Idealists are the ones who change the world.
Figure out the ideal and work backward. Don’t pre-compromise yourself before you even get started just because of perceived limitations of scope/time/cost. You can (and must) slice your ideal into thin slices and do the hard work of pushing back on constraints to get to where you're going in iterations.
Come for the tool, stay for the network.
It’s rare to build a marketplace/network/flywheel without first building a killer single-player experience that works on its own terms. Once you’ve cracked the code on single-player, adding a flywheel is almost mandatory. Find one.
Personas and priorities mitigate ocean boiling.
Everyone wants something different. You can’t make everyone happy, or you’ll just be boiling the ocean. The question is NOT “is this a good idea” or “is this a great opportunity” The question “is what do OUR users want” and “is this an opportunity to hit OUR north star metric”? We prioritize carefully in that context using either…
a) Bottleneck Prioritization: What is the #1 reason more people are not more successful more often with our product RIGHT NOW? (great for products with existing usage).
b) Yellow Brick Road Prioritization: What is the journey users are on and how do we ensure that it is as smooth as possible for as long as possible (leaning on sunk cost to keep them going) (Great for products that are new and incomplete).
Eat your vegetables.
As above - make the thing you have work before getting distracted by shiny objects and second or third-order innovation.
Nothing is free.
There’s no such thing as “just adding a checkbox” or “toggling on a new feature.” Every single thing you add to the product affects the journey, its overall story, customer support, tech debt, maintenance, etc. Every single thing must meet the standard of personas and priorities.
Ignore your engineers (and other constraints).
If Elon Musk can launch a rocket into space and have it flip onto its ass and land on a small platform in the middle of the ocean, your team can add that button to your SaaS product. First, figure out what you want (the ideal) before letting engineers (or anyone else) deflect and distract you with technical realities/scoping.
The customer is almost never right.
Users and customers don’t know what they want, and they don’t even know what’s possible. They certainly don’t know what you’re trying to build, and they may not even be the right kind of user or customer for you.
Stop asking them and stop listening to them. Triangulate the truth at the intersection of your strategy and the pain points of your overall target persona. Prioritize based on all of the above.
Alignment is traction.
Almost every decision has upstream and downstream effects on your product, customer journey, and team. Ensure that implications across all dimensions (e.g., ads, marketing, pricing, onboarding, product, offboarding, customer support, etc.) are considered and implemented in alignment.
The funnel is your friend.
Where are people dropping off, and why? Fix it.
Data is deceiving.
Survivorship bias, recency bias, interpretation errors, and other data-related biases can make data very distracting. The map is not the terrain. Set your destination, lift your eyes up from the GPS, and look at the road. Use common sense.
Related: Your OKRs are irrelevant if you’ve realized something else matters more to the business. Throw them out and re-write them mid-cycle if you have to.
Say NO more.
It feels surprisingly good, and it’s the only way to focus.
Say YES more.
Indecision and fear are killing you - bias toward action and get shit done.
A clear vision makes decisions WAY easier.
You don’t need to say NO so much if people (internal and external) already know what you’re doing and why. It also animates, motivates, and aligns all stakeholders when they’re making decisions.
God is in the details.
Pixels, words, mental models, precise product requirements, and more matter a LOT. WAY More than you’d imagine. Get them right. Be precise. Be intentional.
There are exceptions to every rule.
Wisdom is knowledge in context.
There’s a contradicting bit of advice for everything.
Knowing WHICH rules/advice/strategy to apply WHEN and WHY to break the rules is true wisdom.
You can’t learn this from podcasts, blog posts, books, or silly principles lists like this one :)