Untrapping Product Teams Podcast

Last year I met with Melissa Appel in at the Business of Software conference in Cambridge, UK. We both gave talks there and I have the pleasure of getting a signed copy of her book Aligned, which I’ve been recommending quite a lot. It’s a highly insightful book that helps product folks transform collaboration with stakeholders.Now, she’s working on a new book, which focuses on internal product teams. That’s an interesting topic, as teams start creating more and more tools for internal usage. And I don’t believe there’s a book covering this in-depth. Here’s an opportunity for you, Melissa is searching for people to interview, if you working with internal products, reach out to her. You both may benefit. Today, I encourage networking more than ever.I invited her to the Untrapping Product Teams podcast because she’s practical and hands-on. And that’s what you can expect from the 42-minutes conversation we had.What we cover:* What stays the same for product teams, no matter the tool* Why the PM role might split into product builders and strategy people* Just because you can doesn’t mean you should: the rate of change your customers can absorb* Building stakeholder relationships before you need them. Start with “I want to understand how you do your work”* What to do when leadership is aligned on the wrong thing: agree on what success looks like, then decide* Internal products: your customer can outrank you, and you can’t fire them* Why “requirement” is one of her least favorite words* The first habit a reactive team has to break: saying yes to everything* Whatever you tolerate becomes the norm, so explain the why behind your boundaries* AI will happily tell you selling sausages on the moon is a great business. Judgment is still your job.Listen to it to gain a handful number of hands-on insights.Let’s keep Untrapping Product Teams together.Talk soon,David Pereira100XPM Product Coach & Advisor This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

Have you heard about rich mironov ? He’s been in product since 1987, a time where I can barely remember how it looked like to be at my mom’s uterus. Jokes aside, Rich is a real product executive coach who doesn’t hold back when it comes to doing what matters.I invited him to this podcast, and I decided to do something different. The premium subscribers of Untrapping Product Teams shared what they wanted to hear from him. I explored points like the following:* Everyone can prototype now, how do you actually prioritise what gets shipped to customers?* How do you help people understand that more code isn’t more value?* What does it look like money stories in reality?We explored that and much more in this episode. You will gain insights on how to influence decisions that truly matters instead of following what doesn’t. If anything, this is a wake up call for those ignoring the real challenges of create real impact.Listen to it to get insights that will work in reality, not just in Bobby’s Fantastic World.Here are a few relevant links about Rich Mironov.* Money Stories Book* Substack* Website* Email: [email protected]’s keep Untrapping Product Teams together.PS: Who would you like me to interview? And what do you expect to get from that? Write me, and I will do my best to make that happen.David Pereira100XPM Product Coach & Advisor This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

I became a PM first time in 2012, and I had no idea what I was doing for a few years. My way out came when I stumbled upon the Lean Startup book from Eric Ries. I got this book because a cousin of mine traveled to the USA and got it for me because it was available in Brazil back then.Today, more than a decade later, the book is with me in Germany with yellow pages. It remains highly relevant, especially when building is that “easy.”Now, you’ve got to pinch me. I’m still doing it, I had the chance of interviewing Eric Ries for this podcast. Lean Startup was about building products, and Incorruptible is about building companies.Marty Cagan just names the book of the year on his LinkedIn. Everyone now wants to build something, and reading this book will help you understand how to build a company that survives our financial gravity, and mission corruption.Most people think a company gets worse because it gets disrupted.Eric Ries thinks that’s backwards.In this episode, for 40 minutes we talked about much of the concepts of his new book “Incorruptible: How Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great.”Let’s get into it.Why bother nowIf you’re building something right now, this episode is for you.Eric doesn’t do shortcuts or feel-good advice. He names what’s actually happening to companies once success arrives, and he shows you the structures that keep a company true to itself for decades.You’ll walk away asking one uncomfortable question about your own product: if it works, is it worth someone taking it over and