John Cutler
@johncutle.fish
📤 5742
📥 154
📝 250
I like the beautiful mess of product development.| newsletter:
https://cutlefish.substack.com
How and why tools matter...
youtube.com/watch?v=qcAH4x0e4XM&feature=youtu.be
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Why (How and When) Tools Matter
YouTube video by The Beautiful Mess-John Cutler
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qcAH4x0e4XM&feature=youtu.be
about 8 hours ago
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reposted by
John Cutler
Ivan Monteiro
3 days ago
"...people kept asking me what solutions I had in mind. I finally cracked, put my head down, turned off the filters, & just gave them what they asked for. Suddenly, that was “just what we needed.”" To me, that's a key reason why lots of ppl love the idea of PMs delivering vibe-coded prototypes.
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The challenge with anything this nuanced is that some people lack the experience to understand it. For example, many people perceive product management’s role as running a functional feature factory, and nothing more.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/functi...
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"Functional" Feature Factories Explained
In the past, I have used the term “functional feature factory” to describe a somewhat nebulous concept. The basic idea I was trying to convey was twofold: There’s a middle ground of product-centricity...
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/functional-feature-factories-explained-john-cutler-sxzpc/?trackingId=ppSXrcQWQBSnPSnrdOnWpQ%3D%3D
3 days ago
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TL; DR, if you keep tilting at windmills around empowerment, autonomy, being “problem first”, or any of these broad industry memes, you are probably missing (a big part of) the actual challenge and opportunity in your company.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-391-yo...
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TBM 391: You’re Not Misaligned. You’re Thinking Differently.
I’ve been thinking a lot about why some people are wired for concrete solution-thinking while others naturally gravitate toward more abstract, problem-focused, or strategy-level thinking.
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-391-youre-not-misaligned-youre?utm_source=activity_item
4 days ago
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Simple!
7 days ago
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"I’ve had people swear up and down that governance framework X explicitly requires projects and programs, or that you can’t “do governance” using durable objects like capabilities, products, value streams, and so on. It just ain’t so."
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-390-go...
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TBM 390: Governance by Principle, Not by Template
"My company has a highly detailed process involving project codes and program codes, tracking time, highly detailed (and premature) estimates, and lots of very precise reporting with dollar figures do...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-390-governance-by-principle-not
8 days ago
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Reductionism can be wrong, but actionable. Complexity can be right, but paralyzing.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-389-ov...
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TBM 389: Overthinker!
From a young age, being accused of “overcomplicating” or “overthinking” things felt like a dismissal of who I was.
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-389-overthinker
15 days ago
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Some people are comfortable wading into the mess; other people, less so. Some people are fine dancing between the various lenses; for other people, they have a violent, knee-jerk reaction to anything “complicated”.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-387-le...
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TBM 387: Lenses
I see a lot of diagrams in Miro. And one thing that fascinates me is how fluid and expressive people can be when they are untethered from the task of creating a “simple slide.” It highlights one of th...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-387-lenses
19 days ago
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When you have two words like Font and Ontology that share three letters, you naturally need to combine them. Behold the Fontology
24 days ago
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Another quarter, another lil playbook
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
24 days ago
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Hosting a little chat on constraints, Shape Up, and artfully using constraints to help a team improve. Link at the top of this post:
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-386-un...
27 days ago
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"Powers are not permanent. They counter downward pressure, but they require reinforcement to stay relevant. Even the strongest power loses leverage if the surrounding environment evolves faster than the company’s ability to adapt."
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-384-pr...
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TBM 384: Prioritization Starts With Strategic Prioritization
Enduring, differentiated advantages counter downward pressure. A powerful power (lol) resists decay and compounds future advantage. A feature that closes a deal today but adds product complexity tomor...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-384-prioritization-starts-with
about 1 month ago
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Many systems and complexity-informed thinkers become bogged down in selling complexity, uncertainty, systems thinking, and the like. Meanwhile, most people in an organization are looking for a solution and path forward, not a lecture about “the system”.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-380-bu...
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TBM 380: “But We Have To Try Something!”
You’ve likely heard the saying “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing, and expecting different results.” Humans have an intuitive sense of what scientists call attractor states, the conce...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-380-but-we-have-to-try-something
2 months ago
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I thought the reply was a joke.... but I don't think it was.
