I’ve been wanting to experiment with this format for a while—just to talk with you a little more casually, and maybe go a bit deeper into some of the ideas we explore on the page. So whether you’re walking, driving, commuting, or just winding down—I’m glad you’re here.
Let’s get into it.
You’ve probably heard this before—
“We don’t need more project thinking… we need more product thinking.”
And to be honest, it always makes me pause.
Because I get it. Product thinking has become the darling of modern work. It’s iterative. It’s user-centered. It’s about long-term value.
But here’s the thing: I think we’ve set up a false binary.
The idea that you’re either a “project thinker”—focused on deadlines and budgets—or a “product thinker”—focused on users and outcomes…
It’s just not that simple. Especially when you’re operating at scale.
Let me give you an example.
Imagine your agency is building a new public-facing portal—let’s say for permits.
You need project thinking. There are compliance dates, limited funding, a change management rollout, stakeholder sign-off.
But… you also need product thinking. You need to care whether people can actually use it. Whether it solves a problem. Whether it evolves with real needs.
If you only do project thinking, you might launch a sleek Gantt chart version of something nobody adopts.
If you only do product thinking, you might burn time and goodwill endlessly iterating without delivering.
So what do we actually need?
We need a blend.
We need strategic thinkers who can hold structure and purpose at the same time.
Not either/or—both/and.
That’s how I see it, anyway. And it’s something I’ll keep coming back to in future episodes.
Thanks for being here. If you liked it, let me know-
Until next time—
Talk soon.
Nicole
