Drowning in Product Content? Here's How to Focus and Thrive

If you’re a product manager scrolling through LinkedIn or sifting through the latest product newsletters, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Every day, there’s a new must-read book, a groundbreaking framework, or a viral post about “how to build better products.” And let’s not even start with the endless stream of webinars, podcasts, and conference recordings! Many product managers and product leaders find themselves paralyzed by a serious case of FOMO—fear of missing out on all this valuable content.

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A Leader’s Coaching Toolkit: Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration and Teamwork

Cross-functional teams are the backbone of great product development. When collaboration works, these teams deliver innovation, efficiency, and user value. However, when collaboration breaks down, the team risks slow progress, low morale, or even project failure. As a leader, your role is to assess whether your teams are truly collaborating or just coexisting. You also need to know when and how to step in to support them. Here’s how to evaluate cross-functional collaboration, spot potential issues, and apply "hyper care" when necessary.

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What Successful Product Organizations Have in Common

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from coaching countless product teams, it’s this: fancy frameworks and flashy buzzwords won’t save you. Successful product organizations are defined by their habits—the day-to-day work they do consistently, not the jargon they throw around in meetings.

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Petra Wille
Collaboration Is My Resistance: A Personal Story of Success and Joy

Throughout my life, I’ve witnessed and personally experienced the transformative power of collaboration. Measured in terms of both happiness and financial success, my journey has been shaped by partnerships, teamwork, and the ability to bring people together. I’ve found that collaboration, not competition, consistently leads to better outcomes, both in my professional life and in fostering a sense of fulfillment and doing no harm to others.

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Launch Announcement: The "All Things Product" Podcast is Live!

Exciting news! Teresa Torres and I have teamed up to bring you a brand-new podcast: "All Things Product." We know there are plenty of interview podcasts out there already, so we decided to try something different. This is not your typical interview show. Instead, we're tackling one topic at a time in short, weekly episodes (15-30 minutes)—perfect for a quick commute or coffee break.

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Vive la Résistance!*

Last week was a tough one. Between Elon Musk giving airtime to Alice Weidel, the co-leader of Germany’s far-right AfD party, and Mark Zuckerberg dismantling Meta’s content moderation and DEI programs, the news felt like a series of punches. I shared some initial thoughts about this on LinkedIn, reflecting on how unsettling it is to realize that my generation of geeks helped build the very platforms now fueling these crises.

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The Balance of Giving and Taking: Why Community Involvement is a Long-Term Game

This article might seem like a departure from my usual tips for product leaders and product managers, but I’d encourage you to give it a read if you’ve ever participated in a conference or community and you’re looking for ways to advance your career. I’m sharing some of my observations and hopes for the wider product community and the role we can all play in its success.

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This Holiday Season, Let’s Talk About Generative AI With Our Loved Ones!

Generative AI tools are becoming more accessible by the day, and their use cases are multiplying rapidly. From creating children’s books to assisting teachers with lesson planning to coaching agents for personal growth, AI is everywhere. While the opportunities are exciting, it’s critical that we pause and reflect on the limitations and potential dangers these tools carry.

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Thought-Provoking Questions to Prompt Your End-of-Year Reflection

As we get to the end of the year, it’s natural for us to want to spend some time reflecting. What went well for us in the past year? What were some areas where we’d like to improve in the future? And while you may naturally spend time doing this for yourself, if you’re a leader, it’s especially important for you to model this type of self-reflection and encourage it on your team.

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The PMwheel in Action: How Novo Nordisk Is Promoting Ownership of Growth and Learning Among Product Managers

If you’ve been following my work for a while, you might be familiar with the PMwheel, a tool I designed to be a structured yet flexible "compass" for product management growth. If this is the first time you’re hearing about the PMwheel, you might want to hop over to this post to learn a bit more about it (and if you’re a product leader who’s interested in how you can make use of the PMwheel, I’d suggest starting here).

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Not Sure Where to Start on My Blog? Check Out the 20 Most Popular Posts

Now that I’ve been blogging regularly for several years, I thought it might be helpful to take a look at my blog’s performance and share the top 20 posts. I’m not doing this just to brag—since I’ve got quite a lot of content, I realize that new readers might be unsure where to dive in. This provides you a handy roadmap you can use to check out the most popular topics (or at least those that get the largest number of page views).

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Understanding Team Topologies for Product People

In many of my coaching sessions with product leadership teams, we often touch on the topic of team topologies. This often comes up when there's friction between teams—either they're too small, too large, or just not optimally structured. This friction can lead to inefficiencies and misalignment. Therefore, understanding and applying the principles of team topologies is crucial for any organization aiming to streamline its product development process.

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The Dream Behind the Complaint

I recently listened to a podcast episode with Kenneth Berger, and one of his core ideas truly struck a chord with me: uncovering "the dream behind the complaint. Kenneth's insight is a beautiful framing for product leaders. When a direct report comes to you with a complaint, there's often a deeper, unspoken desire behind it.

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