Lesley-Ann Vaughan

Identity, privacy, automation, security... by themselves, these are often "grudge buys" driven by a compliance need or a drive for efficiency. But viewed collectively, they are part of a wave of *empowerment technologies* including personal AI and digital agents - (1/2)

Simon Wardley blew my mind a long time ago with Wardley Maps for strategy His latest post on measurement is a gem. I broke it down into maxims you should save and review before each project:

@jspujji @ampush Bootstrap

🚨 It’s Annual Planning season. And I’m giving away all my custom templates. They’ve helped me: + Grow and sell @ampush for 8-figs + Build up a $1B venture studio + Scale scores of startups as an angel RT + Reply with the word BOOTSTRAP…and I'll send them your way.

TL;DR? Stuffing generative models into absolutely everything comes with a significant cost to the planet, and we should use fine-tuned models in cases when tasks are well-defined. 👩🏼‍💻 Alternative titles we explored include "InferNO" and "Think before you GPT" 😂

The secret to engaging stakeholders might just be found in an unexpected blend of storytelling, psychology, and diplomacy.

This is an example of why design matters so much for inclusion… the right words make all the difference to customers. A big part of our M-PESA design principles when sms was our core customer UX…

@kaarmann Experienced making a swift payment cross/border via wise UX this summer. Wow it was different experience to the last time I had to do that via a bank’s UX (in an incredibly positive way). This is great news!

Landed in Toronto to co-deliver a small bombshell of news on stage with Javier, the CEO of Swift. 🇨🇦 But it looks like our news is already starting to leak. It's gonna be a game changer for banks. In a good way. swift.com/news-events/pr…

@kaarmann @jamesplloyd Experienced making a swift payment cross/border via wise UX this summer. Wow it was different experience to the last time I had to do that via a bank’s UX (in an incredibly positive way). This is great news!

@jamesplloyd Both, but slightly different: * very large banks - usually are happy with major currencies, but have a long tail of about 20 currencies where they're looking for a faster and more reliable delivery. * small and mid-sized - usually want everything

I have found Deep Product Managers are better strategists for their detailed execution. They don’t make it about strategy OR execution. With good prioritization, they do strategy AND execution. Their deep project management drives deep strategic insight.

Just a few notes to myself (a driven & ambitious person): 1) Kings are overrated and usually unhappy. It is much better to be kingmaker. 2) Eventually, everyone realizes that they don’t want to be Elon Musk or Steve Jobs. How quickly do you want to get there? 3) Legacy is overrated. So is impact. 4) Learn from everyone & everything. Don’t view people as better or worse than you, worthy or unworthy of teaching you. And if something doesn’t fully resonate, don’t reject it wholesale. Try extracting the useful bits and learn from those. Wisdom is everywhere, if you can spot it. 5) When you find someone inspiring, try to separate their content and their charisma. And if it’s the charisma that inspires, be very careful. 6) The chief indicator of authentic confidence isn’t bravado. It’s the person’s openness to discovering why they’re wrong. 7) Whatever industry or domain you are in is probably smaller than you imagine it is. People talk. Don’t burn bridges over the small stuff. 8) When in doubt about where to take a job, pick the place with the better people. Even if it ends up being the wrong bet, you will still be more fulfilled with your work. 9) In the tech industry, things often change. Platforms change, technologies change, office signs change, employers change, centers of gravity change. The one thing that remains constant is the people. Always optimize for the people. 10) If you choose to understand just one cognitive bias, let it be the Fundamental Attribution Error. If you choose to understand one more cognitive bias, let it be Confirmation Bias. Last but not least, very important note: No rule is valid for every single situation in life. Except this rule.

@kaarmann @shamir_k @soupsranjan @Wise Been supporting a QR interoperable national standard to life… there are a ton of domestic nuances/fixes before cross-border settlement becomes simple add-on. Of course if the merchant had knowledge of wise and has smartphone maybe it’s simpler. But not grass roots reality…

@kaarmann @shamir_k @soupsranjan @Wise Same situation in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria, etc etc. accepting and settling remote non/card Emoney payments for small traders (with a good merchant UX) from a regional or international source isn’t solved.

1/ I’m in Chennai, India this week visiting my parents. And had an epiphany. On arriving at the airport, I thought to myself: Lemme see if I can survive India without cash and using only digital money...

@AdvisorsPula @MCFoundationFRP Is the signup link broken?

Join experts from the African Development Bank, the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility and PULA Advisors to learn more about how digital #microinsurance and agricultural data services can support women smallholder farmers 🗓 Wednesday, 22 Septemberhttps://bit.ly/3ze4S9k

This is joyous.

If you want to greatly improve your product’s quality & shipping pace, create an environment in which engineers care deeply about customers & have the agency to influence product decisions. This will easily make >10X long-term impact than any new product process, tool, or tactics

Thinking deeply about the #DigitalDivide after a conversation on #TheDrTechShow So much of what we do works because of the internet, and doesn't work without...

Small long-lived teams with end-to-end responsibility seems to be a common message during #QConLondon

A subtle but important tell regarding a company’s product culture is whether it is *possible* to start a new thing without first allocating a PM to it. If a few engineers and/or a designer either cannot start a new project or are not allowed to do it, that is rarely a good sign.

@Adron @johncutlefish youtube.com/watch?v=KClAPi…

Following the Ukrainian #opensource developers’ call organised by @denysdovhan #OpenUK set up #community contribution link to British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal redcross.org.uk/opensource and contributed £1k & @ScotTechArmy matched £1k. Please share/ give #StandWithUkraine️