TL; DR: Deep Research — Food for Agile Thought #479
Welcome to the 479th edition of the Food for Agile Thought newsletter, shared with 42,738 peers. This week, Zvi Mowshowitz and Ethan Mollick dissect OpenAI’s Deep Research, an AI-driven research agent poised to transform knowledge work but raising concerns about cost and safety. Andrej Karpathy offers a deep dive into Large Language Models, while Kyle Wiggers unpacks the EU AI Act’s first enforcement deadline, banning high-risk AI applications. In leadership, Lenny Rachitsky interviews Shopify’s Tobi Lütke on playing infinite games and leading with first principles. Meanwhile, Caroline Kealey declares change management dead, urging leaders to embrace adaptation, and Willem-Jan Ageling examines how organizational culture stifles agility—suggesting agility may not always be the right fit.
Next, Richard Mironov critiques ROI’s role in product decisions, arguing that uncertainty, risk, and hidden costs make it unreliable, advocating for strategic framing and cost trade-offs instead. Jason Knight interviews Martin Eriksson on why PMs struggle with strategy, emphasizing the need for clear company direction and leadership that empowers teams. Arvid Kahl shares a structured framework for backlog pruning, ensuring a focus on validated, high-value features that drive strategic growth.
Lastly, Charity Majors critiques Brian Chesky’s ‘Founder Mode’, arguing that leadership requires accountability, not heroism and that efficiency trumps empire-building in sustainable companies. Teresa Torres introduces the SPICEY framework for continuous discovery, emphasizing small, adaptable habits over perfection. John Cutler outlines four key competencies for product operating systems, highlighting leadership, domain expertise, systems thinking, and operations. Plus, Petra Wille launches All Things Product, a weekly podcast featuring Teresa Torres as the first guest.
🗳️ AI for Careers: Should Stefan Build a Course?
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This week, the most popular discussion on LinkedIn was: Scrum Masters, are you working too much?
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🏆 The Tip of the Week
: We’re in Deep Research
Zvi Mowshowitz explores OpenAI’s new Deep Research feature, an AI-driven multi-step research tool for Pro users. While powerful, concerns arise over safety, cost, and broader implications for knowledge work and decision-making.
🧠 Artificial Intelligence
(via TechCrunch): AI systems with ‘unacceptable risk’ are now banned in the EU
Kyle Wiggers reports on the EU AI Act’s first compliance deadline, banning AI systems deemed “unacceptable risk.” Violations carry hefty fines, with exemptions for law enforcement and specific medical uses. More regulatory clarity is expected later in 2025.
: Deep Dive into LLMs like ChatGPT
Andrej Karpathy presents a deep dive into Large Language Models, explaining their development, psychology, and practical use. He aims to raise AI literacy and empower users to harness state-of-the-art models effectively.
: The End of Search, The Beginning of Research
Ethan Mollick explores AI’s shift from search to research, highlighting OpenAI’s Deep Research as a breakthrough in autonomous reasoning. These AI agents can conduct near-expert analysis, signaling a fundamental change in knowledge work and decision-making.
➿ Agile & Leadership
: 2025: The Year Change Management Died
Caroline Kealey declares 2025 the year change management died, arguing traditional models can’t handle today’s chaos. Instead, organizations must embrace adaptation, prune distractions, and cultivate resilient leadership to navigate constant uncertainty.
and : 🎙 Tobi Lütke’s leadership playbook: Playing infinite games, operating from first principles, and maximizing human potential
Lenny Rachitsky interviews Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke on leadership, first-principles thinking, and long-term vision. Lütke shares insights on maximizing human potential, balancing strategy with tactics, and why joy and curiosity drive lasting product success.
: 8 Ways Organizational Culture Kills Agility
Willem-Jan Ageling explores how organizational culture often kills agility, highlighting eight key barriers: hierarchy, siloed teams, and valuing output over outcomes. If culture resists change, perhaps agility isn’t the right fit.
🖥 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM II Certificate — February 12-13, 2025
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Enjoy the benefits of a live virtual immersive class with like-minded agile peers from 09:00 – 17:30 CET.
