Go to the Source

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: ProductTalk.org

• Follow Petra Wille: Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in the episode:

• Radical Focus (cwodtke.wpengine.com/writing-2) by Christina Wodtke

• Jobs to Be Done Theory (christenseninstitute.org/theory/jobs-to-be-done) by Clayton Christensen (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Christensen)

• Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice (anthonyulwick.com/2016/10/25/jobs-to-be-done-f…) by Anthony W. Ulwick (anthonyulwick.com/about)

• The Jobs-to-be-Done Handbook: Practical techniques for improving your application of Jobs-to-be-Done (therewiredgroup.com/about/bob-moesta) by Bob Moesta (linkedin.com/in/bobmoesta) and Chris Spiek (chrisspiek.substack.com)

• STRONG product people: A Complete Guide to Developing Great Product Managers (strongproductpeople.com/book) by Petra Wille

• Objectives and key results (OKR, alternatively OKRs) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Grove) by Andrew Grove (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Grove) who introduced the approach to Intel (intel.com/content/www/us/en/homepage.html). It was then popularized by Google (rework.withgoogle.com/en/guides/set-goals-with…) and John Doerr (linkedin.com/in/john-doerr-03248211)’s book, Measure What Matters (whatmatters.com/the-book)

• Amplitude’s North Star Playbook (amplitude.com/books/north-star/intro-why-shoul…)

• Opportunity Solution Trees: Visualize Your Discovery to Stay Aligned and Drive Outcomes (producttalk.org/2023/12/opportunity-solution-t…) by Teresa Torres

• A Crucial Turning Point: OKRs in Conversation (whatmatters.com/articles/a-crucial-turning-poi…) with Rick Klau (tins.rklau.com/about)

• How Google sets goals: OKRs / Startup Lab Workshop (youtube.com/watch?v=mJB83EZtAjc) by GV (Google Ventures) (gv.com)

Some of Teresa and Petra’s favorite original sources:

• John Cutler (cutlefish.substack.com/about)’s The Beautiful Mess (cutlefish.substack.com/about)

• Christina Wodtke (cwodtke.com)

• Scandinavian Product Podcast (afonsofranco.substack.com/podcast) by Afonso Franco (linkedin.com/in/afonso-malo-franco)

• From Endless Growth to Equitable Prosperity (mindfulleadership.co/blog/equitable-prosperity) by Ronnie Varghese (mindfulleadership.co/about)

• Shane Parrish (fs.blog/about)’s Farnam Street (fs.blog)

• Francesca Cortesi (linkedin.com/in/francesca-cortesi) (formerly at Hemnet (hemnet.se)

• Product at Heart Video Archive (productatheart.com/video-archive)

• Mind the Product Blog (mindtheproduct.com/articles)

• The Intercom Blog (intercom.com/blog)

• Figma Blog (figma.com/blog)

• Amplitude Blog (amplitude.com/blog)

• Beauty Shot Newsletter (houseofbeautifulbusiness.com/beauty-shot) by Tim Leberecht (timleberecht.com) & House of Beautiful (houseofbeautifulbusiness.com/Business)