Weekly Product Hits: Good Struggle, Time Sinks and Money Sinks, Equipping AI Agents with Wallets
Product Hits: October 13, 2025Every week, I share three great product resources from a variety of perspectives. Let's dive in! Good struggle vs. bad struggle by Wes Kao Wes Kao, co-founder of Maven, explains that not all struggle leads to growth. Some challenges build skill and resilience, while others just drain energy. Kao encourages PMs to recognize the difference, and to focus only on the struggles that are actually worth it. Time sinks and money sinks by Andrew Chen Andrew Chen, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, examines how media companies like The New York Times are evolving into gaming-style businesses, using engagement loops and subscriptions to drive growth. He reminds PMs that strong products and business models must reinforce each other, and that chasing industry trends without alignment leads to wasted time and money. Equipping AI Agents with Wallets by Nitya Subramanian Nitya Subramanian, founder of Para, explains how giving AI agents crypto wallets unlocks safer, smarter automation. She shows how permission controls and session-based signing let agents make payments, manage tokens, and interact across apps without losing security. Behind the ScenesHey there, it’s Clement! One thing I’ve learned over the years is that great product specs don’t try to say everything. The most effective specs aren’t the longest or most detailed ones. They’re the ones that make it clear why the work matters. When your team understands the “why,” they can make better decisions in the moment, even when the market inevitably shifts. You don’t need a 12-page doc to get there! Most of the time, a couple of well-written paragraphs will do: what problem are we solving, who’s affected, and what success looks like. Add a quick note on what’s not in scope, and you’ll save everyone from scope creep and review churn later. And don’t underestimate visuals. A single diagram or wireframe can often replace a wall of text. It doesn’t need to be polished! I’ve seen specs come to life through rough sketches in PowerPoint, quick scribbles in Paint, or AI-generated mockups in Figma. A picture of the intent is often worth a thousand clarification messages. If you’re heading into a launch, take an hour to tighten your specs and visualize your ideas. Clear writing and simple visuals don’t just document work: they accelerate it. With love, Let's do more together!
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Product Teacher
In-depth essays and thought-provoking reads for product managers.
Product Hits: February 16, 2026 Every week, I share three great product resources from a variety of perspectives. Let's dive in! Onboarding people to AI product experiences by Krystal Higgins Krystal Higgins, Staff UX Designer at Google, argues that when a product behaves unpredictably, explanations aren’t enough to build trust; and, AI-driven experiences are inherently unpredictable. Instead of front-loading information, she shows how guided interaction and reversible decisions help users...
Product Hits: January 5, 2026 Every week, I share three great product resources from a variety of perspectives. Let's dive in! The curse of knowledge by Cindy Alvarez Cindy Alvarez, Director of UX at Microsoft, explains how expertise can distort communication, causing leaders to assume shared context when none exists. She urges PMs to design communication deliberately by spelling out intent, anticipating confusion, and explaining the why so teams can actually align and act. Get Out of Your...
Product Hits: November 17, 2025 Every week, I share three great product resources from a variety of perspectives. Let's dive in! Why OKRs Fail by Radhika Dutt Radhika Dutt, Chief Product Officer at Moveprice, explains that OKRs often fail because they compensate for a lack of clear vision, pushing teams toward short-term wins and metric gaming instead of genuine progress. Dutt urges PMs to replace goal-setting with vision-driven strategy instead; in other words, PMs should treat initiatives...