#10 Working like the "best" product orgs | John Cutler, The Beautiful Mess

My guest today is one of my favorite product thinkers: John CutlerJohn is an absolute legend in the product community, and one thing I love about John is his dedication to sharing the messiness and contextual nuances in the world of building products.John has worked in Product with some of the most exciting tech companies around the globe and is the author of one of the most-read Product newsletters in the world: The Beautiful Mess.Everyone wants to work like the "best" product organizations. But what does "best" even mean? The "best" according to what, precisely? And how important is it to contextualize this advice? What role does culture play in subscribing to these principles, and implementing them?As I expected, John went deep on some of these things:* What does it mean to work in the "best" organizations* The nuances of categorizing an organization as the "best" and the importance of context* Reflections on implementing the principles of the product operating model and how messy it can get given different contexts* The importance of start starting, and being good at continuous improvement* Some patterns and antipatterns of high-performing teams and organizations* Foundational steps and reflections on prioritization* Approaching setting Strategy from scratch This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com