Stephen H

@clairevo Couldn’t agree more!

There are two wildly different pursuits you must execute to build great products: 1. Build what customers want 2. Bet on an unproven future We tend to over complicate or over-wield the former, creating complex mechanisms by which customer feedback is quantified, abstracted, frameworked-away. PMs find the simplest form distasteful (“ugh, why build for one prospect?”) and struggles to implement at scale (hence “no” culture.) Building what customers want is a tactical, commercial minded pursuit with narrower lanes of creativity. This is where speed matters. The best at this are relentlessly practical, with real customer empathy and a big dash of competitiveness. Then there are the big ol bets, which die of human causes: fear, bureaucracy, ego. These are the ideas that get killed in committee, or rot as a crappy MVP, or get called a distraction. It’s extremely hard to get good at big bets. The cheat code? Unreasonable people: Unreasonable people who simply will a future to be true. They say “this is how the world will look, see ya there!” They are OK being wrong (but usually aren’t.) They are, for lack of better word, zealots. These are your founders or your founders-at-heart. The worst thing you can do in a org that has a big thinker is pair them with a team of skeptics—the frameworks and “prove it” and the process. It’s like the first hires at a startup being begrudgingly assigned contractors. You’d never do it. They’d never win. If the first group (build what customers want!) needs execution velocity, the second group (bet on the future) needs vision velocity, where an insight about the market hits an ambitious set of creative thinkers and builds an imagination flywheel that unlocks a Big Idea™️. So think about which of these skills you need. Think about which profile you are. And then leaders: think about how to build human systems around them. You’ll never get great without both models. And your team is where the magic happens. Build thoughtfully! 🚀

@hotdinners @AlexMolsy84

There's a Scottish deli coming to Islington where you can get bowls of cullen skink, freshly made shortbread and square sausage to take home hot-dinners.com/2023061612417/…

There are a few things that need to be uninvented. I’d start with napalm, and swiftly move to eradicating tray-bakes from existence.

@theribman Get well soon chief!

I’ve been reading up on the operation for an Aortic Aneurysm and I’m thinking maybe I won’t be back to work the day after 😆Maybe I should make a batch of sauce before - Just in case 💀😂😂

@RonFilipkowski Yo @Busuu you’ll love this!

So, you think you are a good reporter? Top this dude!

@SpotifyStatus @SpotifyCares Still happening!!!

Hey! We're aware of some issues over the last little bit. Everything’s looking much better now! Give @SpotifyCares a shout if you still need help.

This is important.

@jrhodeswinsor @stephen_vidler still my favourite away day ever!

@FootballJOE Hi dickhead! Fancy removing this tweet as it’s a lie. Thanks. Twats.

Arsenal fans celebrating their team conceding a fourth goal in the hope it gets Arteta sacked. Surely the lowest point for the club in the post-Wenger era?

This is an astonishing video from the @nytimes, made on the frontlines of vaccine refusal: nytimes.com/2021/08/21/opi…

😂😂😂

English people have a rattan fetish.

91st minute winner and the Arsenal fans who weren’t meant to be there couldn’t stop themselves. 😂

Amazing to see every single Man City fan out celebrating.

Such sad news! But I am very thankful to @makingjam @Mathilde_Leo and @sebpowell for the years of fun, opportunities and wonderful people I met attending events and helping out a little along the way!! Here’s to a bright future to the JAM team! ❤️

I so dig this.

I wrote another thing. Nailing the Growth Product Manager Phone/Hangout Interview growthvirgin.substack.com/p/nailing-the-…

I know what you’re all thinking. It’s fucking mad that it’s 24 years since Bryan Adams did his live MTV unplugged session. Happy February everyone.

Yeh but, fish right?

It is absolutely ok that Parler & Trump are offline/banned. This is freedom of speech in action. You were allowed to speak, what you said was unacceptable by our agreed moral standards so we are now eradicating your opinion as it is deemed utter poppycock. Thanks & goodnight.