The hottest Product Management Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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The Product Manager’s Guide to Not Slowing Things Down

Kathy PM • 13 implied HN points • 19 Jul 25
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Speed is crucial in product management. The faster you iterate and ship, the more problems you can solve and learn from.
  2. Product managers should focus on clearing obstacles for the team instead of adding to the confusion. Create clarity and let engineers do their work without delays.
  3. To improve velocity, write things down early, stay ahead of the team, and eliminate unnecessary meetings. Keeping things moving is key to success.

Consumer-focused API Design

The API Changelog • 1 implied HN point • 17 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Design APIs by engaging real users first and doing product discovery so you define problems, needs, and value before building anything.
  2. Use user stories that name the user, their location (tool/context), their goal, and the benefit; these details guide the right API style and workflows.
  3. Treat API capabilities as business-aligned features that deliver clear benefits and marketable value, and adopt a product-focused mindset instead of designing for engineering convenience.

Notes on Service Level Objectives

A Small, Good Thing • 19 implied HN points • 24 Mar 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Service Level Objectives (SLOs) are important for understanding if services are reliable, but many organizations find them hard to use effectively. It's like a tool that sounds great but often doesn't work as well in practice.
  2. Adopting and managing SLOs usually requires a lot of effort and support from the whole team, not just the SREs. If the company culture isn't ready for it, SLOs often get ignored.
  3. There's a big gap between the theory of SLOs and how they're applied in real companies. Many teams struggle with choosing the right metrics and getting everyone to care about reliability over new features.

Solve the right problem

Sunday Letters • 99 implied HN points • 27 Mar 22
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. It's important to solve the right problem. If you don't understand the problem clearly, you might end up overcomplicating things.
  2. Sometimes, less is more. Simplifying designs can make your code easier to manage and improve user experience.
  3. Don't try to fix every possible edge case; focus on the most common scenarios. This can help you avoid unnecessary complexity.
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Breaking analysis paralysis: a guide to using data in product management

Askwhy: UX Research, Product Management, Design & Careers • 33 implied HN points • 27 Nov 24
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Always start with a clear hypothesis when analyzing data. This helps focus your research and prevents getting lost in too much information.
  2. Use a mix of qualitative and quantitative data for a better understanding. This means looking at both numbers and user feedback to get the full picture.
  3. Document your analysis process carefully. This helps others understand your findings and allows for better collaboration in the future.

Monthly Letter #07 - Bento

Bento Updates • 19 implied HN points • 11 Apr 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Consider the importance of capital allocation for business growth
  2. Transparency about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship can provide accountability and motivation
  3. Balancing existing product improvement with potential new opportunities is essential for business sustainability

Is Your Team a Cost Centre Without Product Understanding?

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 19 implied HN points • 31 Jul 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Product understanding is crucial for a strong team. A team without it may struggle to bring products to market efficiently.
  2. Ensuring a strong product culture is essential. It involves keeping the product team and founders aligned and integrated into the engineering process.
  3. Maintaining a balance between product and engineering value streams is key. This helps in avoiding a disconnect that can make a team function more as a cost center.

Ask your team this simple question: 'What can we subtract?'

The Kahneman Bot • 19 implied HN points • 26 Apr 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Subtraction can be more effective than addition in problem-solving. Always ask 'What can we subtract?'
  2. In product development, companies like WhatsApp, Canva, and Apple have succeeded by simplifying their interfaces and products.
  3. To incorporate subtraction in product processes, reduce cognitive load, optimize notifications, and reassess onboarding. Team exercises like 'Subtract the Obvious' and 'Worst Feature Elimination' can help identify what to remove.

#101 - How AI Is Supercharging the Demand for Product Managers

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 23 implied HN points • 09 Feb 25
💼 Business Product Management
  1. AI is changing how software is developed, making coding faster and easier. This shift requires more skilled product managers who can focus on what to build rather than just how to build it.
  2. Product managers are becoming key players as products get more complicated. They need to manage different technologies and ensure that everything works well together to meet user needs.
  3. As AI tools handle more routine tasks, product managers will have a bigger role in driving innovation and defining new products, ensuring that technology advancements translate into meaningful solutions.

