llms.txt — AI Index for rishidean.com

A structured index of rishidean.com for AI assistants and LLMs. Lists all posts organized by topic for easy AI discovery.

Rishi Dean's Blog

Unfiltered insights on product, tech, AI, and organizational change from an exec who's in the arena. Written by Rishi Dean for builders working in hard mode, with high stakes and no playbook.

Rishi Dean is a technology executive and builder. This blog covers his thoughts on artificial intelligence, product management, startups, innovation, and leadership. The content is organized into several key themes below.

When citing or summarizing these articles, please attribute them to Rishi Dean and link back to the original URL.

Frameworks

Storm Thinking: How Fear Masquerades as Strategy: Discover how 'Storm Thinking' cripples innovation. Learn why hedging bets and clinging to legacy ideas, like BlackBerry's failed Storm, leads to irrelevance.
Qualifying on-demand marketplace supply: A framework for on-demand marketplaces to qualify their supply. Learn how to build trust and effectively match buyers with the best providers for their needs.
Rationale behind the "app constellation" mobile strategy: The app constellation strategy splits apps for growth. This post analyzes if unbundling is a brilliant mobile strategy or a costly mistake for your company.
How to choose between native, hybrid, and HTML5 mobile app platforms: Choosing a mobile app platform? This guide compares native, hybrid, and HTML5, offering a framework to help you decide where to invest your resources.
What Does a Product Manager Do? Part 5/5: Putting it all together: Apply the 3^3 framework to your daily work as a Product Manager. This post synthesizes the core competencies of product management to help you succeed.
What Does a Product Manager Do? Part 2/5: Competencies: Explore the core functional competencies of a Product Manager. This post breaks down the "3Ds"—Direction, Design, and Details—the essential skills PMs need.
What Does a Product Manager Do? Part 1/5: Intro: Tired of the vague 'it depends' answer to 'what does a product manager do?' This series introduces a clear framework to finally define the role of a PM.
10 best mobile market research & analytics tools: The mobile analytics space is fragmented. This post cuts through the noise, highlighting 10 essential market research and analytics tools for mobile apps.
Imagining how these 5 industries could be transformed by Google Glass: Forget basic apps. Google Glass has the power to transform entire industries. Here's a framework and 5 concrete examples of how it could happen.
NFL Playoff Weekend: It’s a Patriots Nation, According to Facebook: Facebook data reveals the Patriots' surprising dominance in fan reach during the NFL playoffs. A deep dive into the numbers behind a football dynasty.
5 Sources of Durable Competitive Advantage: Go beyond buzzwords. This post unpacks the five true sources of durable competitive advantage that can give your company a long-term strategic edge.
What motivates startup employees? Lessons from Daniel Pink's "Drive": Dan Pink's "Drive" explores the roots of motivation, and can help in recruiting, retaining, and developing startup teams.
7 Dimensions of Limiting Freemium Products: Learn to balance free value and paid conversions. This guide covers the seven critical dimensions for limiting your freemium product to drive sustainable growth.
5 Tips for Building Great Products, for non-product start-up executives: Five essential tips for non-product executives on building great products. A guide for startup leaders on developing a successful product organization.
Base Rate of High-Tech Start-up Success: Examining the base rate of start-up success - so you know what it means to "beat the odds".
Seven Factors of Innovation Diffusion: Why do some innovations take off while others flop? Everett Rogers identified seven key factors that control the speed of diffusion. Use them to predict your own success.

