Drippie on Product Management

AI’s inversion of control: New agent runtimes are shifting AI from a passive assistant role to an active decision-making layer, where "planning mode" acts as a subtle steering mechanism that can sometimes outperform human reasoning. 1 2
Managing leadership cadence: Effective alignment requires moving beyond simple persuasion to identifying the specific failure modes stakeholders want to avoid, while simultaneously adapting meeting rituals across short, medium, and long-term time horizons. 3 4
The neurological rebellion: User backlash against redesigns is often driven by broken "automaticity"—the brain’s ability to function on autopilot—necessitating a return to intuitive design that values deep expertise over automated process. 5 6
Respecting user intent: In complex sectors like travel, advanced recommender systems often introduce noise by over-personalizing too early; more effective models leave room for intent to emerge naturally. 7
The strategic power of choice: True product strategy is an integrated set of choices that compels customer action, a principle that remains vital when navigating the high psychological barrier of moving users from free products to paid conversions. 8 9
The battle for sustainable growth: As attention spans dwindle, forcing a shift toward relentless lifecycle operations, early-stage companies must balance visible team impact with the high-stakes prioritization of strategic non-technical hires. 10 11 12

In early 2026, the competitive edge is no longer just adding AI, but managing the human response to it. Whether navigating the "automaticity" of user habits, unblocking senior stakeholder fears, or choosing the right pricing levers, the most successful products are those that minimize cognitive load and maximize strategic choice rather than just feature volume.

Quick hits

Health tech's "vibe coding": Many modern health innovations are simply ancient practices like fasting translated into contemporary, data-driven permission structures. 13
Lean AI training: The release of FLUX.2 klein allows teams to fine-tune custom styles on a lightweight base model, making high-quality generative workflows more accessible. 14
Competitive intelligence: Microsoft engineers are reportedly using Anthropic’s Claude Code, highlighting the intense benchmarking occurring among big tech's AI developer tools. 15