How Snowflake’s DevProd team operates

Engineering Enablement • 10 implied HN points • 02 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Developers need to trust that their tools work smoothly and that help will come quickly if something goes wrong. This trust builds a solid foundation for a productive environment.
  2. Standardizing communication and feedback loops helps everyone stay aligned and informed, making it easier for teams to collaborate and adopt new tools. Closing the loop encourages trust.
  3. Understanding and engaging with users personally, like through advisory boards or local meetings, boosts adoption and shows developers that their needs are being prioritized.

8 guaranteed ways to annoy your senior engineer

The Caring Techie Newsletter • 21 implied HN points • 12 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Always provide details when asking engineers to fix something. It saves everyone time if you describe what’s wrong and what you've tried.
  2. Avoid labeling everything as urgent. This makes it hard for engineers to prioritize and can lead to burnout.
  3. Be clear and prepared for meetings. Vague invites waste time and make it hard for engineers to focus on their work.

Software Quality

Engineering Enablement • 21 implied HN points • 12 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Software quality has four main types: process quality, code quality, system quality, and product quality. Each type affects the others, so improving one can help improve the rest.
  2. Process quality is crucial because a good development process leads to better code quality. This means having proper testing and code reviews can help avoid defects later on.
  3. Product quality is what customers experience and it includes a product's usability and reliability. Engineers need to team up with product managers to ensure that products meet customer needs.

🌟 Your Ultimate AI Guide for Product Managers: 10-Part Series + FREE PDF & Bonus Resources! 🚀

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 23 implied HN points • 26 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. AI is becoming really important for product managers. It's changing how people design and manage products.
  2. Learning about AI tools like large language models can help product managers work more efficiently. They can use these tools to improve their workflows.
  3. Ethics in AI is crucial. Product managers need to think about the responsible use of AI in their projects to ensure they are creating fair and useful products.

#102 AI Concepts Building Tomorrow's Billion-Dollar Companies

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 20 implied HN points • 23 Feb 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. AI agents are becoming co-creators in product development, changing how teams work together and make decisions.
  2. Specialized AI models tailored to specific tasks are more valuable than general-purpose ones, as seen in successful companies focusing on niche markets.
  3. Product managers need to adapt to AI's rapid pace by embracing new ethical considerations, efficient designs, and continuous learning to drive innovation.

Embrace your ignorance

Russell’s Index • 8 implied HN points • 08 Jul 25
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Talking to customers is key for product engineers. It helps you understand their problems and create better products.
  2. Admitting what you don't know can actually improve your customer interviews. It encourages them to explain things more clearly.
  3. Asking for specific examples and repeating back what customers say helps clarify understanding and reveals valuable insights.

When LLMs Made Everyone a Coder

ScaleDown • 22 implied HN points • 29 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Using AI to write code can be misleading. Just because the code looks good doesn't mean it works; real coding requires understanding the logic behind it.
  2. Simple apps can be more effective than complex ones built with AI. Breaking tasks into manageable steps is key to successful programming.
  3. AI tools are helpful but shouldn't replace engineers. Someone needs to check and fix the code generated by AI, making engineers still very important.

Nail Your 1:1 TPM Interviews

Building Rome(s) • 1 implied HN point • 26 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Interviews are short—use your 30–45 minutes ruthlessly and keep your introduction to 30–60 seconds so you have time for focused answers.
  2. Center every answer on your role, decisions, and measurable impact; keep background brief and use 'I' so the interviewer can assess what you personally did.
  3. Practice concise, well-paced answers to avoid rambling, and choose high-impact examples (including incidents, outages, or complex bugs) not just large formal programs.

How to get into tech as a behavioral scientist

The Kahneman Bot • 19 implied HN points • 13 Feb 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. To get into tech as a behavioral scientist, consider starting in a junior PM role, transferring internally, working at a startup, or starting your own company.
  2. Before transitioning into tech, make sure you enjoy building software and understand how tech teams work.
  3. Experienced behavioral scientists can enter tech by joining a big tech company as a researcher, rebranding as a data scientist, or joining a tech company that values behavioral science as part of its IP.

Google deepens AI integration across operations

philsiarri • 22 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Google is using a lot of AI in its work, with over a quarter of new code created by AI and checked by engineers. This shows how much they're relying on technology to improve their services.
  2. The company's earnings are strong, with significant revenue from both Google Services and Google Cloud. AI features are helping to boost sales and attract new customers.
  3. Google's new AI tools are changing how people search online and are driving more ad revenue on platforms like YouTube, which is now making over $50 billion from ads and subscriptions.

E3 - 🛠️ Prompt Engineering Basics and 50+ Free 🎁 Product Management Prompts 🚀

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 20 implied HN points • 24 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Prompt engineering is about crafting the right questions to get useful responses from AI. Think of it like asking the AI to help you with specific tasks in a clear way.
  2. This skill can help product managers speed up their work by automating tasks and generating creative ideas. It's a powerful tool for making better decisions based on data.
  3. Understanding how to structure prompts effectively can lead to more relevant and accurate results. It involves giving clear instructions, context, and examples to guide the AI.

E9 - Ethical Considerations and Responsible AI in Product Management

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 16 implied HN points • 12 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Responsible AI means making sure technology is fair and safe for everyone. It's important to think about how AI decisions can affect people's lives.
  2. There are risks in AI like bias, lack of transparency, and privacy issues. These problems can lead to unfair treatment or violation of rights.
  3. Product managers play a key role in promoting responsible AI practices. They need to educate their teams, evaluate impacts, and advocate for accountability to ensure AI benefits everyone.

150+ Product Management Resources and 50+ ChatGPT Prompts: Your Complete 2025 PM Toolkit 🚀

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 16 implied HN points • 01 Jan 25
💼 Business Product Management
  1. There are over 150 useful resources for product management that can help professionals navigate topics like strategy, leadership, and AI integration.
  2. The toolkit includes more than 50 ChatGPT prompts designed to enhance productivity and creativity for product managers.
  3. New tools like ProductGPT can help product managers get customized answers and streamline their workflow, making their jobs easier.

Why Product Data Beats Company Data

The Security Industry • 18 implied HN points • 24 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Product data is more useful than company data. Knowing what products a company offers helps you find competitors better.
  2. You can categorize products accurately to see how they stack up against each other. This way, you can identify direct competition more effectively.
  3. Having detailed product information helps customers find the right solutions for their needs. You can easily search by features or requirements.

Product Management ++ 👀

Turnaround • 138 implied HN points • 16 Dec 19
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Neil McElroy's memo proposing the 'Brand Men' role at Procter & Gamble laid the foundation for modern brand management and product management in consumer product companies.
  2. The evolution of technology has shifted the composition of Fortune 500 companies towards the technology industry, impacting the role of product managers who now require a blend of management frameworks and tech understanding.
  3. Product managers today need to not only understand management strategies but also be adept at technology to succeed in the competitive landscape of building successful companies.

Building CAUSL - Episode 9: The Cinderella of Lead Generation

CAUSL Effect • 19 implied HN points • 25 Apr 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. The author is shifting focus from company updates to more engaging discussions that inspire thought and community interaction. They believe it's important to write about topics that spark conversations rather than just update on business progress.
  2. They define a lead as an actual conversation about their services, not just messages without responses. They're monitoring their lead data closely and have gained 15 leads so far, which they consider a decent start after a few months.
  3. Managing leads can feel stressful, especially when unsure if the opportunity will come through. The author prefers clear 'closed' leads over 'open' ones, as the uncertainty in 'open' leads can be more anxious than outright rejection.