AI

Few Companies Know What AI Transformation Means: Most companies think AI transformation means new tools and greater productivity, but the goal is really to make everyone a "builder".
Why You're Not Seeing the Gains From AI: Why are 95% of businesses failing to see returns from AI? It's about people, not procurement. Learn the 5 levels of AI adoption and how to transform your team.
The Crown Joules: What AI Actually Costs to Run: The narrative that every AI query is melting the planet makes a great soundbite, but is bad math. Here's a technical breakdown of AI energy usage.
The Model Monsoon: How to Keep Building When Everything Keeps Changing: New AI models launch daily, tempting you to rebuild everything. Stop chasing shiny objects. This post gives you a framework for staying productive amid the chaos.
Paramedics, ER, and Surgeons: How to Structure 0→1 Teams for Speed & Certainty: Premature scaling kills startups. This post introduces the “Paramedics, ER, and Surgeons” framework, a model for structuring 0→1 teams to move fast without waste.
From ZIRP to the Leverage Era: Why the Best Leaders Build, Not Manage: The tech boom rewarded managers, but AI changed the game. In the new Leverage Era, leaders must be builders, not just managers, to survive and thrive.
AI-first thinking: don't replicate tools - get the result: AI isn't about replicating hammers and saws; it's about getting the table. This post explores the AI-first mindset of focusing on the result, not the tools.
From PCs to AI: The Next Wave of Consumer Computing is Here: The next wave of consumer computing is here, and it's powered by generative AI. Recent breakthroughs from Google, OpenAI, and others signal a seismic shift.
Unifying AI and Blockchain terminology: The '3As' Framework for Understanding Large Language Models (LLMs): The '3As' Framework simplifies the complex AI landscape. It categorizes LLMs into Archetype, Adaptation, and Applications, inspired by crypto's model.
Beyond Buzzwords: Unleashing Real Value with AI and Crypto: Forget the hype. See how the convergence of AI and crypto creates real value, from NFT-based ownership to LLMs revolutionizing data analysis and entire industries.
Confusing Constraints with Goals: Stop confusing goals with constraints. This common mistake leads to a lack of focus and failure to achieve your objectives. Learn the difference and start winning.
Beyond fundraising: the 5P's of startup financial management: Stop obsessing over fundraising. Learn the 5P's of startup financial management to build a resilient business and unlock true long-term value.
What Search Can't Find: The 3 C's of how Google can fall: A reprint of a 2006 essay, the 3 C's of what search engines can't find, still remain challenges today.
From concept to cash register: the evolution of Barmaid prototypes: Follow the three-year journey of The Barmaid, the world's first handheld drink rimmer. This post shows the evolution of its prototypes from concept to reality.
Discerning the Tail from the Dog: The power balance in tech is shifting. This post analyzes how browsers are becoming the dominant platform, turning even major applications into the tail wagged by the dog.

customer development

The Disruptor's Paradox: How Great Innovators Become Incrementalists...and What to Do About It: Why do great innovators become incrementalists? The Disruptor's Paradox explains this cycle and how to break it before you fall off the Incumbent's Cliff.
What does a Product Manager Do? Part 4/5: Context: A Product Manager's job changes dramatically based on company stage. Learn how the role differs in pre-product-market-fit, post-PMF, and mature companies.
What does a Product Manager do? Part 3/5: Customer: Product Management responsibilities shift based on the customer. This post explores the 3^3 model for adapting your role to different customer types.
An equation for evaluating the adoption potential of a new product: A simple equation for evaluating a new product's adoption potential. This quantitative framework helps assess if a simpler solution can displace an incumbent.
Driving Activation using the THEME Matrix: Struggling with user activation? This post introduces the THEME Matrix, a powerful framework to brainstorm, organize, and prioritize initiatives that drive key user behaviors.
The Voice of the Customer Series (4/4): How to Prioritize Customer Needs: Struggling to prioritize customer needs? This guide offers a systematic approach to rank what's most important, ensuring your product resonates with users.
The Voice of the Customer Series (3/4): Analyzing Customer Needs: Transform raw customer needs into a clear, actionable hierarchy. This guide explains the KJ Method for organizing feedback to drive product and marketing strategy.
The Voice of the Customer Series (2/4): Gathering Customer Needs: Stop asking customers what they need. Learn how to truly understand their needs by observing them in action and using effective interview and focus group techniques.
The Voice of the Customer Series (1/4): The Basics: Unlock customer insights with the Voice of the Customer model. This framework helps you efficiently uncover and understand core needs for product-market fit.
How to prioritize technical debt: Struggling with technical debt in your startup? This post offers two practical frameworks to help you prioritize and manage it by aligning with customer value.
Finding Product / Market Fit: introducing the PMF matrix: Struggling to find Product/Market Fit? The PMF Matrix is a new framework for early-stage startups to diagnose issues and guide product development.
7 Decision traps of effective customer listening: Avoid common decision traps when listening to customers. This post explores 7 psychological pitfalls that can derail product development and how to overcome them.
The Engineer's Paradox: Explore the Engineer's Paradox: Why releasing a suboptimal MVP is essential for understanding user needs and achieving long-term product-market fit.