ruining it? And have you done anything to stop that?Go listen. Then go look at your own cap table.Top 7 takeaways1. Corruption is the honest wordWe call it mission drift, bureaucracy, enshittification. Eric says our grandparents had a sharper word for making money by draining value out of a company. As he puts it, “It’s so much easier to destroy than it is to create.”2. A mission is not a mission statementWords on a wall protect nothing. A real mission shows up in the trade-offs people make when no manager is watching. Eric is blunt: “A mission statement is worthless.” What counts is values in action, built into the business model.3. The culture bankEvery time someone defends the company’s values, that’s a deposit. Every shortcut is a withdrawal. Trustworthy companies pick the hard path on purpose. Eric’s rule: “We will never voluntarily make a withdrawal.”4. These structures aren’t new, just hidden from youFounders ask Eric why they’ve never heard of mission-protective governance. The German company Zeiss had it in 1885. His answer cuts deep: “It’s not new, it’s just new to you.” Someone curated your awareness. Ask who, and why.5. There’s never a convenient time, so do it nowEvery advisor tells you to keep it simple and add protections later. Later becomes never. Eric walks through the whole script, all the way to the IPO room, where the CFO finally says it’s too late. “It’s never the right time,” he says. That’s the point.6. Harder is easierCostco runs its own hot dog factories to hold that price. Absurd amounts of extra work for the privilege of not gouging customers. But choosing the hard, principled path forces the creativity that makes everything else easier. Eric sums the whole book in two words: “Harder is easier.”7. Ask if your success would be dangerousEric’s litmus test for founders is social media. Did it go well? Most say it was a disaster. So he asks: “Do you want it to go like social media went?” If your product would be valuable to steal and twist, have you built anything to stop that?How do you become impossible to ignore?Most product folks I know are sadly over relying on AI unchecked assumptions. They write great requirements, manage stakeholders, and beautifully curate their extensive backlog. Yet, they don’t own the decisions behind any of that, and cannot rally people to ship value continuously.I’ve just updated my 100XPM mastermind to give you the system most people lack. In this 3 weeks cohort, you’re getting an end to end product leadership operating system that helps you stand out.Apply now.We will kick this off in August. And you’ll learn what it truly takes to become the Product Lead that ships value continuously, not just noise. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

“Senior software engineers remove more code than they add.” When I read this quote from Dr. Milan Milanović a few months ago, I knew he had powerful ideas that product people needed to listen to.When I first approached hi , I was surprised by how humble he is, despite having such a huge following (400K+ across platforms). He shared with me about his new book, Laws of Software Engineering, which I had the pleasure of reading to it. I couldn’t hold myself, but invite him for a Podcast. This episode is highly valuable for product folks who want to better understand how to transform the collaboration with engineers. It’s also refreshing hearing from a CTO the differences between developers and engineers, and what makes someone really senior.Listen to it, roughly 40 minutes that’ll give you insights on what’s happening with software engineering now, and how to leverage that.Here are a 7 topics we covered.1. Developers jump into code; engineers stop to ask why“People who I consider to be primary developers, they are mostly focused on code... But software engineers don’t jump into code. They first stop and start to understand the why’s behind it. They ask questions first.”2. AI makes low-quality code faster and more dangerous“In the AI world, this is even more visible because it’s easy to produce code and it’s just easy to produce a large amount of code in short time, which is much, much more dangerous than it was before.”3. Knowing the business is an engineering superpower“Knowing the business, especially in today’s AI world and the domain very well, is a big big advantage to you. If you don’t know that, you will get into problems.”4. High agency is the defining trait of great engineers“They will figure it out because they know they’re part of business and this is their strength. Not only how to implement this, but also on the product side, working closely to product people and with the business people.”5. Starting complex is a trap teams walk into repeatedly“Always start simple. Start in the simplest way possible and then build up complexity from there if needed. Maybe it will never be needed, you know, and you will stay simple, which is a great thing.”6. Parkinson’s Law: work expands to fill the time you give it“If you give people two-hour meetings they will fill this meeting up with discussions, but if you give them 45 minutes they will use those 45 minutes and maybe have the same or even better decisions.”7. YAGNI: don’t build what no one asked for“I saw many, many times things which were built without need. Not only without the need, but without anyone asking that. They were just there, they were just built much more complex because maybe one day we will need it and that day never came. So we just needed to maintain this complex thing.