A playbook has three attributes: (1) it gives you plays that can be reliably repeated, (2) these plays can be taught to others, and (3) one can look back and check whether the plays were used properly. In the context of product building, there are multiple playbooks: how to hire, how to build an organization,…
Tag: product
How to be an Effective Product Manager
Everything I have learnt about being an effective product manager condensed into a short video.
Difficulty Curves in Games – Lessons for Product Builders
A young girl wakes up in a daze. “Where is everyone?” She walks out of her room and searches her house. Her family is missing. She can hear some noise outside. She can also smell smoke. She picks up her dada’s old wooden sword and walks out of her house. The entire village is burning….
Exit Cost in Products
A lot has been written about defensibility and moats in businesses. Strategists talk about barriers to entry (resources, patentable technology and processes, expertise, capital) in certain businesses and why it is usually difficult for new entrants to disrupt incumbents. But one of the lesser-explored areas of defensibility is building products which have a high exit…
The Product Managers of the Mahabharat
Over a meeting, someone recently asked me to describe the archetype of a product leader. While I answered the question, a broader thought stayed with me. What are the various archetypes of product managers? An archetype is a powerful storytelling device – making it easier for readers to identify and understand a concept. And PMs…
Chasing Dogs
The power of distraction and going off on tangents