We need to master languages for the future. Not just any language. The language to be clear with machines and humans.

Think about making an app. You need words to explain views. Canvas. Navigation. When you talk to AI you can’t just say “make me a game”. You need to say “I want a browser game for phones. With a high score list that works like this”.

That is vocabulary. But soon everyone will know these words. Everyone will generate apps and games. That is when taste becomes important.

Anyone can make a game today. But making something that feels good. That is different. That takes taste.

Vocabulary lets you tell the machine what to build. Taste lets you make it worth building.

Less is more means doing more with less.

Focus on a few things and master them completely.

I’ve struggled with estimates for years.

We’re asked “how long will this take?” as if we’re building something we’ve built before. But in product development we’re creating something new every time, within the constraints of our tech stack, frameworks, and past decisions.

Many teams are starting to talk about appetite instead of estimates. It changes everything about how we approach the work. Instead of “can we build exactly this?” we ask “what’s the best we can build in the time this is worth?”

To get to a meaningful appetite:

• Start by understanding the problem you want to solve
• Know why it matters now
• Be clear about desired outcomes
• Decide what investment makes sense

Then bring all of this context to your team. Let them understand not just the time box. But the why. Because an appetite isn’t a time constraint. It’s a value decision about how much of your company’s resources should focus on this solution.

Problems start when what you expect doesn’t match what actually happens.

Be explicit of what you expect and make sure you understand what is expected.

When conflict arise, take a step back and check if it is simply a case of different expectations. I’ve often seen disagreements that are just people working from different assumptions.

People are more likely to reject a polished final product than suggest changes to it.

But they’re far more comfortable giving feedback on a rough draft or prototype.

How can you not have a shrink? This is Manhattan. Even the shrinks have shrinks. I have three. […] one for when I want to be cuddled, one for when I want tough love and one for when I want to look at a beautiful man. - Stanford (Sex And The City)

When you ask for feedback you should be clear about what kind of feedback you need.

If you have written a post, do you want feedback on the punctuation, spelling or commas. Or do you want feedback on the order of things, if the story flows, does the order make sense.

Think about this when you ask for feedback. What do you want to improve, then sit back and enjoy. Some of the feedback will be hard. Some will be inspiring. Some will be important. Others you can ignore.

The concept of Dead Internet Theory is intriguing for me.

The idea that bots will influence what is important so that other bots will make content that focuses on those bots behavior.

It creates a bizarre ecosystem where AI systems essentially talk to each other, generating more online activity than actual human users ever could.

When it comes to expression and creativity, you need to use the simplest app.

Any friction when you try to capture those “hard to create” ideas is lost the moment between “Enter App. Wait. Ohh where do I add a new…”.

You just need to sprint in capturing those ideas.

Always have a paper close, a shortcut to open your notes app, a button press away to record your ideas.

Teach your brain that ideas are important and that it can trust that the ideas it creates will end up somewhere.

You cannot make strategic decisions based on how the competition looks. You can make tactical decisions.

Tactics is winning today. Strategy is winning the tomorrow.

It can improve on existing process. But there is nothing free. If it is content we want, it can make it faster.
It can create but not approve. It is not a money machine.