We track Product so you don't have to. Top Podcasts summarised, the latest AI tools, plus research and news in a 5 min digest.

Hello, Product fans!

Here’s today’s tasty edition of Product Tapas! 🌮, where we're stirring up the pot with fresh insights and flavours in the world of product management!

This week, we're fine-tuning our newsletter recipe, giving each day a unique twist and focus. 🔄 

📋 What's on the Menu? 

📰 Today's Special: News First! We're kicking off the week with a robust serving of the latest and most impactful news in the product, startup and tech world. From the daily dose of AI updates to industry shake-ups, we've got the stories that are "not boring".

🛠️ GPT & Tool Time Teaser: Later this week, we'll dive deep into the toolbox, showcasing innovative GPT tools and time-saving resources. Today we've kept it light with 5 broader AI tools that you can use to help enhance productivity and streamline your processes.

📑 Product Bites: Midweek, we'll shift gears to bring you some bigger hitting, slightly longer summaries from the world of newsletters. Today we've pulled in 3 of our usual short, sweet yet rich bites to keep you updated on key insights and actionable takeaways from leading product thought leaders.

🎙️ Pod Bites: As we near the weekend, we'll turn up the volume on some of the most influential podcast discussions. But that means today this is off the menu to keep it short, sweet and on point.

So, let us know how you feel about the tweaks - and let's dive into today's main course! 🍽️👇

📰 Not boring

• MIT physicists turn pencil lead into "gold" 👀

• Tesla turns on 10k-node Nvidia H100 Cluster

• Track any price or number on any site - simply open the site in this app, highlight the price, and start tracking

• Tying up the week in OpenAI (ICYMI) - OpenAI Made an AI Breakthrough Before Altman Firing, Stoking Excitement and Concern 

  • If you like this - see below for our summary on a longer piece on OpenAI and grand strategy in tech

• Thanksgiving US online sales nudge up to $5.6B - steady start to the de facto start of the holiday shopping season

• Startups should consider hiring fractional AI officers 

• Amazon aims to provide free AI skills training to 2 million by 2025 with its new AI Ready Commitment

• YouTube's new AI is cranking out music using voices from popular singers

• Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s decision to not sell its cloud business wipes $20 Billion off its market value

• OpenAI explores how to get ChatGPT into classrooms

• Apple is about to make it easier for iOS users to text Android phones

• Gemini, Google’s GPT-4 competitor, has been delayed again

View more →

🤖 Time-Saving Tools & GPTs

No GPTs today - but 5 top tools you can use to help boost your productivity.

• Postnitro: Create carousels for social media in seconds.

• Embra: AI assistant for professionals. Connect your data, workflows, and team to save hours of work.

• Taplio: Use AI to get more reach, engagement and followers on LinkedIn.

• Submagic PRO: Generate video captions effortlessly using AI.

• Dear AI: Generate intimate, thoughtful, and beautiful letters instantly with AI.

🫦 Product Bites

🌟 OpenAI & Grand Strategy

Slightly different article to kick us off today. We cover an article that explores the transformative shift from historical warfare to modern technology leadership.

📖 Read the full article here.

🌟 What's the Buzz? The article highlights how today's tech leaders, like those at OpenAI and SpaceX, are akin to past strategic generals, using innovation and intellect to achieve goals once thought impossible.

🚀 What's the Big Deal? The key takeaway is the concept of "Grand Strategy" in the tech world. This approach, traditionally used in military contexts, is now applied to technology leadership. The article compares the strategies and impact of tech leaders to those of historical figures, emphasizing that their goals and achievements far surpass those of old-time generals. It positions technology not just as an industry, but as a powerful tool for global change, with tech leaders as the new-age visionaries.

Positive Progression: The article celebrates the shift from traditional warfare to the pursuit of technological advancements. It contrasts historical military achievements with modern technological feats, emphasizing the greater value and impact of the latter.

Tech as a Force for Good: Examples like OpenAI's development of AI, SpaceX's space exploration endeavours, and the creation of digital currencies illustrate how technology is used for progressive purposes, transcending old ambitions of power and conquest.

Strategic Leadership in Tech: The article compares tech leaders to historical figures like Augustus Caesar and Abraham Lincoln, suggesting that successful tech leaders today need to adopt grand strategies to align their aspirations with their capabilities.

Grand Strategy Defined: Grand strategy balances unlimited aspirations with limited capabilities, requiring alignment across various factors like time, space, and scale. The article uses this concept to analyze the approaches of various tech leaders.

Technology Over War: The shift from physical wars to 'wars' in the technology and business arenas is presented as a more civilized and constructive approach to achieving great aspirations.

The Role of Tech Leaders: Tech leaders are seen as modern-day strategists who must navigate complex challenges and opposition, much like historical generals and rulers, but with a focus on innovation and progress rather than conquest.

💡 Why Should You Care? Understanding the grand strategies behind tech giants like OpenAI offers insights into how today's top companies are shaping the future. This perspective is relevant not only for those in the tech industry but also for anyone interested in the evolution of global power dynamics and how innovation is driving monumental changes.

Will this inspire you as a leader to think strategically and ambitiously, encouraging a mindset shift from traditional paths of influence to groundbreaking technological endeavours?

 🧟 How Peloton Taught Me to Outrun Zombies

📖 Read the full article here.

🚴‍♀️ What's the Buzz? Diana Stepner's article "How Peloton Taught Me to Outrun Zombies" delves into the parallels between her Peloton workout regime and effective leadership strategies. Stepner draws a vivid comparison between her cycling routine and managing her professional life, using the metaphor of outrunning zombies to illustrate the importance of adaptability and resilience in leadership.

🤔 What's the Big Deal? Stepner's insights stem from her personal experiences with Peloton workouts. She observes that her preference for shorter, varied exercises over long sessions mirrors her professional approach of interspersing focused work with breaks. This strategy helps her maintain engagement and productivity, analogous to staying ahead in a zombie apocalypse (a stretch we admit!). She extends this analogy to leadership, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and understanding individual team member's strengths. By recognizing and leveraging each person's unique talents and motivations, leaders can foster a more energized and effective team.

Key Takeaways:

• Short, varied tasks can enhance focus and engagement.

• Leadership involves recognising and adapting to individual team members' working styles.

• The end of the year can lead to burnout, making it crucial for leaders to trust their teams' approaches to task completion.

• Understanding each team member's unique strengths and motivations is key to effective leadership.

• Embracing a growth mindset, while acknowledging limitations, can foster a supportive and collaborative environment.

💡 Why Should You Care? Stepner's article is a refreshing take on leadership, offering practical advice through an engaging and relatable analogy. Her emphasis on adaptability, understanding individual strengths, and fostering a supportive environment is useful for leaders in any field.

Whether you're leading a team, managing projects, or looking to enhance your personal productivity, the principles outlined in this article offer valuable guidance on navigating the challenges of professional life with agility and resilience. 🧠

 🧭 Navigating the Era of Personalisation

📖 Read the full article here.

🤔 What's the Buzz? Sejla Vatres, a Product Lead based in Dubai, shares her perspective on personalisation in the digital era. The article explores how technology shapes our experiences and the critical balance needed between personalisation benefits and potential drawbacks. Vatres uses the example of her love for radio, a medium that contrasts the highly personalised nature of today's digital content, to illustrate her points.

🔍 What's the Big Deal? The journey of personalisation in technology has evolved from basic customisation like screen settings to sophisticated, data-driven personalised experiences across various platforms. While this enhances user experiences and drives business growth, it also raises concerns:

• Privacy and Data Misuse: The reliance on extensive personal data for personalisation raises privacy issues and risks of data breaches.

• Information Bubbles and Echo Chambers: Personalisation can create environments where users are only exposed to content that aligns with their existing beliefs, limiting exposure to diverse viewpoints and potentially increasing societal polarisation.

• Impact on Society: Excessive personalisation may lead to a more divided society, with people less open to opposing views and less empathetic to different social groups.

💡 Why Should You Care? Understanding the implications of personalisation is not only important for product managers but also for anyone interacting with technology. It's important to strike a balance between enjoying personalised content and being aware of its potential to create echo chambers and infringe on privacy. As consumers and creators of digital content, recognising the power and pitfalls can help us shape a more inclusive and diverse digital landscape and ensure we maintain broad perspectives.

That’s a wrap. Until our next issue, keep savouring the bites of wisdom we've shared and be sure to let us know your thoughts on the format/content. 🚀👋

Alastair & the Product Tapas Team 🍽️.

Please, one last thing - share the love! Simply get one person to sign up and get access to our curated selection of Product GPTs; handpicked from our review of over 15,000 GPTs (and counting).

Packed with useful tags, product and usage details to help you find the best GPT for the job! 👇