Reads & Listens

First principles of product management let teams align and move fast without the PM in the room by 1- maximise mission impact and 2- accomplish through others

One of the better PM books I've read, because it doesn't glamourise the role. Three things stuck for me: make yourself obsolete - success is a team that makes good calls without you in the room. Data informs decisions; it doesn't make them. And a strategy you can't recite in two sentences probably needs more work.

Your friends and mom are great for support, but not for validating product ideas.... Similarly, when chatting with prospective customers, you should be seeking real signal instead of polite validation. Avoid pitching, ask how people cope today, and weigh what they've done over what they say they'd do. Hypothetical interest is cheap, but understanding the current process, past attempts, where time and money go are much stronger evidence.

Proof of work over credentials, small teams, becoming the user

Tactical leverage for IC PMs: public channels, live action items, product scrapbooking

The main thing I took away: willingness to pay research belongs in discovery. Most teams treat it as a late-stage business decision. This book makes the case that it should be done earlier, before you've committed to anything. It then gets practical with frameworks for bundling, tier design, and holding your pricing when the market pushes back -- because how you charge often matters as much as how much.