2 months ago
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reposted by
John Cutler
I'll be doing a little show-and-tell / workshop on visualizing your company operating system (free). Would love to see folks.
zoom.us/meeting/regi...
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Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Mapping Company Operating Systems. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
In this session I will describe various techniques for mapping your company operating system. We will explore different "frames", visualization approaches, and core concepts. I'll leave a full thirty ...
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/4Ul_ZbuSRy-k7mvqNlCaaw
3 months ago
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I'll be doing a little show-and-tell / workshop on visualizing your company operating system (free). Would love to see folks.
zoom.us/meeting/regi...
loading . . .
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Mapping Company Operating Systems. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
In this session I will describe various techniques for mapping your company operating system. We will explore different "frames", visualization approaches, and core concepts. I'll leave a full thirty ...
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/4Ul_ZbuSRy-k7mvqNlCaaw
3 months ago
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"And the truth is, it's always about a buzzword. Whatever buzzword catches on becomes the obsession, and that's all people talk about for a couple of years until the next buzzword takes over and the cycle starts again."
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-376-wh...
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TBM 376: Why Are We Organized Like This?
This post is about understanding why your company is organized and designed the way it is.
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-376-why-are-we-organized-like
3 months ago
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My mom, a DC resident, is terrified. Childhood memories of growing up during the German occupation of Greece are hard memories to shake.
3 months ago
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Mandate Levels Day 9/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
3 months ago
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WIP it Real Good Day 8/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
3 months ago
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Strategy is as much about when you do things as it is about what you do. Strategy is heavily concerned with timing and the impact of timing on leverage (urgency).
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-374-pr...
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TBM 374: Strategy & Urgency
This is a post about strategy and prioritization, and how reframing urgency can help you be more strategic AND prioritize more effectively.
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-374-proactive-vs-reactive-urgency
3 months ago
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Should vs. Can Day 7/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
3 months ago
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Just... Day 6/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
3 months ago
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Do This. Not This. Or ... Day 5/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
3 months ago
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The area between oversimplification and inaction Day 4/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
3 months ago
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Journey to Product Teams Day 3/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
3 months ago
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It is easy to nod along with the idea of less premature convergence, but in practice it often gets mistaken for waffling or an inability to be bold. The real skill is knowing when a decision truly needs to be made and when it should wait.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-273-wh...
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TBM 273: What To Do More (And Less) Of
It might sound like a leader saying, “We can work out the details later. For now it helps to keep options open. We know the big goal, and we are committed to it. The exact path can come later.” That a...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-273-what-to-do-more-and-less?utm_source=activity_item
4 months ago
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The Way of Ways Day 2/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
4 months ago
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Trust Day 1/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
4 months ago
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For the scale-up, the highest leverage thing you can do is to figure out a model for linking these new product-forward ways of working to your current business challenge, and essentially a new “model” for investment.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/two-pom-tr...
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Two POM Transformation Flavors
I see two broad categories of company attempting to “transform” to a product operating model:
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/two-pom-transformation-flavors
4 months ago
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Where are the areas of overlap in what they want, even if the language they use makes them sound opposed?
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-272-th...
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TBM 272: Three Perspectives
Here are three current narratives from tech.
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-272-three-perspectives?utm_source=activity_item
4 months ago
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Many companies end up losing because they stubbornly hold on to a view of their context, their game, and their "old" way of aligning from 5-10 years ago.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-271-di...
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TBM 271: Diagnosing Your Company's Strategy Problem
In this post, I want to give you a way to diagnose what is going on. Too many people default to a simplistic explanation like, "We just need a strategy." Well, yes, that helps, but it is critical to d...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-271-diagnosing-your-companys
4 months ago
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Visualizing dependencies is not enough. Instead, you need a visualization that shows each team’s competing priorities, highlights the value gap between those priorities, and measures the drag caused by multitasking.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-370-de...
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TBM 370: Dependencies Aren't Your Problem
Thought experiment.
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-370-dependencies-arent-your-problem?utm_source=activity_item
4 months ago
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"Most 'source of truth' problems in product development aren't really about the source of truth at all. They assume that everyone wants the truth, that they can agree on what truth they're seeking, and that they're willing to put in the work to forge coherence"
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-369-so...
