I've long embraced generalism—dipping into different disciplines, interestsREST An architectural style for designing networked applications. REST uses HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to perform operations on resources identified by URLs., and ideas. I often worried this approach meant sacrificing depth for breadth, leaving me moving slowly in many directions rather than swiftly in one.

Application Programming Interfaces, or APIsAPI A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. APIs define the methods and data formats that applications can use to request and exchange information., are an essential component of modern software development. APIsAPI A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. APIs define the methods and data formats that applications can use to request and exchange information. allow different software systems to interact with each other, facilitating the exchange of data and functionality between them. However, while APIsAPI A set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. APIs define the methods and data formats that applications can use to request and exchange information. have become ubiquitous in modern software development, their documentation often leaves much to be desired.

Every PM should have an angle - a specific area of depth that makes them genuinely useful. I think of these as the 5Ds:

• Design - Can shape user experience, run research, translate insights into interfaces
• Development - Understands technical constraints, can collaborate deeply with engineers, knows what's actually hard
• Delivery - Masters of getting things out the door, managing scope, unblocking teams
• Domain - Deep expertise in a specific vertical (fintech, health, logistics)
• Data - Can define metrics, run experiments, make decisions grounded in evidence

You’re probably used to the ever-present idea of an MVP:

Create a product with the minimum set of features that are enough to satisfy early adopters and provide a basis for feedback and future development.

As a product manager, making decisions is a big part of the job. While we all want to make the right decision every time, sometimes things don't go as planned. It can be tempting to try to stick with a decision, even when it's not working, but I've learned that it's better to be able to reverse course and make a new decision.

A foundational part of product management, often overlooked, is understanding the nuanced difference between toys, tools, and products.

A solitary gull
arced over stone,
mimicked
by a white vessel
far above and away
which could not flap its wings.