Love this honest take on the PM rollercoaster! After leading e-commerce transformations in publishing and retail, I can totally relate to that "fixing the pool pump while teaching swimming" analogy.
The part about rebuilding systems resonates deeply with my experience - I've reconstructed entire digital platforms multiple times, each iteration teaching something new. It's like when I automated 90% of operations in my latest venture - the first version was embarrassingly basic, but that's exactly how it needed to be.
The reality is that digital leadership isn't about having perfect systems - it's about building, breaking, and rebuilding until things click. My recent experiments with AI tools taught me that sometimes the "crappy first draft" leads to the most innovative solutions D:
Quick question: Has anyone else found that their biggest innovations came from initially "broken" systems? I've noticed this pattern consistently across various digital projects, where the messiest starts often led to the most elegant solutions.
(This kind of raw, honest discussion about digital transformation is exactly what we need more of in our industry. Thanks for sharing!)
Thank you soo much for sharing your experience—it's always reassuring to hear how universal this messy-but-rewarding process is. I love your take on “broken” systems leading to the best solutions. It really captures how innovation feels in practice: uncomfortable, imperfect, and absolutely necessary!
For me, those early iterations—whether it’s a product, system, or even a process—are like peeling back layers. Each attempt reveals something new about what’s actually needed versus what we thought was needed. It’s less about aiming for perfection and more about being open to the lessons hiding in the mess.
This is exactly why I wanted to start sharing my voice in the online space. Topics like this—how messy, iterative processes lead to genuine innovation—are so important in the tech community. We need more conversations that normalize the trial-and-error part of the building, especially in spaces like AI, where the pressure to be cutting-edge can feel overwhelming. By talking about these realities openly, I think we can help each other build smarter and with more intention.
By the way, automating 90% of operations sounds like a massive achievement, congrats! Was there a specific moment when it all started falling into place—or maybe a big lesson that stuck with you from the process?
What’s the best thing chaos ever taught you? You learn a lot; it's painful, but you learn a lot. The problem is that it's super unsustainable, and balancing the pros and cons of that situation is not easy (after a few years, I still don't know how).
By the way, that's a great start. I'm looking forward to more insights!
Thanks so much for your kind words Patryk 💙 Chaos is definitely a tough teacher. Would love to hear more about your journey. I’ll keep following your Substack, too, it sounds like we might have some shared experiences!
Thanks! I do think we have a lot in common, especially in the area of AI PM - I’ll catch up with you on messages as currently on the blog I cover a little bit different topics (at least for now, though the mental models and concepts are still valuable there)
Love this honest take on the PM rollercoaster! After leading e-commerce transformations in publishing and retail, I can totally relate to that "fixing the pool pump while teaching swimming" analogy.
The part about rebuilding systems resonates deeply with my experience - I've reconstructed entire digital platforms multiple times, each iteration teaching something new. It's like when I automated 90% of operations in my latest venture - the first version was embarrassingly basic, but that's exactly how it needed to be.
The reality is that digital leadership isn't about having perfect systems - it's about building, breaking, and rebuilding until things click. My recent experiments with AI tools taught me that sometimes the "crappy first draft" leads to the most innovative solutions D:
Quick question: Has anyone else found that their biggest innovations came from initially "broken" systems? I've noticed this pattern consistently across various digital projects, where the messiest starts often led to the most elegant solutions.
(This kind of raw, honest discussion about digital transformation is exactly what we need more of in our industry. Thanks for sharing!)
Thank you soo much for sharing your experience—it's always reassuring to hear how universal this messy-but-rewarding process is. I love your take on “broken” systems leading to the best solutions. It really captures how innovation feels in practice: uncomfortable, imperfect, and absolutely necessary!
For me, those early iterations—whether it’s a product, system, or even a process—are like peeling back layers. Each attempt reveals something new about what’s actually needed versus what we thought was needed. It’s less about aiming for perfection and more about being open to the lessons hiding in the mess.
This is exactly why I wanted to start sharing my voice in the online space. Topics like this—how messy, iterative processes lead to genuine innovation—are so important in the tech community. We need more conversations that normalize the trial-and-error part of the building, especially in spaces like AI, where the pressure to be cutting-edge can feel overwhelming. By talking about these realities openly, I think we can help each other build smarter and with more intention.
By the way, automating 90% of operations sounds like a massive achievement, congrats! Was there a specific moment when it all started falling into place—or maybe a big lesson that stuck with you from the process?
What’s the best thing chaos ever taught you? You learn a lot; it's painful, but you learn a lot. The problem is that it's super unsustainable, and balancing the pros and cons of that situation is not easy (after a few years, I still don't know how).
By the way, that's a great start. I'm looking forward to more insights!
Still interesting to me! I’m in the explorers club. And it’s so nice to expand mental horizons
Thanks so much for your kind words Patryk 💙 Chaos is definitely a tough teacher. Would love to hear more about your journey. I’ll keep following your Substack, too, it sounds like we might have some shared experiences!
Thanks! I do think we have a lot in common, especially in the area of AI PM - I’ll catch up with you on messages as currently on the blog I cover a little bit different topics (at least for now, though the mental models and concepts are still valuable there)