Topics Covered:

• Why “go find the source” is a crucial product mindset


• The danger of relying on second- or third-hand takes


• Real examples: OKRs, Jobs to Be Done, North Star Metric, Opportunity Solution Trees


• How to identify reputable sources—and red flags to watch for


• Tips for curating your own learning journey (books, blogs, podcasts)


• How social media can distort ideas (even when people have good intentions)

Key Takeaways:

• Primary > Secondary: Always seek out original thinkers or practitioners, not just content repackagers.


• Go deeper than LinkedIn tiles: Good frameworks get diluted when simplified for social media. Go back to the original articles, books, or talks.


• Read with range: Challenge yourself to find three different sources—especially with diverse backgrounds or perspectives.


• Don’t trust content without citations: Like in academia, a lack of references is a red flag.


• Practitioner voices matter: Look for people sharing what they’re actually doing, not just what “should” be done.

Resources & Links:

• Follow Teresa Torres: https://ProductTalk.org


• Follow Petra Wille: https://Petra-Wille.com

Mentioned in the episode:

• Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke


• Jobs to Be Done Theory by Clayton Christensen


• Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice by Anthony W. Ulwick


• The Jobs-to-be-Done Handbook: Practical techniques for improving your application of Jobs-to-be-Done by Bob Moesta and Chris Spiek


• STRONG product people: A Complete Guide to Developing Great Product Managers by Petra Wille


• Objectives and key results (OKR, alternatively OKRs) by Andrew Grove who introduced the approach to Intel. It was then popularized by Google and John Doerr’s book, Measure What Matters


• Amplitude’s North Star Playbook


• Opportunity Solution Trees: Visualize Your Discovery to Stay Aligned and Drive Outcomes by Teresa Torres


• A Crucial Turning Point: OKRs in Conversation with Rick Klau


• How Google sets goals: OKRs / Startup Lab Workshop by GV (Google Ventures)

Some of Teresa and Petra’s favorite original sources:

• John Cutler’s The Beautiful Mess


• Christina Wodtke


• Scandinavian Product Podcast by Afonso Franco


• From Endless Growth to Equitable Prosperity by Ronnie Varghese


• Shane Parrish’s Farnam Street


• Francesca Cortesi (formerly at Hemnet


• Product at Heart Video Archive


• Mind the Product Blog


• The Intercom Blog


• Figma Blog


• Amplitude Blog


• Beauty Shot Newsletter by Tim Leberecht & House of Beautiful