In the last few days, I’ve had conversations with several PMs who are about to launch new businesses, side hustles, or passion projects.
Right now, because of the AI revolution (hello MCPs), a truly good PM can (literally) build and run a business effectively. We’re seeing more and more tech CEOs who started as PMs (hello Sundar).
But this post isn’t about PMs turning into CEOs.
What struck me during these discussions was that, regardless of the stage—startup, scale-up, or corporate—the principles we talked about were always the same. Simple. Fundamental.
- “Build the right UX for your customers”
- “Offer customer support that responds in minutes and solves most problems”
- “Create a lovable brand”
- “Spend your marketing budget wisely”
- “Innovate to keep your customers happy”
Sound like best practices? They are.
Sound cliché? Also true.
Sound like everyone is doing them? Yep.
Will you see them in every business deck, pitch, or vision board? Absolutely.
But here’s the paradox:
Although everyone preaches these fundamentals, only a few companies in the world actually do them well.
Think about it:
- How many truly lovable brands can you name?
- How many companies have above average customer support?
So why aren’t these simple, obvious things consistently applied?
Because they’re not easy.
Some are incredibly difficult.
Some are just very difficult.
None of them are easy.
All of them are simple.
One of the smartest guy ever existed (Leonardo Da Vinci) once said:
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Here is a relevant TEDxTalk:
Relevant posts:
![[Notes] PM Habits Seminar: Get Shit Done by Shreyas Doshi](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1517842645767-c639042777db?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&q=90&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=srgb&w=1920)
