Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a psychological tool proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”. In short, it shows how people focus their energies in a cascading series of needs. The idea is that you can’t really focus on self-esteem when you are dying…
Note: I was one of the first 100 users of Figma and use it daily for work. It’s a terrific tools and has inspired me for many years. Adobe is a fascinating company. Almost all of their products have been acquired over the years. They are one of the last…
When my kids were little, we would all watch Naruto as a family. Recently, they have all moved out and are successfully adulting. (A verb I made up) Maybe out of nostalgia or empty nest coping, I have been binge watching the original Naruto. It is an exceptional show with…
As a new employee, I am meeting lots of new people. I have never been an avid note taker, but with a large group of new information and new people, I am finding it crucial remember names and what was said in meetings. It has me thinking of all the…
Recently, An old colleague from Marketo reached out to me about a role leading product design at his cybersecurity firm, SentinelOne. The more people I met, the more interesting the position became. It’s a fascinating field and team seemed smart, energetic, and experienced. I accepted the position and today is…
I used to use Trillian, a long time ago. It consolidated all of my different communication channels. Unfortunately, Trillian stopped keeping up with the different protocols. At this point, it is out of hand. I am using the following to talk with friends, colleagues, mentees, and other folks: Telegram WhatsApp…
QUESTIONWhat is the role of the product design department? I have always felt that the product design department should bring creativity, empathy, cognitive science, and problem solving to every possible facet of a company. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case. Design is often relegated to “make it look pretty”…
I’ve been using WordPress 6.0 with Twenty Twenty Two theme for a little while now. I had a particular vision of how I wanted my homepage to look and work. This is a breakdown of how I achieved the effect along with thoughts on the new Full Site Editing in…
My dog Leroy recently turns 10 years old. He is a black Labrador retriever. Like many dogs of his breed, he loves to run after tennis balls and frisbees. When he was a puppy, he ran so fast, I thought he must have a racing dog in his ancestry. He…
I just signed up for the family subscription of 1Password. This is a password management tool. We have not used something this before, but I am impressed so far. The cost for the family is $5 a month. Benefits Just to jump to the end of why you may want…
I watched the first episode of The Rehearsal last night on HBO. It was a unique experience and was brilliantly composed. (imho) The premise is that Nathan Fielder chooses a person to help them through a crisis by rehearsing the situation in a studio almost like it was a show.…
I was thinking back over the last three decades in terms of product design and product management. There are certain people who made a significant impact on me. I thought it might be useful to list them down in a chronological order. Joel Spolsky The year was 1991 and Microsoft…
“Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress… US Constitution: Article II, Clause 2 Why does this matter? There is no such…
Rule #1: Understand The Details This is the most paramount thing. I only have one rule. You must understand the details at least as well as the engineers or product managers. How can the organization possibly trust designers if they don’t know the details. Never put a button on a…