How I Write
When I started writing 11 years ago, I did so the same way most people do: by opening a blank document and typing my thoughts on the page. But each year since then I've subtly refined and evolved my process in an attempt to improve the quality of my writing and its impact. Now with 150+ essays published with over 1.5 million views, I wanted to share every detail of my writing process for fellow or aspiring writers who might benefit from it.
What I write about
In order to write about life first you must live it — Ernest Hemingway
When it comes to what I write about, I subscribe to Ernest Hemingway's perspective that our best writing comes from the experiences of our lives. It's no wonder then that 85% of my writing stems directly from my career as a product manager and entrepreneur. I have the most perspectives and insights to share in these domains because I live and struggle with them each and every workday. Writing itself brings clarity, so focusing on these topics has been a self-reinforcing loop, helping me generate even more perspectives on these subjects.
Having such focus has also enabled me to create a unique positioning within the minds of my readers. I'm known as that product guy, so it makes it easier for people to easily recommend me to others or seek me out when they are looking for product-specific content. I'm often given the feedback that many of my essays apply equally well in roles outside of product management and I certainly think that's true. But in a world of information abundance, keeping a tight focus helps me to narrow my target audience and thereby improve my chances of actually reaching them.
All that being said, I do have interests beyond product and entrepreneurship and I have taken the opportunity to dabble in those interests purely out of enjoyment. The remaining 15% of my essays cover everything from career optimization to life hacks to engineering.
One month ago, my wife and I introduced our baby girl, Zoe, to the world. In doing so, I decided to take on a brand new writing project, entitled LettersToZoe.com, where I share all the life lessons I hope to pass on to Zoe on living a happy and meaningful life.
Types of essays
Each essay I write falls into one of these six types. I'll explain each type and share a few exemplary essays.
Personal perspectives
The bulk of my writing stems from me sharing a personal perspective or opinion I have on a specific topic. I wouldn't necessarily call them unique perspectives because I'm certainly not the only one with a particular point of view, but at the same time, they rarely fall into broadly accepted conventional wisdom.
The Art of Being Compelling as a Product Manager
The Hierarchy of User Friction
Fundamentals
I also write about the fundamentals of a given topic. My goal with these is to both introduce a beginner to a topic as well as to provide structure to folks who may already be familiar with it.
How to Prioritize a Product Roadmap
Modern Project Management for Product Managers
Deep dives
I also love doing deep dives on topics that I've become intimately familiar with. This usually happens because I'm actively working on a project at work that has resulted in me spending a lot of time on a given topic, making it great fodder for an essay.
A Leader's Guide to Implementing OKRs
A Practitioner's Guide to Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Book reviews
I love reading and sharing my biggest takeaways from my favorite books. With these, I try to bring a personal perspective to the book review as opposed to simply summarizing it. I might share why the book is particularly relevant for product managers or entrepreneurs, for example.
Atomic Habits for Product Managers
What Silicon Valley Can Learn From Bill Walsh's The Score Takes Care of Itself
Curation
Some of my most successful essays are actually simply roundups of other people's incredible writing that I've been particularly fond of. In this world of information abundance, the curators who help find the signal in the noise create value.
Top 75+ Resources for Product Managers
Authentic stories
With LettersToZoe.com, I wanted to stretch beyond my conventional writing style and challenge myself to take on a new form of writing. My goal is to teach Zoe dozens of life's important lessons by sharing authentic, vulnerable stories about experiences in my own life. This is the hardest writing I've done to date, but I'm absolutely loving the new challenge.
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