Stop chasing flashy AI features and start building durable strategic muscles. This piece reveals how IBM saved $4.5B by using AI to enhance internal capabilities—speed, scale, and skill—rather than just shipping UI tweaks.

This article on "solving problems the hard way" captures my philosophy: shaping strategic lanes, fostering ownership, and continuous calibration. The magic is in the routines and active sensemaking, not just frameworks. cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-401-solving-problems-the-hard #Leadership #Agile

LLM adoption in companies isn't just theory for me; it's hands-on. This article’s insights on integrating AI, from tackling "toilet-level" details to fostering true productivity over optics, resonate deeply. It's a pragmatic look at leading AI adoption effectively.

Agentic AI shifts from talking

AI is collapsing the engineering bottleneck. The goal isn't just faster coding, but a closed loop where agents autonomously turn user chat into validated features. Our role shifts from managing tasks to defining the system's soul and taste.

AI is removing the natural speed limits of product work, but at a steep cognitive cost. Siddhant Khare captures the "reviewer's fatigue" perfectly: we’re shipping faster but feeling more drained. Essential reading on why we must protect our "thinking time." Explore the full piece: https://siddha...

CEOs often ask for a product team scorecard, but unlike sales or engineering, product success can't be reduced to a single metric. It’s about cultural signals: data usage, user closeness, and true ownership. Forget the dashboard; start the right conversation. https://jennywanger.com/articles/wha...

Traditional discovery is slow, often leaving valuable insights buried in transcripts. Caitlin Sullivan's latest guide explores how AI transforms this, turning 10+ hours of manual analysis into minutes. It’s about more than speed; it’s about better decisions. Check it out: https://www.news.aakash...

AI transformation often fails when we focus only on tools. Success requires a loop of leadership, culture, tools, and governance. Zapier’s framework shows how to move from scattered pilots to core operations by building urgency and psychological safety.

As the last generation with analog roots, we have a unique duty to steer AI. Cornelia Walther explores how our "pre-digital" cognitive architecture can prevent algorithmic atrophy and prioritise human flourishing over mere ROI.

AI makes execution cheap, turning features into commodities almost overnight. The real moat now? Deeply embedded customer relationships and context. Focus on outcomes over outputs to stay ahead. Dive into Jeff Gothelf’s take on building defensible value: https://jeffgothelf.com/blog/ai-made-relat...

Correlation isn't causation. Walmart claims their AI bot drives higher spend, but are the big spenders just the ones using the bot? I see this "success theater" in product reviews too often. We must demand rigorous A/B testing.

Agility today isn't just about speed; it is about building resilient systems that thrive on change. Jim Highsmith and other leaders show that moving from project-based thinking to adaptive leadership is vital in the AI era.

The bottleneck shifted from engineering to product. AI accelerates builds, but discovery lags. Using AI to synthesize feedback and automate NPS reports. Focus on intuition. Explore 10 workflows: https://www.sachinrekhi.com/p/ai-powered-customer-discovery #ProductManagement #AI

Is the future of AI being built on a "reality-distortion field"? This deep dive into Sam Altman’s leadership at OpenAI raises critical questions about transparency and trust in Product. Whether you're a sceptic or a believer, this is a must-read: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-...

AI is making execution easier, but decision-making harder. Andrej Karpathy calls it 'agentic engineering', yet it looks exactly like core Product Management: judgment over outcomes, not just output. Are you ready for the shift? See why the typing was never the hard part: https://jeffgothelf.com/...

Stop debating CapEx vs OpEx. Modern product leadership is about the feedback loop: ship, measure, and earn the right to invest again in 90-day cycles. This shift from annual plans to outcome-gated funding is a game-changer for agility. Optimise your flow here: https://www.liminalarc.co/2026/05/t...

Scaling agility in the AI era demands a shift from rigid frameworks to adaptive leadership. It’s no longer just about speed, but about fostering a culture that thrives on uncertainty and human-centered innovation.

