Four great reads for 5/22/2025
Execution, delivery, and the importance of understanding your "real" job (and nothing about AI!).
What Product Leaders Get Wrong (Melissa Perri, Supra Insider podcast)
If you’ve ever stepped into a Head of Product role and wondered, “What exactly is my job?” this interview is a masterclass. Melissa Perri outlines the real work: bridging the gap between strategy and execution, partnering with the CEO to define (and sometimes clarify) company direction, and aligning teams on what matters most. She dissects why so many product leaders fail—not due to lack of vision, but because they haven’t diagnosed their context or calibrated expectations. It’s packed with advice on growing into CPO roles, supporting founder-led orgs, and building trust without giving up your own judgment. (link)
Unlocking High Software Engineering Pace: Strictly Limit Work in Progress (Jim Grey)
Want to speed up your dev team? Stop starting so much work. This sharp post explains how WIP (work in progress) limits are the secret to higher quality, faster throughput, and lower delivery risk. Jim walks through common anti-patterns, like spreading a team of five across five parallel streams, and shows how swarming sequentially leads to faster delivery and fewer defects. A quick, tactical read with powerful implications for any team struggling with predictability. (link)
Delivery Is the Catalyst (Adam Thackeray)
In fintech, you're not just shipping software, you’re shipping trust. Adam nails why delivery isn’t just execution; it’s the beating heart of scale. From the social pitfalls of misalignment to the compounding returns of operational excellence, this piece reframes delivery as the thing that unlocks everything else: innovation, confidence, momentum. Tons of strong lines here (“It’s not the product. It’s the catalyst.”) and a must-read for product leaders in high-stakes domains. (link)
Four Things Queueing Theory Can Teach Us About Software Development (Jeff Foster)
Think queueing theory is academic? Jeff shows it’s everywhere in software development. From WIP limits and Little’s Law to why batching work kills flow, this is a practical crash course in how invisible bottlenecks are killing your velocity. The simulations make abstract ideas feel grounded, and the four final takeaways are gold. A surprisingly fun, illuminating read. (link)