🌱 5 new insights for product builders (#75)
Bottleneck thinking; The cost of apathy; Ryan Reynold's marketing trick; Life advice from Sam Altman; and 3 mistakes that almost cost the promotion
Jaryd here! 👋 You’re reading 5-Bit Fridays—your weekly ~5-minute roundup of 5 actionable insights that can help you build and grow your product.
Today’s letter is brought to you by June, the best analytics product for B2B SaaS companies. Waste no time instrumenting analytics—get instant reports with one snippet.
Friends, sorry for the late email today—I was recording a pod episode with a friend you may well recognize!
I’ll keep you posted when it goes live. It’s a gem.
Since it’s late, let’s just get right to it.
5 big ideas; 5 calls to action.
(#1) Bottleneck thinking
“The people who move the fastest aren’t doing more work, they are continuing to apply the right efforts to the right bottlenecks faster than anyone else.” — Dickie Bush
🫰 Why it matters: We like to procrastinate the problems we need to solve, and often delay the more ambiguous and complex ones for quick and gratifying wins. But, there’s usually one thing that should really matter at any given point—one thing that when solved could unlock the most value.
🔑 Bottom Line: Business bottlenecks are everywhere and endless. But if you’re not working on the most important thing, the rest doesn’t really matter.
🥇 Applying it: You and your team’s momentum is all about leverage, and max leverage comes from you pulling your biggest lever within your biggest (and usually most upstream) bottleneck. So, ask yourself, what right now is your biggest bottleneck, and what one lever should you go pull?
Go deeper—read the full post by Ivan Landabaso
(#2) The cost of apathy (and the problem with modern life)
“ The reality of corporate America is that if you follow the rules, do what you’re supposed to do, and maintain pleasant relationships with your coworkers, inertia takes over, and you can make a living wage while coasting through your career by answering a few emails, updating a few spreadsheets, and making the occasional presentation. But this ability to coast is dangerous.” —
🫰 Why it matters: Life is too short not to be intentional with your time. Do you want to spend your life not really doing a whole lot of anything, or doing a whole lot of the wrong thing?
🔑 Bottom Line: Jack says it perfectly—People are often “Either too disinterested to pursue what they want out of life, or too vain to realize they are pursuing short-lived things.”
🥇 Applying it: Passive routine is a trap; just getting up to do your stuff. To do your job. It makes it too easy to just coast by on autopilot. So, ask yourself if you like playing the game you’re playing. Because if not, the opportunity cost is your life.
Go deeper—read the full post by Jack Raines
(#3) Ryan Reynold’s marketing trick — ⚡ Rapid Advertising ⚡
🫰 Why it matters: If you didn’t watch the video, Ryan uses a technique for all his brands called Rapid Advertising. When something happens in the world, he activates his team to capture that chatter and buzz, and within a day or two, launch some zeitgeist campaign in response.
🔑 Bottom Line: The best marketing is relevant and timely. When moments in the world happen, don’t let them slip. Use them as an opportunity to link your brand to the conversation.
🥇 Applying it: Always be watching, reading, and listening to what’s going on. When pop culture events happen, even if they have nothing to do with your brand or product, ask yourself…how can you capitalize on that as a marketing angle?
Go deeper—read the full post by Rahi Shah
(*) Simplicity is what makes June so effective and powerful…
“You don't need to spend hours configuring it or be an analytics expert to get value out of it” — Perrine, Co-founder at Reveal
🫰 Why it matters: Most companies overpay for, and underuse, their product analytics platforms; easily spending tens of thousands a year on analytics for products that are often geared toward more technical users.
🔑 Bottom Line: June gives non-technical users simple (yet powerful) product analytics that requires no setup. With a single snippet install, you’re all set! In just 15 minutes, you’ll have beautiful reports to start discussing.
🥇 Applying it: If you’re a B2B founder or PM, just test adding the JS snippet. At no cost, you’ll see what June reveals to you about your customers.
As a HTG reader, grab 25% off your first year! Try June, and join the ranks of some of the snazziest new B2B companies.
(#4) The 3 big mistakes that almost cost me a promotion
“The job at the next level that I wanted was different from the job I currently had. I had to demonstrate organizational impact across several teams. I couldn’t get promoted by impacting and influencing only the team I was currently on. Putting my energy into being an even better senior engineer wasn’t getting me closer to becoming a principal engineer.” —
(ex-Principal Engineer at Amazon)
🫰 Why it matters: If we’re playing someone else’s game, then we win by climbing the ladder and leveling up. Yet as we play, this is a common oversight. Crushing it in your current role isn’t enough for promotion.
🔑 Bottom Line: What got you here won’t get you there.
🥇 Applying it: Go look at your company’s leveling criteria, learn what’s expected at each role, and then carve out a plan with your manager to demonstrate those responsibilities/behaviors. And as a manager, make sure you’re helping your team grow by doing the inverse here.
(#5) Life advice from Sam Altman
4 bits of bonus content for the curious….🧑🎓
(1/4) Featured tools I’m currently using to grow 🛠️
I use Sidebar as a leadership program to accelerate my growth as a product leader. An excellent community for founders and senior leaders. (Learn more)
I use Circeback as my new AI notetaking meeting buddy. I’ve never seen actionable summaries so good—neither has my team. 10/10. (Learn more)
I use Perplexity for everything. It’s my new Google search, my go-to AI tool, and my #1 research companion. A true game-changer for me. (Learn more)
(2/4) How I can help you grow 🤝
Are you a founder looking to grow your business without breaking the bank? If so, I’ve invested in a company (Athyna) that can help you find incredible talent and build out your global team in less than 5 days. Their product, service, and worldwide talent pool are just amazing (and so affordable). Learn more here ↗
(3/4) Other interesting things I came across 🕳️🐇
(4/4) Latest posts from the newsletter ✨
If you’re new, not yet a subscriber, or just plain missed it…
8 lessons from my first startup investment: Breakdowns on negative CAC, strategies of constants, creator squads, a brilliant cold email tactic, and more
The simplest (and best) way to know if a problem is real: The new MVP (Meme Viable Problem), and a 3-step playbook to using it
100 books to help you Grow: The Power of the Paperback, a Database of the Top 100, and a Personal Curation
And that’s everything for this week’s edition. If you enjoyed reading today’s letter, feel free to forward it to someone! Or if you’d like to both (1) support my work, and (2) unlock premium essays like these, consider upgrading to paid.
Otherwise, have a fantastic weekend, and I’ll see you next time. ✌️
—Jaryd
Great collection today!