Go to the Source
Show notes
Topics Covered:
- Why “go find the source” is a crucial product mindset
- The danger of relying on second- or third-hand takes
- Real examples: OKRs, Jobs to Be Done, North Star Metric, Opportunity Solution Trees
- How to identify reputable sources—and red flags to watch for
- Tips for curating your own learning journey (books, blogs, podcasts)
- How social media can distort ideas (even when people have good intentions)
Key Takeaways:
- Primary > Secondary: Always seek out original thinkers or practitioners, not just content repackagers.
- Go deeper than LinkedIn tiles: Good frameworks get diluted when simplified for social media. Go back to the original articles, books, or talks.
- Read with range: Challenge yourself to find three different sources—especially with diverse backgrounds or perspectives.
- Don’t trust content without citations: Like in academia, a lack of references is a red flag.
- Practitioner voices matter: Look for people sharing what they’re actually doing, not just what “should” be done.
Resources & Links:
- Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org
- Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com
Mentioned in the episode:
- Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke
- Jobs to Be Done Theory by Clayton Christensen
- Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice by Anthony W. Ulwick
- The Jobs-to-be-Done Handbook: Practical techniques for improving your application of Jobs-to-be-Done by Bob Moesta and Chris Spiek
- STRONG product people: A Complete Guide to Developing Great Product Managers by Petra Wille
- Objectives and key results (OKR, alternatively OKRs) by Andrew Grove who introduced the approach to Intel. It was then popularized by Google and John Doerr’s book, Measure What Matters
- Amplitude’s North Star Playbook
- Opportunity Solution Trees: Visualize Your Discovery to Stay Aligned and Drive Outcomes by Teresa Torres
- A Crucial Turning Point: OKRs in Conversation with Rick Klau
- How Google sets goals: OKRs / Startup Lab Workshop by GV (Google Ventures)
Some of Teresa and Petra’s favorite original sources:
- John Cutler’s The Beautiful Mess
- Christina Wodtke
- Scandinavian Product Podcast by Afonso Franco
- From Endless Growth to Equitable Prosperity by Ronnie Varghese
- Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street
- Francesca Cortesi (formerly at Hemnet
- Product at Heart Video Archive
- Mind the Product Blog
- The Intercom Blog
- Figma Blog
- Amplitude Blog
- Beauty Shot Newsletter by Tim Leberecht & House of Beautiful
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