Learn more: 🖥 🇬🇧 Advanced Professional Scrum Master Training w/ PSM II Certificate — February 12-13, 2025.
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🎯 Product
: ROI: Seductive but of Limited Value in Product Planning
Richard Mironov argues that ROI is a misleading tool for product planning due to uncertainty in estimates, risk scaling, and hidden costs. Instead, he advocates for strategic framing, rough cost trade-offs, and challenging revenue assumptions.
: Deleting Your Backlog: A Founder’s Guide to Feature Pruning
Arvid Kahl advocates for aggressively pruning backlogs to focus on real customer needs. He shares a structured framework for deleting vague, redundant, or low-impact ideas—ensuring only high-value, validated features remain for strategic growth.
and : 🎙 Most PMs Aren’t Good At Strategy
Jason Knight interviews Martin Eriksson on why most PMs struggle with strategy. Many companies lack clear direction, making product strategy difficult. PMs must develop strategic skills, while leaders should empower teams instead of defaulting to “Founder mode.”
📯 The Great Agile Reset: Moving Beyond Frameworks in the Age of AI
Remember my article from six months ago about reinventing Hands-on Agile to counter the great agile reset? (Just kidding; of course, you don’t.) Back then, I reflected on how to adapt my business model best, given the massive changes in the marketplace for “Agile.” (See the link below.)
Well, it’s time for an honest update, and it is not pretty.
Learn more: The Great Agile Reset: Moving Beyond Frameworks in the Age of AI.
🛠 Concepts, Tools & Measuring
: 4 Core Product OS Design Competencies
John Cutler explores four key competencies for designing a strong product operating system: leadership influence, domain expertise, systems thinking, and operations. He highlights common pitfalls and emphasizes intentional design to create effective, adaptable processes.
: ‘Founder Mode and the Art of Mythmaking
Charity Majors critiques Brian Chesky’s ‘Founder Mode’ narrative, arguing that leadership isn’t about lone heroism but accountability. She dissects hypergrowth pitfalls, hiring misconceptions, and why efficiency beats empire-building in sustainable company building.
: Making Continuous Discovery Work for You: The SPICEY Approach
Teresa Torres introduces the SPICEY framework to make continuous discovery sustainable. Instead of perfection, she advocates small, flexible habits—strategizing, prepping, implementing, customizing, embracing flexibility, and adapting discovery to fit each team’s context.
🎶 Encore
: 🎙 Launch Announcement: The ‘All Things Product’ Podcast is Live!
Petra Wille launches All Things Product, a new weekly podcast tackling one product topic at a time. The first guest, Teresa Torres, joins for candid, no-fluff discussions packed with actionable insights for product professionals.
📅 Scrum Training & Event Schedule
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📺 Join 6,000-plus Agile Peers on Youtube
Now available on the Age-of-Product Youtube channel to improve learning, for example, about PM Career-Defining AI Skills:
- Hands-on Agile 66: Escape the Feature Frenzy, Build to Sell with Sandrine Olivencia.
- Hands-on Agile 62: From Backlog Manager to Product Manager with David Pereira.
- Hands-on Agile 61: Toyota Kata Coaching for Agile Teams & Transformations with Fortune Buchholtz.
- Hands-on Agile 59: Tackling Fake Agility with Johanna Rothman.
- Hands-on Agile 57: Humble Planning with Maarten Dalmijn.
- Hands-on Agile EXTRA: How Elon Musk Would Run YOUR Business with Joe Justice.
✋ Do Not Miss Out and Learn About Deep Research — Join the 20,000-plus Strong ‘Hands-on Agile’ Slack Community
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Help your team to learn about Deep Research by pointing them to the free Scrum Anti-Patterns Guide:
🗞️ Last Week’s Food for Agile Thought Edition
Read more: Food for Agile Thought #478: DeepSeek, Product Model OS, AI Prototyping, Agile = Delivery?.
The post Food for Agile Thought #479: Deep Research, Deleting Your Backlog, Product OS Competencies, Is Change Management Dead? appeared first on Age-of-Product.com.
