Working notes, published only when honest.

Roadmaps as fiction, cadence as fact.

Why quarterly roadmaps have quietly become the industry's most successful piece of comfort literature — and what replaces them.

Working essay · 12 min

The operator's contract with the room.

The seven agreements a product leader owes the people they lead — and the ones they owe themselves.

Journal · 9 min

What a brand actually owes the customer.

Brands love to talk about promise. Customers care about follow-through. This essay is about the second one.

Working essay · 14 min

Innovation theatre and how to leave it.

The signs your organisation is performing innovation instead of practising it — and the operating changes that fix it.

Working essay · 11 min

Design leadership after the design system.

The design system was the easy part. Leading a design org after it lands is the actual work.

Journal · 8 min

Hiring for the question, not the answer.

The interview questions that reveal judgement, and the ones that only reveal preparation.

Working essay · 10 min

Africa is a product decision, not a slide.

Every serious company operating on the continent has to make product decisions that respect where their customers actually live.

Working essay · 13 min

Governance for new bets.

The governance model most boards use kills new bets on contact. Here is one that doesn't.

Journal · 7 min

Measuring the work that actually matters.

Most product metrics measure the work that is easiest to count. This is a note about the work that is hardest to count — and worth the most.

Working essay · 9 min

The quiet work of building institutions.

Companies get built loudly. Institutions get built quietly. This is a note on the difference — and why the second one is the harder job.

Working essay · 11 min