AI is accelerating build speed, yet Steve Blank warns of a "denial of service" on critical thinking. Velocity isn't validation; we need outcomes over outputs. Explore why the Minimum Productive Outcome is the new MVP. Shift from build to judgment here: https://jeffgothelf.com/blog/customer-devel...

Uncertainty often triggers a retreat to command and control. But true product leadership isn't about centralized decision-making; it's about setting direction and trust. Teresa Torres and Petra Wille nail the balance of speed and autonomy. Tune in here: https://bit.ly/40L3Z59 #Product #Agile

Lesya Magas nails it: 🧠 2026 PM productivity isn't about working harder, it's about smarter leverage! This comprehensive stack connects AI, learning, metrics, and ops for amplified impact. Which tools are transforming your workflow? https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lesya-magas_same-brain-completely...

In many organisations, status dictates behaviour more than value. Performative "busyness" often replaces genuine impact when quality is hard to measure. We must shift the status economy toward learning and candour to build real psychological safety. Dive in: https://psychsafety.com/st-r-e-a-m-st...

The real AI risk isn't replacement. It's becoming the person producing content no one asked for. Forwarding everything. Reacting to everything. The people who stand out filter well. They decide not to send the thing. AI may draft it. You stand for it being worth reading. #AI #ProductManagement

Data grounds the AI hype. From the 95% failure rate of task-specific pilots to the startling speed of adoption, these 10 charts provide the clarity we need to redesign work and future-proof our careers. See the shifts that actually matter for product leads: https://debliu.substack.com/p/10-charts...

Neglecting your backlog graveyard of bugs isn't just a technical risk; it’s a strategic bottleneck. I’ve always believed that stability is a prerequisite for speed. When we treat fixes as a detour, we actually kill our ability to innovate. Prioritise health here: https://www.prodpad.com/blog/whe...

Too many 1:1s feel like status updates, but true leadership is about ownership. I’ve always believed that when the direct report leads the agenda, we uncover the real blockers. Shift the focus to their growth and watch the team thrive. See how to fix your flow: https://productify.substack.com/p...

Too many 1:1s feel like status updates, but true leadership is about ownership. I’ve always believed that when the direct report leads the agenda, we uncover the real blockers. Shift the focus to their growth and watch the team thrive. See how to fix your flow: https://productify.substack.com/p...

The Transformation Paradox is real: workers are ready for AI, but many organisations are the bottleneck. Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index shows culture, not tooling, is the hurdle. Management must pivot from output to outcome-led models. See the full data: https://www.theneuron.ai/explainer-art...

The Transformation Paradox is real: workers are ready for AI, but many organisations are the bottleneck. Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index shows culture, not tooling, is the hurdle. Management must pivot from output to outcome-led models. See the full data: https://www.theneuron.ai/explainer-art...

The line between "vibe coding" and professional agentic engineering is blurring faster than many of us expected. While it's tempting to treat AI agents as a black box, true product leadership requires balancing speed with accountability.

The line between "vibe coding" and professional agentic engineering is blurring faster than many of us expected. While it's tempting to treat AI agents as a black box, true product leadership requires balancing speed with accountability.

Stalled AI initiatives have a very similar story. Governance isn't blocking these organisations. Leaders are. Governance-first is a strategy for never shipping. Three months in, the question isn't whether your data is clean — it's whether anyone is accountable for a result. #AI #ProductLeadership

AI units should never replace rigorous product discipline. Beware of "tokenmaxxing" and vanity metrics that mistake activity for outcome. Productivity isn't about how many agents you run; it’s about requirements, specs, and shipped value. Avoid the hype: https://handyai.substack.com/p/your-ceo-i...

Conway’s Law warns that software reflects the team’s communication. As AI makes generating "perfect" specs easy, we risk killing the vital human discussions that ensure alignment. Is speed worth a fragmented product? Explore the risks of the AI-spec illusion: https://brodzinski.com/2026/04/conway...