—How do you move faster than everybody from idea to value?I talk to dozens of product folks every week, from IC to CxO, and one thing stand out to me. Most of them operate with an outdated system, to a point that they continuously need to fight the status quo to drive value. It doesn’t have to be that way.If you want to know how a modern operating system to drive value looks like, apply for our upcoming 100XPM, it will take place in August.Here’s a recommendation from our last cohort.What a great three weeks! David's insights definitely shed light on the true role of a PM, going far beyond business cards and deliverables. He empowered me to be a professional who aspires to more and has a holistic view of the problem. It also helped me improve personally. Without a doubt, these three weeks helped me become a better professional and a better person. His experience and industry connections are also very relevant for understanding where we are and where things are headed, especially in AI. - Domingo Echenique This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

AI is changing many things, not everything.Yet, many teams are jumping on the curve without knowing why.I sat down with Alexander Osterwalder, Strategyzer CEO, whom I respect a lot given his great books, especially the Invincible Company. We talked about what’s happening now.What changes? What doesn’t change?We went on discussing controversial topics like innovation is not the goal. With AI, many CEOs believe they’re forced to innovate. But that’s not true all the time.The goal remains the same. Create value for customers while collecting value for the business. To do that, you’ve got to talk to REAL people, and do something they’re ready to pay.The challenge now is another: Protecting your moats. As everyone can build stuff, copying successful models becomes easier. Companies’ll thrive for long when managing to differentiate from the crowds.Listen to this episode to gain applicable insights directly from Alex. This is a 45 minutes conversation that’ll inspire you a lot.Here are some of our key takeaways:1. Innovation Is Not the Goal“The goal is not to innovate. The goal is the strategic goal that you define.”2. AI ≠ Strategy“AI changes everything and it changes nothing.”3. Synthetic Users Don’t Replace Reality“Today it does not replace talking to real customers.”4. Explore and Exploit Are Different Games“Explore is about creating the future. Exploit is managing the existing.”5. Kill Projects, Not Just Ideas“Killing ideas is easy… You kill projects.”6. Evidence Beats Forecasts“That’s much stronger than the spreadsheet.”7. Scaling Is Earned, Not Switched On“Scaling is not a light turned on.”Let’s keep untrapping the product world together.David PereiraProduct advisor & coachDo You Want to Become the Achiever PM Impossible to Ignore?It’s your choice to level up your game and become the Achiever PM who’s unignorable. And I can help you get there with my 100XPM Mastermind.We will run - most probably the last one for this year - in Summer. You can already apply for it. 3 weeks, 9 sessions, 1 transformation. We will equip you to operate at your next promotion level. You’ll have clarity on how to increase your visibility, gain influence, and ultimately get the deserved rewards.Apply now.PS: If you still have any questions, drop me a message and I will reply to you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

Hey, how’s the product world been for you?Before we jump into this amazing episode. I’ve got an invitation for you. I’m running a free webinar on The Bulletproof PM: How to Get Your Career Unstuck in the AI Era. I decided to do that because there’s too much apocalyptic messages out there, and many are missing on key things that unlock growth. Join us, 1 hour of insights to grow.Last year I attended 17 conferences. And the magic doesn’t happen on stage. It happens when you have honest conversations with people.I got the chance to meet, Bob Moesta, first in Munich. You probably heard about Jobs to be Done, which Bob was behind it. But he’s much more than that. He’s a humble, inspiring, and caring person. Throughout the whole conference, Bob spend his time talking to people, listening to them, and sharing perspectives. And I’m one of these people. I learned so much from him, that I felt it was unfair to hold it only to myself. I got him to our podcast.This episode is a mixture of career, Job Moves (his latest book), and life stories. You will enjoy this chat if you want unfiltered coming out through an open and unstructured conversation. This is not marketing, that’s how we recorded this episode.During our warm up chat, Bob asked me, who will listen to us, what you care about, and what keeps you up at night. And within that, we kicked it off. No scripts, no rehearsed answers, just honest and rough thoughts.It’s close to an hour of thoughts that can help you reflect about your career, and what matters to you.Here are some insights you’re going to get from it.1. Energy is your compass, not your title.