Quotes & Learnings

Over the years, since I transitioned more and more towards using a Kindle, I realised that I was starting a collection of different quotes / highlights that I would always return to.

Furthermore, with every training that I was doing – or Masterclass that I was watching, I would also get back to the habit of making a little note or taking a little screenshot of something of value to me and moving it to my Notion library.

I tried to group below different quotes, based on different areas of interest, rather than based on books and frame the quotes as answers to possible questions.

Design / Product Leadership

What does a design or product executive / leader do all day?

Making of a manager, Julie Zhuo (Measuring):

Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer. One of the earliest conversations I remember us having is when I asked him how he evaluates the job of a manager.He smiled and said, “My framework is quite simple.”

Half of what he looked at was my team’s results—did we achieve our aspirations in creating valuable, easy-to-use, and well-crafted design work?
The other half was based on the strength and satisfaction of my team—did I do a good job hiring and developing individuals, and was my team happy and working well together?

The first criterion looks at our team’s present outcomes; the second criterion asks whether we’re set up for great outcomes in the future.

Day-to-day our leadership team are embedded in their teams, coaching and guiding them to realise their plans. They don’t spend days sitting in meeting rooms making decisions from the top down.

Their role is to help our teams make the biggest impact they can towards our mission. So, they provide direction but they don’t tell people what to do. It’s up to our teams to set their own strategy and figure out how they will work together to achieve it. They also often get hands-on helping out on projects.

Radical Candor (Apple vs Google on Rockstars):

Of all the companies I know well, Apple did the best job of creating a great environment for people in a rock star phase. The company’s organizational design optimized for deep functional expertise. There were no “general managers.” There was no iPhone division. Instead, there were operating system engineers, camera experts, audiophiles, and glass gurus who came together around the iPhone. There were always people around who knew some functional aspect of the product more deeply than anyone else, and they were revered for it.

Google didn’t get everything right, though. There was a crazy-strict rule in Product Management that you had to have a computer science degree to join the team. Many people wanted to transfer to Product because they had ideas they wanted to pursue, but they were prevented because they didn’t have the right degree. One was Biz Stone who, stymied by the rule, left Google to cofound Twitter. Another was Ben Silbermann, who, similarly blocked, left Google to found Pinterest. Kevin Systrom also left Google to cofound Instagram when he couldn’t join the PM team because of his college degree.

Delivering Happiness / IBM (Showing Passion):

Envision, create and believe in your own universe.

Think about this: one of your users is asked to be an efficient and productive employee and she needs to use your product. If that product sucks, your user will never be an advocate for it. And, at first chance, will recommend one of your competitors as a better option to her manager, colleagues or friends. There goes your sales moment, your revenue, your loyal customer. The opportunity you had to transform your user into a product advocate is gone, and in the experience business second chances are hard to come by.
The goal should be for the tools and products we make to help people feel like the best version of themselves.

Design / Product Strategy

What's a strategy? What's not a strategy?

Bob Iger, Disney CEO, Strategy Masterclass (Elements of a strategy)

Anything that is new and different is risky but critical to success.
Focus is imperative for strong leadership.
Define, share, and reinforce your strategic priorities regularly.
Clarity is an essential ingredient for good leadership.
Evolve and adapt to the times.

Amp it up (Elements of a strategy)

We start with Competitive Alternatives, or what would customers do if our solution didn’t exist.
Once we have that, we can ask ourselves, “What do we have that the alternatives do not?” That gives us a list of Differentiated features or Key Unique Attributes.
We can then go down that list and ask ourselves, “So what for customers?” Put another way, what is the Value those capabilities enable for our buyers?
Once we understand what our differentiated value is, then we can move to customer segmentation, or who are the Customers that Care a lot about our value. There is likely a wide range of buyers that care about that value, but certain customers care a lot more than others. What are the characteristics of a customer that makes them care a lot about your differentiated value? That gives us an idea of who our best-fit customers are.
Lastly, we move to Market Category. Our best market category is the context we position our product in such that our value is obvious to our target customers. Put another way, it is the definition of the Market we Intend to Win.

Reforge, Product Strategy (What's not a strategy)

Goals are often conflated with strategy. Neither of these terms share a universal definition within the industry, nor do companies take time to ensure that the understanding of these terms is universal within their org. Strategy is the plan to achieve your goal—not the goal itself. Your strategy tells the team how they will win. The goals tell your team whatwinning looks like. For example, a chess player will have a detailed set of plans (i.e., the strategy) to win a match (i.e, the goal).

A company might mistakenly say "our strategy is to increase revenue by 20%." Increasing revenue is a goal, not a strategy. There could be multiple ways to increase revenue—such as entering a new market segment or doubling down on converting freemium to paid customers. How should the goal be achieved? This how is the strategy, which is not always clearly defined. Instead, companies should define both the goal and the strategy: "Our strategy is to increase revenue by 20% by expanding into two underserved markets, Mexico and Brazil."

A common mistake is for product leaders to assume that product strategy is the same as company strategy. In doing so, they under-appreciate the role that sales, marketing, support, and other functions play in company success. Product has become more central to strategy as logistics/operations have been commoditized, but product is not the exclusive driver. By focusing on aligning other functional strategies with product, companies can better position themselves to win in the market.

Build, Tony Fadell

This is an adventure and adventures never go according to plan. That’s what makes them fun. And scary. And worth doing. That’s why you take a deep breath, surround yourself with great people, and head out into the wilderness.

Innovation & Novelty

What's the difference between the two? Does it matter?

Stanford, Human-Computer Interaction (Need-finding / the fuel for innovation & novelty)

Change – “Use the power of new technology to create an application or service that facilitates personal or social behavior change”
Glance – “Find people and design a personal dashboard tailored to their needs”
Time – “Redesign the way we experience or interact with time”

Start with the Why, Simon Sinek

Novelty
Features
Hardware add-ons
added to differentiate not reinvent
can't be counted on adding long term value
can drive sales, but impact can't last

Innovation
changes the course of industry / society
change how we live our lives
change an industry's business model

How innovation works

Every story of innovation is different, but if you look closely, you’ll see they often follow a similar pattern. Many of the greatest innovations begin with a bit of serendipity. Someone has a lucky break, an unusual insight, or random occurrence. Then, others pick up on the discovery and apply it to new situations. Through trial and error, they apply the new idea or invention in different contexts until they find a practical use.

Consider the modern practice of using DNA as forensic evidence in criminal cases. No one set out specifically to create this innovation. Instead, it began in 1977, when Alec Jeffreys, a scientist at Leicester University, tried to develop a method using DNA to diagnose diseases. While collecting samples, he saw that DNA was a lot like fingerprints – that is, everyone’s genetic code was different. A chance discovery.

Meanwhile, the local police were struggling to solve a grisly murder. They wondered if Jeffery’s discovery could help solve the mystery. So, the scientist and the police worked together. They began collecting and analyzing more than 5,000 genetic samples from local suspects. They then compared them to DNA found at the crime scene. Eventually, they found a match. Case closed.

Because so much innovation follows this same pattern, it’s possible to identify conditions where it’s more likely to happen.

Innovation thrives when people can cross paths, mingle, and exchange ideas. That’s why, throughout history, universities, trading hubs, and major cities have consistently produced novel innovations. By bringing different people with different expertise, perspectives, and cultures together in one place, these contexts foster the type of interactions that push innovation forward.