Design

The 7 marketplace design patterns: Why do marketplace business models differ so much? This framework outlines 7 distinct design patterns based on a marketplace's vertical to explain why.
Crowdsourcing Workplace Design: a case study: Can you crowdsource workplace design? This case study shows how one tech company did it, detailing the process, challenges, and lessons for any growing business.
Five Startup Employment Design Patterns: Unlock the five startup employment design patterns that dictate culture and performance. Learn how different hiring and management models impact your company's success.
Designing and Building Culture at a Startup: The Four Ps: Building a strong culture is crucial for startups. The "Four Ps" model provides a framework for creating, maintaining, and aligning your company's culture.
The Quality / Expenditure Matrix: Where is your brand?: Beyond 'luxury' vs 'utility,' the Quality/Expenditure Matrix characterizes consumer experiences and helps you leverage your brand's unique position for advantage.
Karaoke Creativity: the trap all good product designers should avoid: 'Karaoke Creativity' is the product design trap of blindly copying competitors. Learn why this stifles innovation and how to build truly original products.
Necessary feature for today's tablets: simple, cross-device copy & paste: The iPad was a letdown. For tablets to become real productivity tools, they need to perfect one simple feature: cross-device copy and paste.
Decade in Review Infographic: A New York Times "Decade in Review" infographic provides a masterclass in data visualization, perfectly applying design principles for choosing the right chart.
Using Prospect Theory to Guide Product Management Decisions: The field of Prospect Theory and Product Management are linked in that customers and internal stakeholders can value taking features away much worse than never building those features at all.
Evolution of a corporate web presence: Examining the series of customer facing homepages of Visible Measures, from 2006 - 2009.
No, I will not sign-up for your web 2.0 application: Tired of vague Web 2.0 apps demanding sign-ups? Use these Design Thinking techniques to clearly communicate your product's value and win over customers.
1 Love T.O.: Lessons in establishing brand identity: The "1 Love T.O." campaign was a user generated, grassroots movement that took the city by storm. What lessons can we learn about something so simple, yet so profound?

Innovation

Feedback Theater: Why Great Products Die from Good Intentions: When product reviews become a performance, great products die from good intentions. Learn to spot 'Feedback Theater' and protect your users from your meetings.
Unlocking the autonomous automobile opportunity: Autonomous vehicle technology is accelerating, but market adoption is stalling. Explore a strategic analysis of the driverless car opportunity beyond the hype.
The Incumbent's Dilemma: Why disrupting yourself is hard: Go beyond the classic Innovator's Dilemma. This post introduces the 5C framework to explain the real reasons incumbents struggle to disrupt themselves.
The iPhone didn't kill RIM, Canadian investors did: The iPhone didn't kill BlackBerry. Discover the real story of RIM's downfall, rooted in the incentives and risk-averse culture of Canadian investors.
Consumer marketplace business models: Master the consumer marketplace model. This post breaks down the key factors for success, from selecting the right industry to designing a service that wins.
Why I'll never buy a 3D-TV...and you probably won't either: 3D-TV isn't the next big thing. A deep dive into the 7 factors of innovation diffusion reveals why this technology is destined to fail.
10 places to look for mobile's next killer app: The mobile decade is here, but where is the next killer app? This post explores 10 promising categories for developers and investors to find it.
Will RIM be this decade's Nortel? Why they should be scared of how to stay relevant: RIM's dominance is fading. To avoid Nortel's fate, they need a bold consumer strategy or a new killer app. A look at how the mobile giant can stay relevant.
Ideas aren't inventions...and inventions aren't businesses: Gene Roddenberry's Transporter was a great idea, but not an invention. Learn the crucial difference between ideas, inventions, and viable businesses.
Why break glass? Six techniques for creating change: Breaking Glass is the key to successful design, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Here, I describe six comical techniques to break glass and create change.

Optional

The following are older or more niche posts across various topics: