Best Of Product Roundup - June 08, 2024

The best expert-curated product content from the best product thinkers from around the Internet delivered twice a month.

Every two weeks we consume all the product content on the Internet (free and paid), analyze it, and then we round-up links and short excerpts from the best content to:

• Save you thousands of dollars per month in unnecessary subscriptions

• Help you avoid spending days per week just reading instead of doing

• And most importantly, we save you years spent trying the wrong advice.

• Finally, we promote thinkers in product who are doing great work whether well known or soon-to-be-known!

Top Long-Form Content

1. In defense of feature teams

   1. What we liked: While we love Marty Cagan and his model of “empowered product teams,” we also feel that Ben does a nice job of explaining the conditions where a “feature factory” can still lead to success and the value of this role above and beyond “Project Manager,” and given the prevalence of this model of product work in the wild, it’s worth exploring this nuance.

   2. Choice quote: “Where our thinking diverges is that I see the feature factory as the right choice for some CEOs to run their companies, especially when those CEOs have a clear and compelling product vision.”

2. Deadlines are not so bad, I’ll tell you why

   1. What we liked: A thoughtful treatment of good and bad use of deadlines in product work, and how a good deadline can drive cleaner thinking and better iteration with customers.

   2. Choice quote: “I’ve found myself trying to “perfect” my solutions SO many different times and when I set deadlines for myself, I focus a LOT more on progress and forget about being ‘perfect’."

3. Community-led growth in enterprise sales (Podcast)

   1. What we liked: A chance to hear from a sales/CRO on growth patterns and anti-patterns specifically for enterprise, a topic that feels woefully underrepresented in product writing and yet well represented in the market.

   2. Choice quote: “If you provide enough high value and relevant content, what you're actually going to find is your form fills get much more detailed about the project.”

Top Tweets

1. Product Management is, at its heart, about managing risk.

2. Inbound isn't a secret. It's a funnel.