Is AI actually disrupting product development, or are we just accelerating the production of waste? Itamar Gilad offers a grounded take on why shipping 10x faster doesn't matter if you aren't solving for value and outcome first. Cut through the hype here: https://itamargilad.com/ai-disruption/...

AI is accelerating output, but speed creates "cognitive debt"—the loss of human understanding of how our systems actually work. When the "shared theory" in a team's head vanishes, progress stalls. Build smarter by prioritising clarity over pure velocity: https://margaretstorey.com/blog/2026/02/09...

Domain expertise is the new code. Anthropic’s latest hackathon proved that "boring" industry knowledge beats technical fluency every time. When we solve real-world friction like permit delays or patient recall, AI becomes truly transformative. See why context is king: https://www.2ndorderthinker...

AI agents fail not due to tech, but human friction. Wharton reveals that perceived competence, trust, and autonomy are the real blockers. As leaders, we must design for psychological ownership to unlock value. See how to bridge the gap: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/special-report/wharton-b...

As AI slashes the cost of building, product judgment becomes our true differentiator. Jeff Gothelf’s latest rubric offers a brilliant way to quantify and teach the "taste" required to ship the right things. Assess your team's decision-making maturity here: https://jeffgothelf.com/blog/you-can-qua...

Building fast is a trap if you lack market alignment. Speed without a clear buyer just creates "product slop." As leaders, we must ensure GTM ownership happens at ideation, not launch. Don't let AI-driven velocity bypass the "who buys this" question.

Stop treating delivery like a one-off project. Funding durable teams instead of projects reduces waste and lets you pivot based on real feedback. This framework for value streams is a game changer for senior leaders seeking agility. See how to shift the model: https://www.liminalarc.co/2026/04/d...

Lean isn't a scavenger hunt for waste; it’s about creating value. I’ve always believed that the "eighth waste"—underutilised human potential—is the most critical. If your team doesn't feel safe to point out grit in the system, you'll never achieve true agility. See the 8 wastes in action: https:...

Maximising product value is the core of our role. This PSPO course by Stefan Wolpers targets key challenges, from escaping the "feature factory" to managing stakeholders. A great chance to sharpen your practical Scrum skills. Transform your approach here: https://www.scrum.org/courses/profession...

AI agents aren't "set and forget"—they degrade. Lisa Crispin’s look at the DORA AI model highlights why agentic QE demands more human parity, not less. See how to secure your GenAI journey and why pairing remains our best defence: https://lisacrispin.com/2026/04/20/ai-testing-and-the-dora-ai-capa...

Confidence is dangerous when it feels like clarity. Experienced leaders often stop looking for disconfirming evidence once a strategy "looks right". We must move from cultural aspirations to procedural safeguards.

Is history repeating itself with AI? This provocative look at the 19th-century Luddites reveals why smashing data centres isn't the same as breaking looms. A must-read on automation and the power of local vs global action.

Anthropic's latest launch is a game-changer for product delivery. By combining Opus 4.7 with Managed Agents, they’ve essentially automated the "infrastructure tax" of AI features. This collapses roadmaps from months to days.

Power users are migrating. A recent poll shows Claude is now outperforming ChatGPT 2-to-1 among AI-engaged professionals. It's no longer just about the "default" choice; coding quality and reasoning depth are winning the day.

HMRC's massive Microsoft Copilot rollout highlights a classic product challenge: scaling AI before fixing underlying data debt. Saving 26 minutes daily is great, but "hallucinating" tax policy isn't. See why the UK's tax office is betting on agentic tech: https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/27/hm...

Hackathons often fail when they're just "real work" in disguise. True innovation needs a safe space for weird, unconstrained ideas. PostHog proves that protecting this time builds multi-million pound products. Stop the roadmap talk and let your team build: https://newsletter.posthog.com/p/great-c...