Product Thinking

While ChatGPT and the underlying AI aren’t necessarily the imminent threats that many have called them, they have the potential to reshape our industry and many industries in ways we won’t be able to predict. So hold on to your butts.

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Weekly newsletter: ChatGPT and Cautious Optimism: Imminent Job Killer? Probably Not.
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking and @prod_by_design

If you feel you're in conflict, or simply feel you are always trying to get more done that you’ll ever be able to, you should definitely pick up a copy of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. Hopefully, it will change your perspective as much as it has changed mine.

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Weekly newsletter: Four Thousand Weeks: Book Review
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking and @prod_by_design

Another month, another host of great articles, listens, books and other finds from Product Thinking and around the internet. From Reggae albums to holiday gifts to blue checks on Twitter. Here’s what you may have missed in November.

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Weekly newsletter: Reggae, Holiday Gifts, Blue Checks, and Van Gogh: Monthly Wrap from November
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking and @prod_by_design

The holiday season is upon us once again (I know, I’m struggling to believe it too). But that means egg nog, sugar cookies, and giving gifts. You may find yourself looking for ideas for holiday gifts for those special people in your life. Or struggling with ideas for your own gift list. And if you or anyone you know happens to be a product manager or a designer, we’ve got you covered.

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Weekly newsletter: 10 Gift Ideas for Product Managers and Designers
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking and @prod_by_design

To create an excellent product or product feature, two things are critical:

• An understanding of your users
• An understanding of the problem

Without these elements, you will miss the mark most of the time.

Elon Musk has been putting on masterclass so far at Twitter (and on Twitter) in everything not to do at a company. Let’s set that aside for a moment though, and zoom in on one specific area of the recent fiasco: the blue checkmark.

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Weekly newsletter: Elon, Twitter, and Blue Checks: Product Feature Critique
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

Creativity is a critical part of our jobs and our lives. Yet it is often misunderstood. In his new book, The Laws of Creativity, founder Joey Cofone identifies 39 laws of creativity and discusses how each law applies to different scenarios in our lives and how we can harness these laws and ideas to recognize creativity and become more creative. Let's dive into it for this month's book review.

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Weekly newsletter: The Laws of Creativity: 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: Underpants Gnomes, Chess Cheating, and The Laws of Creativity: Monthly Wrap from October
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

I initially balked at the idea that sales and product/engineering should be treated the same. Then I realized that it is exactly what we are always asking for. We want the focus to be on the impact, not on the features. Listen in for more discussion about product management and commitments.

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Weekly newsletter: Sales Commitments vs. Product Commitments: Maybe We're Not So Different After All
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Twitter: @kylelarryevans and @producthinking

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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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