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TBM 369: Sources Of Truth
Most 'source of truth' problems in product development aren't really about the source of truth at all.
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-369-sources-of-truth?utm_source=activity_item
4 months ago
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Hard things take practice. Do we expect to get good at something by practicing it once a quarter?
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-368-go...
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TBM 368: Goals Take Practice
Once or twice a week, I run into teams struggling with OKRs. To me, OKRs are goals. And you know what? Goals are hard. Setting good goals and reflecting/pivoting based on your progress is a mix of ski...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-368-goals-take-practice?r=3d8gm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
4 months ago
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Forget vibe coding. Enter vibe leadership.
5 months ago
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Funny how we force engineers to write ADRs for every trade‑off, yet billion‑dollar strategic bets live in hallway whispers and fluffy slide decks. What if we treated business decisions like architecture? Context, options, trade‑offs, metrics, all in a repo, version‑controlled and reviewed?
5 months ago
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If a leadership team is unwilling to sit with reality and explore what is happening, or creates an environment that is unfriendly or unsafe to do so, then you will never "get clear."
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-367-th...
5 months ago
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But when it comes to feedback, concerns, "pulling the andon cord", or questioning the current strategy, front-line team members are expected to route everything up the official chain. Boundary-spanning is great for delivery, but not for dissent.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-366-em...
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TBM 366: Empowered For Delivery, But...
There's an emphasis on team independence and autonomy, but also fairly traditional ideas about the role of the manager (as gatekeeper, filter, escalation resolver, etc.). In many ways, these ideas are...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-366-empowered-for-delivery-but?utm_source=activity_item
5 months ago
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"Teams are being asked to jump headfirst into AI efforts, innovate, and respond to a generational shift in the technology landscape. It is like asking a race car driver to drive the race of their life while in fuel-efficiency mode."
www.dotwork.com/post/thrivin...
5 months ago
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Official Narrative: “We are a PLG company now.” Sales Reality: “We still make our number through sales-led enterprise deals. PLG is a distraction.” Product Reality: “We’re building self-serve features but don’t control pricing, packaging, or onboarding.”
www.dotwork.com/post/how-ope...
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How Operations Can Prepare for Continuous Transformation
Operations leaders face constant change, shifting realities, and persistent challenges. Success depends on balancing order and chaos, adapting systems, and enabling momentum—knowing there’s never a fi...
https://www.dotwork.com/post/how-operations-can-prepare-for-continuous-transformation
5 months ago
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A critique of a recent Cagan post that I think deserves some counterpoint.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/a-cagan-cr...
5 months ago
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The product advice landscape has gotten to the point where you need battle second order gaslighting ... basically defending yourself against the peddlers offering you ways to defend yourself (while make you feel shitty about yourself)
5 months ago
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An initiative is an initiative...right?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOFa...
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The Limits of Cascades and Value Hierarchies
YouTube video by The Beautiful Mess-John Cutler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOFaVEAt7sQ
5 months ago
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Whatever it is .... it is sad.
5 months ago
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I was reflecting recently on how stark the differences between teams can be and how often you can pick up on those differences within seconds. You can feel it. The words they use are different. The way they describe their work tells you almost everything.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-364-th...
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TBM 364: Three Team Vibes
I was reflecting recently on how stark the differences between teams can be and how often you can pick up on those differences within seconds just by asking someone how things are going. You can feel ...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-364-three-team-vibes
5 months ago
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Juggling this dichotomy is a huge challenge right now for managers/leaders, etc.
www.dotwork.com/post/thrivin...
5 months ago
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The heroic change narrative narrative is one of many... helpful, but incomplete.
5 months ago
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After a couple years in stealth model working with amazing design partners/launch partners, we're "open for business". It is a blast (and scary as hell) to be back in a product role, and heading it up to boot.
www.dotwork.com
5 months ago
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Is there objectively such a thing as low-hanging fruit? In Matt's mind, everything could be more effective if leadership could "just." But maybe that is an illusion. Maybe the ppl with more power in the org are getting exactly what they need and want.
cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-363-is...
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TBM 363: Is Matt A Loser?
It was far easier to rationalize a layer of inexperienced managers than to face the fact that the strategy was scattered and shifts in the technology landscape threatened the core business model. "It ...
https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-363-is-matt-a-loser
5 months ago
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