Burning Man

Advocate Yourself Out of a Job

Argue for the company-optimal allocation of your team even when it defunds you — and read the response.

Alignment-First Founder Meeting Protocol

Open every high-stakes meeting by locking success criteria, then anchor back to them when a combustible leader derails.

Mindset4 steps

Anticipated Regret Decision Test

Ask '10 years from now, what will I regret if I don't learn or do this now?' to unlock action.

Marketing4 steps

Channel Diversification Before the Drought

A one-channel growth company is always a no-no — turn on the second channel while the first still works.

Leadership6 steps

Clarity and Conviction: Insights, Strategy, Big Rocks

The whole craft of PM in two words, expressed as a two-page narrative every team can recite.

Culture-Add Interview Diligence

Interview the company back with adjective and endemic-problem questions to judge culture before you accept.

Deal Speed and Default Optimism

Codify the values you already have, not the ones you wish you had.

Innovation5 steps

Designing a Zero-to-One Incubator Inside a Giant

Fix the incentive system and the time horizon first — everything else about internal incubation follows.

Empathize–Create–Evangelize

The three-stage loop for developing a product vision: understand deeply, imagine the solved world, then sell it.

Leadership6 steps

Little Hands Growth Hiring

Hire on the KPI they'll commit to and their willingness to do the tiniest job.

Long-Tail Paid Diversification

After the big four ad platforms, buy the dozens of small ones nobody bothers to set up.

Leadership4 steps

No Bystanders on Product Strategy

Get the CFO, the head of people and sales fingerprinted on product strategy before growth goes negative.

Payback-First Channel Measurement

Judge channels on closed-won revenue one year out, never on lead volume.

Question-First Cheap Channel Playbook

Find where your buyers ask their questions, answer them honestly, and let the answer sell.

Skeleton Before the Makeup

Sequence early growth investment from site fundamentals up to awareness — never the reverse.

Stamina as the Kill Signal

Projects die of exhausted stamina long before they die of exhausted money — so watch the team, not the runway.

Self-Mastery5 steps

Stretch With an Anchor

Take the role that will hurt you into growth — but only if one or two things in it are already in your wheelhouse.

Self-Mastery5 steps

The Anxiety Balance Sheet

Convert free-floating anxiety into a four-column ledger of known/unknown and controllable/uncontrollable.

The Four Tests of a Compelling Product Vision

A vision must be lofty, realistic, free of today's constraints, and anchored to a potent problem.

The Future Headline

Write the tech-press headline your launch would earn, mocked into the real publication's page.

The Human Behind the Role

Optimise for being loved, not liked — earn the right to give raw feedback by proving you care first.

The 'Is The Search Over?' Content Standard

Judge every article by one question: after reading it, does the reader go back to Google?

The Marketplace Priority Stack

Pre-commit an explicit ranking of who you serve first, so thorny trade-offs resolve themselves.

Innovation5 steps

The Marquee Mock Exercise

Hand everyone blank App Store screenshot panels and make them draw the world where the problems are solved.

The Modern Elder Playbook (Thriving in Tech as You Age)

Pair a mentor's wisdom with an intern's curiosity, lead with energy, and trade wisdom for tech in mutual mentorships.

The Negative-Growth Rehearsal

Growth masks all problems — so ask what you'd do if growth went negative, before it does.

The Once Upon a Time Vision Story

A five-blank Mad Libs template that turns a product vision into a story anyone can retell.

The Peak Hierarchy of Needs (Three Pyramids)

Apply Maslow to employees, customers, and investors to find the differentiating layer above the transactional base.

Influence5 steps

The Three Concentric Circles of Evangelism

Socialise a vision outward: core team, then stakeholders, then leadership as high as you can reach.

The Traffic Light Keyword System

Rank every keyword by buying intent, not volume — then work greens down before touching yellows.

The Trusted-Advisor Partner Test

Shared audience is not enough — partner only where your buyer already goes for this specific advice.

Top 10 Things You Should Know

A living, stack-ranked problem doc every PM owns — and every stakeholder must fill in too.