The 51st Edition - On Focusing Like Bezos, How to Talk to Users, Gabor Granger vs. Van Westendorp & the 7 Principles of World-class Leadership
Did you know that saying no isn't as expensive as you might think?
Did you know that saying no doesn't cost as much as you might think?
11 studies found that people overestimate the risks to their relationships and reputations when they say no to requests. Most people don't think badly of you because of it.
If you say "no," that doesn't mean you don't care. It means you are being careful not to take on too much. (source)
📚 Focus On The Who & How (Single-Threaded Leader)
Focus is one of the most popular topics in this newsletter.
Since most of my readers are in the product profession, focus is idolised.
When John Cutler writes about focus and work-in-progress, the Share/Retweet button becomes red hot.
This is likely because when we go to work on Monday, the roiling waves of the ocean of stupid distractions sweep us away off our peaceful pier and pull us into the unknown waters beyond.
So, in this analysis of focus by Cedric Chin, who writes a great deep blog about things that are important to me, you can see how Jeff Bezos handles focus.
It’s an instructive story.
Hope this helps. Let me know below if you have a moment.
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👀 How To Talk To Users
The YC Startup School 2019 videos are pretty awesome, no matter what you think about YC.
And I’m sure you’ve heard this all before. But I'm surprised that even though we all seem to know all this, we still ask questions like "How do you do this?" in interviews (vs. “How did you do this last week/month?”)
Here’s the full TOC:
✍️ Remember
“It's important to own the core technology you depend on to achieve your mission.”
“The secret to success is constancy of purpose.”
🧠 Consider
7 Principles of World-class Leadership Is Simple:
Lead From the Front
Preach the Score Takes Care of Itself
Take Extreme Ownership
Reinforce Tight Feedback Loops
Deliver Radical Candor
Overcommunicate. Overcommunicate. Overcommunicate.
Expect Competitive Greatness
10 Must-know Japanese Concepts That Will Improve Your Life:
BONUS: Imagine structuring your product team or product based on these principles?
Gabor Granger vs. Van Westendorp:
A surprisingly deep article in the documentation for one of the survey tools I use. I was trying to figure out what approach to take for re-pricing my products, and in the process learned about Gabor Granger and it’s UVP vs. Van Westendorp.
😀 What did you think of this week's newsletter?
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Who's George?
I’m an underdog product manager.
Product Management in New Zealand (where I live) is still a relatively immature discipline. I also came into it late via data science and UX. I may be older than others, but I often feel like a rookie.
To become better at my craft, I learn and explore new ideas relentlessly.
Then I share high-quality, tried-and-true ideas that can be used right away.
How I can help you:
If you’re learning about product as a cross-functional leader, I’ve compiled my best actionable finds in prodmgmt.world.
Get some help via prodmgmt.help. People ask about How to prioritise, How to do market research, how to work with engineers, how to go from a service to a product, how to develop a deep coherent product strategy, what books to read and courses to take on product topics & design systems product management.
See you next week.
— George.