RIP to RPA: the rise of intelligent automation (6 minute read)
There's a significant opportunity in automating the internal operational tasks that keep organizations running. Unlike traditional RPA solutions, modern AI agents can more effectively automate routine-but-essential operations work, transforming operational headcount into intelligent automation and allowing employees to focus on strategic work.
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Transformation politics (7 minute read)
Transformations to the product model requires addressing organizational politics thoughtfully. Product leaders play a critical role in navigating relationships, building trust, and ensuring teams are well-prepared and competent. Success hinges on demonstrating meaningful business outcomes early, maintaining stakeholder trust through collaboration, and sustaining momentum with consistent updates that emphasize real results over activities.
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Break free from being mushroomed (6 minute read)
"Mushroom management" (keeping people in the dark) frustrates PMs through lack of information and exclusion. Fighting it directly isn't effective. Instead, PMs should leverage mushroom managers' existing strengths - like cross-functional communication and rapid decision-making - while gradually introducing transparency through data-driven insights, regular updates, and structured decision-making processes.
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Work shape mix (5 minute read)
There are different "shapes" of work, for example, large projects, independent product work, and zero-to-one efforts. Organizations balance them as they grow, often facing challenges during transitions. Success depends on recognizing inflection points, addressing systemic issues before they escalate, navigating the trade-offs between formalizing processes, and tolerating short-term friction to maintain agility and alignment.
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How to give a senior leader feedback (without getting fired) (7 minute read)
Providing feedback to senior leaders requires a careful balance of tact, respect, and clarity to avoid defensiveness while fostering constructive change. Strategies like using the "even more" technique, adopting curiosity-driven language, sharing personal examples, and supporting feedback with data can help ensure the feedback is perceived positively and lead to actionable outcomes.
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How to write a product management report (17 minute read)
While stakeholders often request "product management reports," there's no standard format - it's really a request to understand product progress and impact. Rather than creating new static reports, PMs should repurpose existing documentation like roadmaps and dashboards, focusing on the specific insights stakeholders actually need.
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Why hire offshore? (5 minute read)
Offshoring provides cost savings while augmenting local teams. It can be used to address talent shortages in the U.S. and Europe. Nearshore hiring in similar time zones, such as Latin America, can ease coordination. Offshore hires often have longer tenures. Better staffing reduces burnout among local employees, improving overall retention.
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Solve "too many meetings" to increase team effectiveness and morale (4 minute read)
The proliferation of meetings often stems from unclear decision-making processes, ineffective communication systems, lack of ownership, and fear of missing out on critical information. Addressing these root causes - by clarifying decision-making, implementing structured updates, and assigning clear project ownership - enables teams to reduce meeting overload and improve operational efficiency.
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Thanks for reading,
Ellen Le & Sinan Zhang
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