“Where did you get energy? … Those hints of energy are there throughout your entire life.”2. Switching starts when progress becomes explicit.“B******g ain’t switching. The question is: what progress are you trying to make?”3. Questions create room for answers.“Questions create spaces in the brain for solutions to fall into.”4. Stuck is the trigger: progress is the fuel.“The moment they feel stuck…”5. Before quitting, do the self-diagnosis.“Before you say I quit… it’s you learning about yourself.”6. There is no ideal job, only trade-offs.“Every job has trade-offs.”7. Most “strategy” complaints hide avoidance.“Nine times out of 10… excuse, I don’t have a strategy.”8. Do not ‘fix’ yourself into mediocrity. Protect your superpowers.“My superpowers went away.”9. Use process as a crutch for what drains you, not what fuels you.“When I actually hate to do it… build a process around it.”10. Sometimes the best move is sideways to recover.“Find a jobcation… rebalance themselves.”Let’s keep Untrapping the Product World, Together.Talk soon,David PereiraDo you feel stuck in your product journey?Here are a few ways I can help you unstuck your career.* 100X PM Mastermind: If you want to move from PM to Product Leader, this 3-week program will supercharge your growth. People from 15+ countries attended it already, and the feedback is inspiring. Join our upcoming program in January.* Private Coaching: When you have specific challenges like strategy, career growth, positioning, or simply defeating BS management. I offer 30-min or 60-minsessions. You bring the problem, and we sort it out together.* Product Leadership Advisory: If you’re looking for more in-depth collaboration, I can be your advisor. I’ve helped 50+ organisations so far, and I’m confident I can help your business grow. Reach out to [email protected]* Product Workshops: If you want to level-up your teams’ expertise, I offer practicable remote and in-person workshops. Check it out here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

Are you done with the framework madness?Companes use, misuse, and abuse frameworks. The result is often anything but nice.A few examples:Discuss how to do discovery with ScrumHow to properly run Scrum EventsHow to deploy the perfect Spotify modelGuess what? None of that really matters.What matters is having clarity on what impact you want to achieve.Then, work towards that.To spice it up. I got Matt LeMay, author of Impact-First Product Teams, to share his wisdom on how to truly move the needle and ditch what doesn’t really matter.Matt’s core idea is simple and uncomfortable: product teams can’t hide behind process anymore. If you cannot explain how your work drives business impact, the rest doesn’t matter. And no, nobody keeps paying you because you “did Scrum correctly.”The key insight is: No matter your situation, you always have a move.Listen, if you want sharper thinking, fewer excuses, and a practical path to becoming an impact-first team without burning your org chart to the ground.Here are 7 insights you’re getting from this down-to-earth podcast:1. Impact is not optional anymore“It is ultimately essential, and I think unavoidable for product teams to be able to understand and articulate how their work is influencing the business at large.”2. Most ‘best practices’ come from rare conditions“These best practices… come from these unique and very rare and irreproducible commercial circumstances.”3. The real cost is learned helplessness“There’s this learned helplessness throughout the product world where it’s like we can’t do anything.”4. If you cannot define success, you are taking unacceptable risk“People don’t know what success looks like… that feels like such an unacceptable amount of risk to take on both organizationally and personally.”5. Impact-first teams keep goals alive, not quarterly theatre“Teams that keep their goals front and center tend to be impact-first teams.”6. You do not become impact-first by declaring a revolution“Most of the stories I have to tell are incremental stories… you’re often not going to get there by ripping up organizational processes and starting over again.”7. There is always a move“You can always do something. There’s always a move… 90% of product management is just not letting yourself get trapped.”Let’s keep Untrapping the Product World TogetherTalk soon,David Pereirad-pereira product advisory & coachingAre you ready to step up your game?I’ve coached 100+ product folks and can guide you through your transformation. Here are a few ways:* 100X PM Mastermind: If you want to move from PM to Product Leader, this 3-week program will supercharge your growth. People from 15+ countries attended it already, and the feedback is inspiring. Join our upcoming program in January.