Are you missing the window to influence your stakeholders?

CAUSL Effect • 19 implied HN points • 19 Apr 23
💼 Business Product Management
  1. It's important to understand that decisions happen over time, not just at deadlines. Stay engaged with your stakeholders to make sure you can influence their choices.
  2. To avoid wasting time, identify the minimum level of analysis needed to make a good decision. Don't chase perfection when it's not necessary.
  3. Remember that being a decision maker is hard. Our job is to provide insights when they're needed, so be timely to maximize your chance of influencing the outcome.

A story and an opportunity.

Turnaround • 98 implied HN points • 31 Jul 20
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Listening is a crucial skill - don't just hear customers, listen actively to truly understand.
  2. Being attentive in product management and marketing can lead to significant product improvements.
  3. Consumer-related laws evolving can impact e-commerce practices and strategies, requiring a reevaluation of business policies.

Punch It In

CTOrly • 19 implied HN points • 13 Sep 22
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Having a plan is crucial, but it's essential to plan practically and realistically for today.
  2. Traditional roadmapping may give a false sense of accomplishment without delivering tangible benefits to customers or the market.
  3. Prioritize making plans based on the current reality rather than uncertain future projections.

E2- Basics of Large Language Models for Product Managers 🤖

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 16 implied HN points • 17 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Large language models (LLMs) are special AI systems that understand and generate human language. They can do things like summarize texts, translate languages, and even write codes.
  2. LLMs are changing many industries by powering chatbots, helping create content, and giving personalized product recommendations. This makes services smarter and more helpful.
  3. Building custom LLMs requires a lot of money and data. Companies must invest millions and gather vast amounts of information to develop effective models.

The AI Trap

Fish Food for Thought • 14 implied HN points • 18 Dec 24
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Businesses often rush to use new technologies without understanding if they actually solve customer problems. This can lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities.
  2. The cycle of excitement followed by disappointment with new tech is common. Companies should be aware of this pattern and avoid adopting technologies just because they're popular.
  3. To make the most of new technologies, teams should work together, focusing on real customer needs before jumping in. Collaboration and clear communication are crucial.

Debunking the Myths of AI and Product Management

Perspectives • 4 implied HN points • 31 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. AI is not here to take away jobs but to help us work better. It can handle repetitive tasks so we can focus on the important stuff.
  2. Being a great product manager relies on human skills like judgment and relationship-building. AI can assist but won't replace our intuition or understanding of users.
  3. You don't need to be a tech expert to use AI. It's more about learning how to work alongside these tools effectively to enhance your productivity.

The Pivotal Thing

CTOrly • 19 implied HN points • 25 Aug 22
💼 Business Product Management
  1. Guard against unnecessary, preventable volatility in planning and focus on the quality of the problem rather than constantly changing solutions.
  2. Detangle desired outcomes from specific features in planning to enable pivoting on how to achieve goals while maintaining the constancy of overall objectives.
  3. Leaders should balance adapting to changes when necessary without causing unnecessary chaos by crying wolf with constant changes.

E1- Introduction to General AI for Product Managers 🤖

The Product Channel By Sid Saladi • 16 implied HN points • 10 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. AI is changing how products are made and used. Product managers need to understand AI to stay ahead in their industry.
  2. There are many AI applications, like chatbots and recommendation systems, that can improve user experience. Learning about these tools can help product managers create better products.
  3. While AI has benefits, it also brings risks like bias and job losses. It's important for product managers to think about these issues and apply AI responsibly.

Context matters

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 24 Oct 21
🕹 Technology Product Management
  1. Finding the right balance between short-term and long-term focus is important in building complex software. You need to address immediate issues without losing sight of broader goals.
  2. Metrics should reflect real business goals, not just vanity numbers. It's better to watch user engagement than just sales figures.
  3. Being able to switch between different contexts and focus on what's most important is a key skill for engineers and business people. Understanding where to concentrate your efforts can greatly impact success.