SUMMARY
“Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” - Edward de Bono
For those who find reading books to be a daunting task as reaching the end of a 400-page long book feels like a lifetime, then, a blog is the best way to be on top of things
Read them, come up with a ridiculous idea if so it seems and build an unmatchable product that users love
“Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”
That’s what Edward de Bono, writer of the book, ‘Six Thinking Hats’ said. Even ‘The Little Prince’ saw an elephant eaten by the snake when others saw a hat. Moonshot innovations need a shift in perspective that only avid reading can provide. And what’s better than the habit of reading blogs?
For those who find reading books to be a daunting task as reaching the end of a 400-page long book feels like a lifetime, then, a blog is the best way to be on top of things.
Airtel’s head of design, Sourav Sarkar, keenly reads blog pieces on ‘Mind the Product’, ‘Elezea’ and ‘A List Apart’. Kissflow’s VP of product management, Dinesh Varadharajan, has opened up his heart to ‘OpenView Partners’ and ‘Paul Graham’s Blog’. Interestingly, every product maker has got his/her own unique list of preferred blogs.
Sheroes’ founder, Sairee Chahal picked ‘James Clear Blog’, ‘Amplitude Blog’ and the ‘Hackaday’ as her most notable reads. Gojek’s head of product, Vikrama Dhiman, prefers being up-to-date with the blog ‘Stratechery’ and ‘Lenny’s Newsletter.
With Inc42’s upcoming product conference, The Makers Summit, from 12th-14th March, we can’t help but be hyped about the interesting sessions that these expert product makers will lead and inspire with. It got us to put together 10 blogs that are perfect for product leaders. Read on and let the paradigm twist surprise you. 
James Clear Blog
Gripping minds and evolving habits, James Clear, the author of the New York Times bestseller ‘Atomic Habits’ didn’t stop his blooming career there. Blogging since 2012, James has been knocking down everyday conundrum with sure shot solutions that are backed by science. Questioning the conventional and shooting productivity hacks to habit-tracking ideas, he brings to the fore a better way of living and a smarter approach to work, keeping all of it simple yet effective.
Amplitude Blog
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? You got us! The product analytics software is expanding its way to helping companies by not just refining their product tool but also by blogging about tips and tricks for improving products. Sharing insights and expert strategies around ideating, building, and launching products, this blog covers the minutest of details that would otherwise go unnoticed. This software has been one of the most powerful tools used by product makers and with their regular blog posting, it has become easier to get worthwhile insights from Amplitude’s creators.
Hacker Noon
Hacking your afternoon by bringing about interesting reads on product management, technology, bitcoin is a riveting blog, Hacker Noon. Previously known as ‘Hacker Daily’, the blog has now amassed over 2,00,000 daily readers and has more than 7,000 writers. Apart from in-house writers, they also allow outside writers to use their platform and contribute pieces. Hacker Noon is a tech blog that makes understanding cryptocurrency, programming and other tech news simple.
Andrew Chen’s Blog
A weekly newsletter, Andrew Chen writes about growth hacking, technology, growth metrics and product. He talks about ways to build a growth team, mechanics of product management and different strategies that can be applied by PMs. One can subscribe to the newsletter for regular article updates and also read up on the articles posted online.
Lenny’s Newsletter
Former product lead at Airbnb, Lenny Rachitsky writes so that his readers can invest in themselves and create products that matter. Penning down the intricate details to paint a bigger picture, Lenny brings a clean approach to his articles. His blog posts include answers to pressing questions on building a product-market fit, handling the burdensome responsibility as a PM and sometimes even his take on the relationship between Buddhism and product management.
The Black Box of Product Management
Brandon Chu brings years of experience as a product manager at Tunezy, Freshbooks and currently Shopify, to this blog. As the name suggests, it is a magical box of techniques and tips for PMs. His blogs strive for excellence while balancing personal as well as professional learnings. Crafting each article with clarity, he swims in the ocean of product management and explores each arena, from mechanics of product management to advice for product managers.
Stratechery
The arrival of Clubhouse was a long time coming. Every medium has evolved, from print on paper to blogs to a microblogging platform like Twitter. Even videos have evolved from the days of TV to Youtube in the internet era, and ultimately into short video apps like TikTok. So a revolutionary change in audio was coming soon enough, making Clubhouse’s entry ‘inevitable’, writes Ben Thompson in Stratechery.
Stratechery is a technology newsletter/blog that everybody in Silicon Valley reads. Be it the business strategy of Apple or the story behind the decline of Microsoft’s Windows, the blog has deep insights to share on everything tech.
Bring the Donuts
Why ‘Donuts’? Ken Norton came up with the name at a talk on product management at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He wanted to talk about a PM’s responsibility in the company and came up with ‘donuts’ as a metaphor for ‘positive energy’ and stated that it is the PM who will have to bring the ‘donuts’ at the launch of the product.
A product management coach who has headed Google Docs, Calendar, Mobile Maps gives real-life solutions to problems in the blogs he posts. His article on ‘tools shouldn’t matter to PMs’ or his ‘idea of a company’s product culture’, or ‘ways of building and testing an idea in just 40 hours’ are brilliant reads. If you’ve been intrigued to head to his blog then go with a pack of doughnuts!
Product Talk
Teresa Torres wanted to create a blog that product makers could read in a few minutes and also use their learnings the same day. Providing crucial information for product leaders and startup founders that have their heads rolling around their hectic schedules, Product Talk has information that is short and easy-to-use. Having worked with clients like Spotify, CarMax, and Tesco, Torres shares her experience through her blog.
Product Management Meets Pop Culture
When jargons fill your head and make you question your decision to read, you need to stop right there and make a quick jump to ‘Product Management Meets Pop Culture’. In 2021, with a lower concentration and higher distraction frequency, it’s fun to understand business and product strategies when correlated with your favourite comics or characters. Chris Cummings shares practical insights by interlinking them with pop culture analogies. Imagine getting ‘Pricing Advice from Doctor Doom’ or reading Archie’s comics and understanding a product manager’s behaviour. Sounds fun, right? So, head on to the blog and admire the amazing work done by Chris.
Not everyone can take out time to read long books. Blogs solve this problem by allowing readers to absorb relevant information in a succinct format. So, to improve your understanding of the product world, pick the blogs that match your reading taste and head on to the world of creativity.