* Private Coaching: When you have specific challenges like strategy, career growth, positioning, or simply defeating BS management. I offer 30-min or 60-minsessions. You bring the problem, and we sort it out together.* Product Leadership Advisory: If you’re looking for more in-depth collaboration, I can be your advisor. I’ve helped 50+ organisations so far, and I’m confident I can help your business grow. Reach out to [email protected]* Product Workshops: If you want to level-up your teams’ expertise, I offer practicable remote and in-person workshops. Check it out here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

How many times did you hear about the feature factory?Maybe you feel that in your bones today - I feel that with the teams I coach.John Cutler coined this term 9 years ago, when he wrote a blog post, 12 Signs You’re Working on a Feature Factory. But there’s more to it than you imagine.The popularity of the feature factory term is undeniable, but John had a different goal when he wrote about it. He was talking to a researcher from Medium and wanted to make the point that even when he’d ticked all the engagement boxes, the post wouldn’t fly. The effect was completely different. Millions of reads.If you don’t know John Cutler, follow his work. Not because he will tell you what you should do differently, but because his ideas will help you broaden your perspectives.I don’t know anyone who’s written more consistently about product than John. It’s 10 years of sharing insights. And I had the pleasure of recording this amazing podcast with him.You will gain insights into product operating models, the power of looking from different lenses, overlooked realities of Silicon Valley, and why great leaders act as game designers and storytellers.Listen to it to amplify your perspectives.Here are the top 7 insights from our chat.1. Leaders Are Model Builders (Not Framework Implementers)You’re a storyteller and game designer. Your job isn’t picking the right framework - it’s building models that stick in your company and trigger better decisions.2. The Justs, Buts, and CansEveryone has their “justs” (you just need A-players) and their “buts” (but you don’t understand our culture). The real question: what CAN we do today without oversimplifying reality or going in circles?3. Dragonfly ThinkingMove between multiple lenses - behavioral design, anthropology, politics, culture. The ability to shift perspectives is more valuable than having one “correct” view.4. Frameworks Must Be Accessible AND PowerfulAccessible-only frameworks are shallow. Powerful-only frameworks only nerds understand. You need both: easy entry point, deep layers to peel back when challenged.5. Internal Product-Market FitYour models and frameworks need PMF inside your company. The test: does the CEO ask to see that slide again? If people don’t pull for it, it’s dead.6. Minimal Viable ConsistencyWhat’s the least amount of consistency you need across the enterprise so teams can make decisions? Every consistency choice has a cost.7. The Big Bang Refactoring RealitySuccessful companies didn’t just adopt best practices. They swung between centralization/decentralization, project/product mode. Getting there requires messy transformation, not copying the end state.Do you feel you need any help in 2026?Here are a few ways I can be your guide to help you make the best of 2026.* 100X PM Mastermind: If you want to move from PM to Product Leader, this 3-week program will supercharge your growth. People from 15+ countries attended it already, and the feedback is inspiring. Join our upcoming program in January.* Private Coaching: When you have specific challenges like strategy, career growth, positioning, or simply defeating BS management. I offer 30-min or 60-min sessions. You bring the problem, and we sort it out together.* Product Leadership Advisory: If you’re looking for more in-depth collaboration, I can be your advisor. I’ve helped 50+ organisations so far, and I’m confident I can help your business grow. Reach out to [email protected]* Product Workshops: If you want to level-up your teams’ expertise, I offer practicable remote and in-person workshops. Check it out here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

