Last week, I blogged about PMs becoming “AI builders.” Step 1 to enable this? Getting your local development environment setup. Note that I have completed this both on Windows and Mac. In 2026, with Powershell + IDEs like VSCode, development in Windows is doable! However, Mac & Linux still reign supreme for development; I recommend the switch for this role if you are on Windows today.
Every day, there are new articles sharing that organizational models and ways of working must change in our new AI-enabled world. If this is actually happening, then what does this actually mean or look like in terms of how we work together in the modern era? That’s what this post will explore!
Say it with me: AI is tool, not an outcome. What matters are outcomes.
You know what nobody asked for? More low-quality Product Requirements Documents (PRDs). This is what the slop problem has created though, ironically decreasing overall organizational efficiency for the only thing that matters: speed to delivery. Everyone is so focused on improving their own personal efficiency they’ve lost sight of what matters: the organizational efficiency.
Read the post to avoid common traps and level up your approach to using AI in your daily workflow.
2025 didn’t just bring about changes to Chase, but AmEx as well.
In case you missed it, the TL;DR is that the AmEx Platinum annual fee is hiking from $695 to $895 (a 29% increase), compared to the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s 45% increase.
Are the AmEx cards still worth it? Do I still recommend Chase over AmEx? Read the details to find out!
Two years ago, I shared with everyone one of many many hobbies: the credit card game. Since then, I have kept up with updates, but 2025 is bringing about such sweeping changes I need to not just update past posts, but completely rewrite them.
In case you missed it, the TL;DR is that the Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) annual fee is hiking from $550 to $795 (a 45% increase) and the Sapphire point redemption bonuses in the Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) portal is being replaced by “Points Boost.”
Are the cards still worth it? Read the details to find out!
I have noticed an unexplainable obsession with the Objective Key Result (OKR) framework across multiple companies. Never have they created clarity, prioritization, and purpose — benefits regularly attributed to OKRs — but instead wasted effort, ambiguity, and a laundry list of priorities.
Why are we still, in 2025, obsessed with a framework created 50 years ago at a now failing company? I have seen obsession with this framework violate my favorite principle from the Agile Manifesto, written about 30 years after the creation of the OKR framework: “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.”
Dive in to learn what OKRs actually are, how they are commonly misused, and how not to make common mistakes if you are using them.
Following up on my post about writing personal weekly summaries, this post explains how you can scale the process to your entire organization. In doing so, you create a “pyramid of radical candor” that directly combats insular communication.
But wait, there’s more! If you have reasons to share your org roll-up externally, the leader of that org can filter the document to make an external version. Pyramids within pyramids…
This is especially valuable if you are in a remote environment or in an organization where different roles report to different leaders. This mechanism maximizes communication flow and minimizes your time spent in status update meetings.
After my last two-part series about creating ladder guides, I finally have one for TPM! To my knowledge, this is the first ladder guide for TPMs available for use in an open and free way.
Read the post for the links to freely use the ladder guide yourself!
Here we are – this is it! Drumroll please 🥁…the post where I debut a framework to make a ladder guide for any role in the tech industry! But when I say “I,” I don’t mean just mean myself. I want to introduce and heap praise upon my former coworker and now coauthor of this post, Bryan Zug. It is only thanks to him that we have this open source framework that you are free to use!
Read more for templates to use and instructions on how to use them
As a follow-up to my post about the Chase ecosystem, I wanted to follow-up about the AmEx ecosystem. While it is more work to redeem points for high value, AmEx offers simplicity over Chase in other ways.
And if you travel internationally a lot, AmEx points – called Membership Rewards (MRs) – transfer directly to airline partners that make for some incredible deals.
Read more to find out how to add these cards to your quiver!
© 2021-2026 — Straker Carryer
