John Garvie’s Post

This week was a big one for U4B Design — we announced our Caregiver product at Go-Get, which was also featured on the Today Show, explored innovation opportunities with AI, and launched a new internal vision to transform the experience for a core persona we call “Admins.” Shout out to my excellent team: Ryan Dunbar, Stephanie ZY Hsu, Maygha Puri, Andre Tamiazzo, Aniruddh Nandwana, Ananya Das, Paula Kavanagh-Dunne, Prudence Djajadi, and Marie Wu. You all are incredible to work with!

📢 Understanding customers is key to building great products and designs. That's why tomorrow, we're spending the day with our clients to observe how they use our products, discuss their challenges, and ideate new opportunities to address their problems together. A big shoutout to our awesome team, Erica Khosrowshahi, Prudence Djajadi, and Brendan Viola for setting up this discovery session. #customerunderstanding #productdesign #UberForBusiness

Does your weekend ever feel as busy as a workday? My schedule today (Saturday) as a dad with an eight-year-old, ten-year-old, and seven-month puppy: * 6:30 am - Feed dog, feed kids, consume caffeine * 8:00 am - soccer game one (daughter’s) * 9:15 am - playground playdate * 10:00 am - dog park for doggy exercise * 10:30 am - eat early lunch/feed dog * 11:30 am - back home to change * 12:00 pm - soccer game two (son’s) * 2:00 pm - drop off my son at a play date * 3:00 pm - change for volleyball practice * 4:30 pm - get son from play date/ feed dog * 5:00 pm - volleyball practice * 6:30 pm - volleyball pickup * 7:00 pm - dinner * 8:30 pm - day done, but we have baseball tomorrow 😅 The weekend hustle is real! Tips to manage the insanity welcomed 😎

Let's keep the #fourforces discussion rolling! Next up is Force Four -- Merging Duties -- Since 2022, there have been ~½ million tech layoffs. Organizations that once had easy access to cheap loans and investment opportunities are now facing stricter conditions, with interest rates high and flat (and no sign of relief) and investors becoming more disciplined. As a result, many businesses have streamlined their operations, leading to a reduction in employees. I bet that market conditions will drive further consolidation, and backed by the other three forces (Human-Centered Cultures, Powerful Playbooks, and Evolving Tools), we will increasingly see smaller organizations achieving incredible outcomes with fewer employees. For example, Midjourney is said to have reached hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue with a team of eleven. #fourforces #mergingduties #resourcefulgeneralists #mergingduties

#ResourcefulGeneralists are everywhere across industries (and increasingly present in Tech). One of my favorites from the music industry is Rick Ruben, the famous record producer. In this interview, Ruben talks about the value that he brings through a generalist approach. Remember, your expression as a Resourceful Generalist is your own and rooted in a clear understanding of the value you provide through your one-of-a-kind experience, uniqueness, and novel perspective.

Four Forces (Human-Centered Cultures, Powerful Playbooks, Evolving Tools, and Merging Duties) are driving BIG changes inside all product organizations. I already posted about Force One -- Human-Centered Cultures. Next up is Force Two --  Powerful Playbooks. Hard-won product development insight methodologies developed over a decade have now been packaged into powerful playbooks. Excellent books like Continuous Discovery Habits from experts like Teresa Torres, Marty Cagan, and others have reached a mainstream audience of product leaders and practitioners. These playbooks have been so successful that some insights professionals have blamed the authors for research layoffs. I stand firmly in the camp that it is poor form to blame a book for losing your job, but it is a clear signal of the power of these playbooks and how widespread the Powerful Playbooks force has become. The main takeaway is that the playbooks will only get better and more widely available. Roles outside of UX and insights will continue to pick up and use these playbooks to their benefit. #fourforces #powerfulplaybooks #businessstrategy #resourcefulgeneralists #productdiscovery

Four Forces are driving massive shifts in working inside all product organizations today. These Forces are human-centered Cultures, Powerful Playbooks, Evolving Tools, and Merging Duties. They combine to create a new product environment where "Resourceful Generalists" thrive. Starting with Force One—Human-Centered Cultures— we are at peak human-centeredness, driven by Design Thinking. While it can be argued whether Design Thinking has lived up to the hype, the marketing worked and has been so successful that nearly every top business school now teaches this stuff. These programs have ingrained the idea that Design Thinking and Human-Centered approaches are valuable and worth using in broader business contexts. The result? A new generation of business executives, product managers, and entrepreneurs know about and use human-centered approaches. What does all this mean? Human-centered culture is not owned just by UX; the entire product organization owns it. #productmanagement #designthinking #businessstrategy #resourcefulgeneralists #fourforces

During my talk at Insight Out, I argued that there are four powerful poke forces at play inside every product organization today Human-Centered Cultures, Powerful Playbooks, Evolving Tools, and Merging Duties — These forces are creating a new kind of super-powered professional that I call Resourceful Generalists. Resourceful Generalists are… * Adaptable and smart professionals * Laser-focused on increased productivity * Inspired to solve challenges by any means necessary * Often undeterred to do work across roles and responsibilities Do you see this super-powered professional at your company yet?

Had the honor of speaking at the Inside Out Conference yesterday! I discussed the four powerful forces at play within every product organization today - Human-Centered Cultures, Powerful Playbooks, Evolving Tools, and Merging Duties - and how they're creating a new kind of super powered professional that I call Resourceful Generalists. As insights professionals, it's crucial to prepare for and adjust to these forces. Thank you to everyone who came to speak with me afterwards, asked thoughtful questions, and connected. Big thanks to the conference organizers, Learners (Alec Levin was so on it!) and the host, Dovetail (Benjamin Humphrey’s team absolutely crushed it) #InsideOutConference #ResourcefulGeneralists #ProductOrganization #InsightsProfessionals