What does it really take to found a company?Courage, guts, and a lot of hope. You've got to jump into the unknown and move fast because time is your biggest enemy. Today, we're learning from someone who lived this reality for five years. No shiny rainbow, just the reality of founders in the trenches. Former Intercom Product Manager, Enzo Avigo, knew what he wanted. He dreamed of having his own company. He spent over five years building June.so, a B2B SaaS analytics platform that started with 6 AM meetings at Starbucks and ended with joining Amplitude's team.What sets this conversation apart is Enzo's willingness to share the critical details most founders keep private. His story dismantles many of the polished narratives dominating startup advice today. Enzo openly shared his experience navigating Y Combinator, raising funding, and ultimately making the difficult choice to sell, which provides rare insight into both the entrepreneurial journey and the acquisition process.For anyone building a B2B product, struggling with market positioning, or curious about what really happens when startups join larger companies, this episode delivers practical wisdom earned through years of real-world experience.Here are some nuggets of knowledge you’re going to get from this episode.7 Key Takeaways from the Episode1. Find Your Co-Founder Through Direct Outreach"I remember watching a video from YC at the time that said that the best way to find a co-founder is to go through your network, maybe LinkedIn, and list five people you think you would be interested to work with and message them in the next 24 hours."Enzo's practical approach to finding a co-founder involved identifying five people from his network and reaching out within 24 hours. Surprisingly, his co-founder turned out to be a colleague at Intercom whom he already worked with daily, proving that sometimes the best partnerships are hiding in plain sight.2. Most Startups Don't Segment Deeply Enough"We didn't niche down enough. We always assumed that a segment was a niche, while it wasn't for our product. Initially we're like, okay, let's focus on early stage startups. And then we're like, okay, let's focus on early stage startups that are product driven. And then we're like, startups, product driven, B2B SaaS. And then at the end we were like, B2B SaaS, Vertical SaaS."Enzo's biggest mistake was thinking basic segmentation was enough. It took years to realize they needed to go from "early stage startups" to "product-driven B2B vertical SaaS companies" to achieve true product-market fit.3. Your Most Active Users Aren't Always Your Best Customers"The people that will pay for your product are not necessarily the ones that are the most active in your product. We found out that not all problems were equal."When June introduced monetization, they discovered that usage intensity didn't correlate with willingness to pay. B2B customers with bigger problems were willing to spend significantly more than highly active users with smaller pain points.4. Moving Upmarket Requires Intentional Strategy"Unless you say like, no, this is the amount of work we're willing to put into owning the startup segments, and we're going to go intentionally to seed series A, series B, you're going to end up in some sort of depth loop where you stay in your existing market forever."Enzo learned that without intentional planning to move upmarket, startups get trapped serving their initial customer base forever. The endless feature requests from existing customers can prevent the focus needed to graduate to higher-value segments.5. Social Media Trends Stop Working When Everyone Adopts Them"Now, if you look at videos done by startups, they're recorded by cameras that cost close to 10K. They were great three years ago because it was really uncanny, but now it's standard and everyone is doing it."Enzo warns against following visible trends on platforms like LinkedIn. By the time high-production videos became standard for startup announcements, they lost their power to capture attention because everyone was doing the same thing.6. Choose Your Distribution Channel Based on the Message It Sends"The medium you're using already communicates something about your product. If you see a video of a startup that has raised money on LinkedIn, it's a whole different feeling than when I found out products like Linear on Twitter."Different platforms convey different messages about your product before users even hear your pitch. Finding Linear on Twitter felt like discovering a secret tool for early adopters, while LinkedIn announcements feel corporate and mature.7. Acquisition Can Be About Impact, Not Just Exit Strategy"How many companies are going to be using June next year, in two years, in five years? How much can we change that inflection point? And how much impact would we have if we joined forces with someone who has realistically more impact than us?"Rather than viewing acquisition as a failure or simple exit, Enzo framed joining Amplitude as a way to increase their impact. Sometimes the most ambitious path forward involves joining forces with a larger player rather than going it alone.Share your thoughts in the comments.Let’s keep untrapping the product world together.Talk soon,David Pereira100XPM Mastermind This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe

What’s real progress?Is adopting a framework a sign of evolution?Is shipping features faster a solid progress sign?Is making your strategy clearer than ever the way of accelerating?Maybe yes, maybe not.Every team has different challenges, and your context matters most.Yet, every team would benefit from starting with their challenges and then choosing what to bring to the party to improve their situation.To bring some clarity to this challenge, I got Tim Herbig to our podcast, and you’re going to enjoy a lot this chat. It’s honest and insightful. You will for sure get knowledge bites you can apply right now.I got to know Tim a few years ago in Cologne, Germany at the DL Summit 2022. He’s inspiring and a great storyteller. His content impressed me because it’s well presented and designed (I even got jealous about it). And the insights per minute are incredible.As Tim released his book, Real Progress, I couldn’t ignore it. I got my copy, read it, and got him to the podcast to get beyond it.This episode is brought to you by Productboard, the intelligent product management platform.See how Productboard can help your product teams ship faster and deliver high-impact products.Head to productboard.com/spark.This episode is 39 minutes. And here are a few things you’re going to get from it.1. The Pragmatism Principle “Do what is needed, not what is expected. Whatever scrappy non by the book way makes the customers happy and increases the business value. Who is there to say that’s not the right way.”2. AI Gets You to the Hard Part Faster “AI allows you to get to the hard part faster. Use it to take the shortcuts that are limiting yourself and then face the hard questions that are still in front of you.”3. Frameworks Are Not Universal Truths “Every framework should have washing instructions. This is a snapshot of what has worked for one company in a specific context in a specific point in time. It’s nothing more. But don’t treat it as this is the way.”4. OKRs Expose Problems, They Don’t Solve Them “OKRs don’t solve your problems per se. They make the goals more visible, more painful. And then you have to make a decision as a company how you want to deal with that.”5. Use What You Already Have “There’s so much there. Look at the other things, artifacts you have around you. You don’t necessarily always have to go deeper into a practice, but you can look sideways.”6. Discovery Is Risk Reduction, Not a Ritual “If you think discovery is talking to 10 people every week and nothing else, you might think you can’t do discovery with this feature idea of the CEO. If you think discovery is everything that reduces uncertainty, there’s probably stuff you can do.”7. Product Management Should Be Treated Like a Product “Tell me, a year from now, what has changed? How do the product teams operate differently? How would you know? It’s embarrassingly simple. That’s what we’re doing with our products. We describe changes in behaviors for customers, but many companies struggle with doing that for the people they have on the payroll.”8. Velocity Measures Shipping, Not Value “Velocity is not bad. It’s bad when you confuse it and you think that velocity shows you progress. It just shows you can deliver something at certain speed. But then what do you do next?”9. More AI Features Doesn’t Mean Better Product “You can produce more LinkedIn posts, but they all read the same now. So what’s the point? More features means more support requests, more technical debt, more UX questions. Can you maintain it or is your product very quickly full of features you quickly produce?”10. Match Goals to Team Capabilities “You give a team an outcome goal, but maybe the team doesn’t even have the capabilities to measure that goal. You have a great outcome metric, but you can’t measure it. So is that better? I would say it’s not.”Do you feel you need any help in 2026?Here are a few ways I can be your guide to help you make the best of 2026.* 100X PM Mastermind: If you want to move from PM to Product Leader, this 3-week program will supercharge your growth. People from 15+ countries attended it already, and the feedback is inspiring. Join our upcoming program in January.* Private Coaching: When you have specific challenges like strategy, career growth, positioning, or simply defeating BS management. I offer 30-min or 60-minsessions. You bring the problem, and we sort it out together.* Product Leadership Advisory: If you’re looking for more in-depth collaboration, I can be your advisor. I’ve helped 50+ organisations so far, and I’m confident I can help your business grow. Reach out to [email protected]* Product Workshops: If you want to level-up your teams’ expertise, I offer practicable remote and in-person workshops. Check it out here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe