The concept of fan service, which originated in anime and is now common across media, has pervaded the world of product creation as well. We discuss what it is & why it’s vital to serve your customers without pandering to them. FOLLOW-UPS – 01:11 Progressive Complexity (aka Progressive Disclosure) THE PERILS OF FAN SERVICE – 03:50 Star Wars: Fired …

When it comes to products and product innovation, in our new era of higher-for-longer interest rates, enough *is* enough. FOLLOW-UPS – 01:23 iOS spacebar meme Windup Watch Fair San Francisco Steven Pinker is wrong about violence and war ERA OF EASY MONEY IS OVER – 12:02 The Era of Easy Money Is Over. That’s a Good Thing. The Price of Time CASE STUD…

Daniel Kahneman, credited as a grandfather of behavioral economics, passed away in March, and we devote this episode to an unfiltered discussion of his legacy through a product lens. KAHNEMAN’S LEGACY: THE BULL CASE – 01:55 NY Times obituary of Daniel Kahneman KAHNEMAN’S LEGACY: THE BEAR CASE – 03:40 The “Nudge” of the Obama Era Was Always Neoliber…

A decade ago, design thinking was all the rage across the corporate world. But, today, it's widely derided as a failed experiment. Is there still a place for design thinking or is it an idea whose time has passed? FOLLOW-UPS – 01:56 Time to Learn Hublot at Watches & Wonders 2024 Cartier Santos-Dumont Rewind JLC at Watches & Wonders 2024 Should Prod…

Apologies for our delay this week! In this episode, with the Watches & Wonders show around the corner, we talk watches & the broader lessons we can draw from a product category rooted entirely in emotion. WRIST CHECK – 02:16 IWC Pilot’s Watch Chrono Top Gun Ming 37.07 Halios Raven In-House vs. Off-the-Shelf Movements Idris Elba Wears a $500 Watch J…

This week, we tackle a thorny topic: Should products be political? And to be clear, we don't mean brand messaging. Instead, our focus is products, and whether makers should intentionally imbue their products with their politics. FOLLOW-UPS – 01:15 Eno—a groundbreaking generative film by Gary Hustwit Apple Vision Pros & Cons Hugo Barra on Apple Visi…

Musician Brian Eno defined a scenius as “the intelligence of a whole operation or group of people,” in contrast to the classic archetype of the lone genius. We debate scenius vs. genius in the context of product—is one more conducive to innovation than the other? FOLLOW-UPS – 01:42 The Mentats in Dune McDonald's ordering system suffers McFlurry of …

This week, we talk restomods. It’s a concept born of the automotive world—extending the life of a classic car by modernizing it—but we discuss the potential to apply this idea to categories beyond cars. With sustainability now a must-have in product creation, we believe the restomod concept is ripe for mainstream adoption. FOLLOW-UPS – 01:24 Behind…

This week, we discuss the tension between integrated in-car UX platforms vs Apple’s CarPlay & Android Auto. When, if ever, does it make sense to give up control of your product experience? FOLLOW-UPS – 02:21 Tesler’s Law, aka Conservation of Complexity Theodore Leavitt on Marketing Myopia @geoffbaron: The difference between PMs & developers @tr3v: …

This week, we dive into Ernest's career as a product manager/product marketer and discuss what a product manager does, how to sift meaningful insights from the noise, how to enter the field & much more. FOLLOW-UPS – 02:25 Surprised by the Hot Hand Fallacy? Imagined Consumption Reduces Actual Consumption I placed too much faith in underpowered studi…

This week, we dive into Joachim's career as an applied microeconomist. What does an applied microeconomist do, how is it relevant to product innovation, how do you enter the field, and much more! FOLLOW-UPS – 01:43 Margaret Heffernan: A Bigger Prize Ed Catmull on The Hungry Beast and the Ugly Baby WTF IS AN APPLIED MICROECONOMIST? – 08:44 David Hum…

In this episode, we challenge tech industry dogma around A/B testing & Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), and propose alternatives better suited to today’s post-low interest rate economy. FOLLOW-UPS – 01:41 Apple Vision Pros & Cons How to book a Vision Pro demo at an Apple Store Apple Vision Pro has finally made virtual reality worth it First insights…

We dig into the perils of crossing over from niche to mainstream. How can a brand built on a niche product or service successfully expand its appeal? Should this even be an aspiration? FOLLOW-UPS – 01:24 “Low-Resource” Text Classification 78% MNIST accuracy using GZIP in under 10 lines of code MNIST by zip Clustering by compression Kolmogorov compl…

Ernest & Joachim dive into the dilemma faced when a promising business opportunity conflicts with your own or your company's values. The duo offer perspectives on how to navigate this conflict, including tools you can apply to your day-to-day work making products. FOLLOW-UPS – 01:15 History of Jobs-to-Be-Done WHEN VALUES & OPPORTUNITY COLLIDE – 02:…

Ernest & Joachim share a deep-dive on the jobs to be done approach to customer-centric product & service innovation. They explain what it is & why it matters, share real world examples of jobs-to-be-done in action, and highlight situations where it might not apply. FOLLOW-UPS – 01:11 Apple Vision Pros & Cons Disconnect Blog & Newsletter Tech Won't …

Ernest & Joachim debate Apple Vision Pro: Does it represent “the beginning of a new era for computing,” or will it offer more proof that VR is an answer to a question no one’s asking? E & J then highlight lessons that can be applied to anyone in the business of making products, irrespective of category. CONTEXT ON SPATIAL COMPUTING – 00:34 WWDC 202…

Get to know Ernest & Joachim, hear their hopes and dreams for Learn, Make, Learn, and get their first-ever weekly recommendations! INTRODUCTIONS Meet Joachim – 01:00 Meet Ernest – 10:21 PRODUCTS WITH A POINT OF VIEW – 18:51 OUR HOPES FOR LEARN, MAKE, LEARN – 23:53 WEEKLY RECOMMENDATIONS – 26:55 Joachim – Telehack Ernest – Lavinia Text of Ursula K L…