John Cutler
@johncutle.fish
5.5K followers 150 following 240 posts
I like the beautiful mess of product development.| newsletter: https://cutlefish.substack.com
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johncutle.fish
Many systems and complexity-informed thinkers become bogged down in selling complexity, uncertainty, systems thinking, and the like. Meanwhile, most people in an organization are looking for a solution and path forward, not a lecture about “the system”.

cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-380-bu...
TBM 380: “But We Have To Try Something!”
You’ve likely heard the saying “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing, and expecting different results.” Humans have an intuitive sense of what scientists call attractor states, the conce...
cutlefish.substack.com
johncutle.fish
I thought the reply was a joke.... but I don't think it was.
johncutle.fish
Thanks for coming!
johncutle.fish
Thank you! Would be great to catch up
johncutle.fish
"And the truth is, it's always about a buzzword. Whatever buzzword catches on becomes the obsession, and that's all people talk about for a couple of years until the next buzzword takes over and the cycle starts again."

cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-376-wh...
TBM 376: Why Are We Organized Like This?
This post is about understanding why your company is organized and designed the way it is.
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johncutle.fish
My mom, a DC resident, is terrified. Childhood memories of growing up during the German occupation of Greece are hard memories to shake.
johncutle.fish
So many roles are left out ... but you could certainly add them, and it might trigger a helpful discussion.
johncutle.fish
Mandate Levels

Day 9/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
WIP it Real Good

Day 8/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
Should vs. Can

Day 7/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
Just...

Day 6/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
Do This. Not This. Or ...

Day 5/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
Might be enough to dip into a good narrative, and then retreat back to the reality of the mess with people on your side. Maybe.
johncutle.fish
The area between oversimplification and inaction

Day 4/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
I'll try to remember if I wrote something else. I vaguely remember a deeper dive.
johncutle.fish
Journey to Product Teams

Day 3/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
It is easy to nod along with the idea of less premature convergence, but in practice it often gets mistaken for waffling or an inability to be bold. The real skill is knowing when a decision truly needs to be made and when it should wait.

cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-273-wh...
TBM 273: What To Do More (And Less) Of
It might sound like a leader saying, “We can work out the details later. For now it helps to keep options open. We know the big goal, and we are committed to it. The exact path can come later.” That a...
cutlefish.substack.com
johncutle.fish
The Way of Ways

Day 2/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
Trust

Day 1/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings.
johncutle.fish
For the scale-up, the highest leverage thing you can do is to figure out a model for linking these new product-forward ways of working to your current business challenge, and essentially a new “model” for investment.

cutlefish.substack.com/p/two-pom-tr...
Two POM Transformation Flavors
I see two broad categories of company attempting to “transform” to a product operating model:
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