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Maya Angelou once said, People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. I ve been thinking about this quote for years. It s a simple idea, but it s true. In our work, we spend a lot of time trying to say the right [ ] The post People only remember how you made them feel appeared first on Ali Sarraf .
One of the things that surprised me most during my time at Google was how long simple things can take. Not the big ambitious projects. Those were expected to be hard. I mean the small things. Updating a feature. Changing a default. Getting two teams to agree on a shared approach. Things that should have [ ] The post How simple things can take a long time in big organisations appeared first on Ali…
I spent 20 minutes trying to log into an app last week. Good reviews. Slick demo video. The kind of product that makes you think why didn t someone build this sooner. I couldn t get past the login screen. When I filed a bug report, the response came back: yes, sign in is broken, we re working [ ] The post Get the simple product things right appeared first on Ali Sarraf .
Users are like elephants. They don t forgive and they don t forget. That moment when a user pauses and wonders whether your product is actually safe is the moment you spend years trying to prevent. Because once the question enters their head, you ve already lost something you can’t fully get back… Trust. I spent a long [ ] The post Users don’t think about trust until something breaks appeared…
Success in product management is sometimes just getting out of the way. We celebrate products people love. But for a certain kind of product, forgettable is the highest bar you can hit. Not everything works this way. A great design tool should spark joy. A great game should be memorable. But some products exist purely [ ] The post We rarely celebrate products people forget appeared first on Ali…
I sat next to someone recently and watched them use their laptop for a few minutes. It was painful. Not because they weren t smart — but because every small action took far longer than it needed to. Two basic changes that will make you faster today: 1. Turn your trackpad speed to maximum. Go to [ ] The post Small efficiency hacks on your laptop appeared first on Ali Sarraf .
Back in 2013, as a software engineer studying computer science, people frequently approached me with their app ideas. They d say. I’m looking for a technical co-founder. I’ll handle the business side. Some even regrettably confided in me that they d thought of Uber first and should ve been billionaires. In those days, technical ability was seen as [ ] The post I ll handle the business side…
You should write more. Not because I’m telling you to, but because it s the most powerful thinking tool. When you write something down, you discover what you really know — and what you don’t. Writing helps you think more clearly by forcing your thoughts in order. It’s like holding up a mirror to your mind; [ ] The post Writing is the most powerful thinking tool appeared first on Ali Sarraf .
Back in 2014, I was obsessed with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. After several years of training, competing and leading the UCL Brazilian jiu-jitsu society, one of my jobs was to find coaches for our classes. It was through this role that I met Miles — a brilliant athlete, dependable, an amazing guy and always had a beaming [ ] The post The Conversation I Wish I Had: A Story About Mental Health and…
Product Manager (PM) roles need PM experience, but to get PM experience, you need a PM job. Sounds like a catch-22, right? Because of this, people often struggle with landing their first PM role. You don’t need to have PM in your job title to have PM experience. Let’s figure out how to solve this [ ] The post 5 ways to become a product manager without having PM experience appeared first on Ali…