Product Habits - Becoming a better decision-maker

Being a Responsible Decision-Maker

I'm with Ray Dalio—if you're responsible for making decisions, you're also responsible for explaining the thinking behind those decisions openly and transparently so your team can understand and assess them. Even more, if you're a leader, make sure you're open-minded about your team's comments and questions once you explain the choices you're making.

The Many Gifts of Awkward Silence

I can't tell you how often people ask me for advice about a work-related conflict. The most simple advice is also the most effective: If you're unsure what to say, say nothing. Learn how to make peace with the awkward pauses instead of reacting. There is strength in the silence. 

Self-Funded Profitable Businesses

This past week on Twitter, I asked people to share their self-funded profitable businesses, regardless of type or industry. Reading through the list of replies was fun—from a thriving eight-figure business that helps women become millionaires to a home inspection software tool. Check out the complete list here. 

Overengineering Can Kill Your Product

Here's an idea worth considering: "Overengineering has killed more products than the absence of good development practices." Often, we make products more complex than they need to be because we try to anticipate the future or build something that works for everyone. This is an excellent read about how to prevent overengineering and keep your product as simple as possible. 

The Five Biggest Product Design Challenges in Crypto

Crypto platform design is messy right now. Crypto may not require the same kind of trust we need from our fiat system, but we still need individual apps to instill user confidence. I enjoyed this read about the most significant design issues we're seeing in crypto today, along with a handful of potential solutions for each one. 

Getting Your First 1,000 Community Members

Every startup founder has one obsession in common: get early traction as soon as possible. Finding your first 1,000 "true fans" isn't an easy task, but this step-by-step guide does a great job of creating a process around what sometimes feels like an opaque community-building journey. Your startup will benefit from taking action on this advice. 

Content Marketing for Founding Teams

If you're part of a founding team that doesn't have enough resources for someone to focus on content marketing full-time, this is a must-read guide. It walks you through how to lay the foundation for SEO success, what types of content to focus on first, and how to capitalize on low-hanging marketing fruit. Bookmark this one.

How To Supercharge Product-Led Growth

As more companies adopt a product-led growth ethos, it's time to consider how you can optimize PLG. One way is taking a "people-powered growth" approach, where a product team works closely with a consumer-facing team (like sales, success, or support). At best, it'll help your company solve problems more efficiently and comprehensively. Here's how it works in practice.