My Daily Emails

When I help product teams to eliminate friction, I expect to get some pushback. They may point to luxury brands, premium products, and companies that thrive despite — or because

Ever watch someone struggle with a new product interface because they’re stuck in old patterns? That’s the Einstellung Effect at work. You might recall that I referenced it a few

Starbucks doesn’t make the world’s best latte.  Jack Daniel’s isn’t the world’s finest whiskey. And McDonald’s? Let’s not even pretend about those burgers. Yet these brands absolutely DOMINATE their categories. Because perfect isn’t

Many B2B product companies I work with use battle cards. Basically, cheat sheets that outline competitive intelligence, pricing strategies, and objection handling. Consumer brands rarely create them. They should. Of

Ever walked through a department store (or a Sephora) and felt bombarded by celebrity-endorsed products? It’s a popular marketing strategy, and Thursday’s launch of Billie Eilish’s “Your Turn” fragrance is

Cheetos just went and launched a marketing campaign that 99% of its customers won’t fully understand. And THAT’S pretty much the point. They challenged professional font designers to create a typeface

I’ve never been a fan of “impossible” packaging. The ones that require scissors, a knife, and essentially minor surgery to open? (Or possibly stitches for me because of a slipped

SharkNinja makes the kind of products you probably have in your home right now. A robot vacuum cleaner. An air fryer. Maybe that amazing blender you got for Christmas. You might

You’ve seen them everywhere lately. Brown italic fonts. Shaky camera work. “Authentic” lookin’ steamy mess. Max cringe. The “ugly ad” trend started a while back and is still rampant. Meta

Ever think about Del Monte? You know — as in those cans of bland and squishy peaches your grandma used to serve? It’s okay. Me neither, until I came across a