There’s Never Been A Better Time

“There’s never been a worse time” … beep beep … this is how one of my favorite recent ads begins. The London agency “Mother” created the ad, layering in a compelling narrative coupled with the 2004 Madlib / MF Doom track “All Caps” which is itself a work of exceptional sampling.

But I’m not really here to talk about the ad. It’s a great ad. It’s the message of the ad that stood out to me.

There’s never been a better time to have a problem.

For those in the product management field – or more broadly, in the problem solving fields – we are entering into a golden era of insight, access, tooling, and tactics at our finger tips to solve problems across a wide range of spaces and disciplines.

And I’m not just referring to the current boom in AI tooling. For example, it’s never been easier to…

• Build a physical device prototype (with 3d printing, Arduino, raspberry pi)
• Start a business (with ample tools and guides online, as well as AI insights into best practices)
• Learn a new skill (YouTube, and an ocean of content and learning tools available)
• Discover and discuss new problems that need solved (with a wide range of communities and sub-communities available from which to pull insightful discovery)

One thing that is striking as you look across the history of innovation is the role that “linkages” have played in these advancements. Many of the most exciting breakthroughs have emerged when a new connection is found between two things that may have seemed unrelated.

Here are a few thought processes or ideas I’m visiting (or re-visiting) right now to aid in further linking my thinking.

1. Use a Spark Note

A spark note (and there are many permutations of this idea) is basically an easy-access note for capturing thoughts, ideas… sparks, you might say, that occur in the scope of your everyday work. The idea first came to me from Steven Johnson over ten years ago, and it’s helped me consistently in simply capturing ideas in the smallest form as they emerge.

The key action with a spark note file is to revisit it periodically. It’s in the revisiting that interesting connections start to reveal themselves.

2. Read, then Write

For myself, as I’ve built significantly more AI tooling into my thought process and work, I’ve observed a major increase in how much I am reading. But, there is risk in only consuming material and never actually applying it, or even understanding it. This can become a costly time suck.

So, I’ve started in to a new practice: If I’m reading something for the purpose of growth or ideation I attempt to very immediately re-write what I just read, in my own voice and with my own perspective added in to it. I may not be in the “moment” where I’m ready to apply what I’ve read, but the act of re-writing it in my own voice gets me one step closer to internalizing the ideas that are most likely to resonate with me, right now.

3. Be Selective

At a time when it’s become incredibly easy to discover ideas, consume material, experiment, and open up creative pathways it’s also more critical than ever to be selective and intentional with our time. Could I vibe code my own Calendly alternative in an afternoon? Possibly (badly). Would that be a great priority to focus on? Probably not.

One tactic I’m exploring here is simply to articulate a few core “problems” I find interesting and that are worth my time right now. Then, with each new idea or opportunity that emerges on my horizon I ask whether digging in and exploring this idea will support any of my core “problems”. If the answer is no, into the spark file it goes for later. Now may not be the time.