that will help you get there.