An OpenAI leader shared an internal note describing a personal six-step method for tackling product problems: understand available information, gather missing information, define the problem, define a simple approach, set a goal, and act with urgency. The author stresses that new information often forces revisiting earlier steps, calling this iterative churn a healthy and necessary part of solving complex problems.
borischerny.com
· 2026-09-20
An Entrepreneur contributor describes a COO who resolved a six-week product launch delay caused by slow procurement approval on packaging spec changes by setting a spending cap for same-day approval of urgent vendor fees. The next launch hit its date, proving the fix worked for that specific request, but the piece argues this success can mask a deeper, recurring tension between speed and financial oversight that will resurface elsewhere.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-09-15
A senior engineer describes how he identifies which problems are worth working on as a staff engineer, in response to a mentee preparing for promotion. Rather than scheduling dedicated 'strategic thinking' time, he says he absorbs complaints and pain points from everyday conversations, meetings and chats, letting patterns emerge over time until a clear opportunity surfaces.
lalitm.com
· 2026-08-23
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