The Beautiful Mess
Subscribe
Sign in
Home
Podcast
TBM Recommender Skill
Archive
About
Latest
Top
Discussions
TBM 437: Tokens, Hours, Points, and Other Curious Proxies
Everyone is talking about “return on tokens.” Vendors love it (as long as the news is good).
Aug 17
•
John Cutler
48
3
5
TBM 436: Tension-Based Prioritization (A Non-Framework)
I’ve come to believe that teams can prioritize much more effectively by focusing less on the specific things they’re prioritizing (which will naturally…
Aug 14
•
John Cutler
45
11
3
TBM 435: 20 Unfiltered Operating Takes
I had a friend reach out recently for advice. I started writing...
Aug 8
•
John Cutler
42
4
5
TBM 434: How Maps Can Hide Problems
If what you are mapping is incoherent, don’t fall in love with the map (or your personal ability to navigate with it).
Aug 1
•
John Cutler
46
5
8
July 2026
TBM 433: The Border Collie Faustian Bargain
(I have a question at the end, if you get there)
Jul 29
•
John Cutler
78
27
5
TBM 432: Bundling & Unbundling Capabilities (and AI)
Early in my product career, I wore many hats.
Jul 26
•
John Cutler
62
7
8
TBM 431: The Denominator That Matters
Here’s a simple model for thinking about AI success in organizations.
Jul 19
•
John Cutler
54
5
5
TBM 430: Incubate, Compound, Refinance, Liquidate
tl;dr: AI does not eliminate complexity, coupling, coordination, uncertainty, or decay.
Jul 12
•
John Cutler
36
1
3
TBM 429: How To Thrive At Work When You Think Too Much
This post is important.
Jul 6
•
John Cutler
155
11
26
TBM 428: Yes, Robot. Yes, Boss?
AI can be your scribe, your thought partner, data-stitcher, or your counselor.
Jul 3
•
John Cutler
30
2
1
June 2026
TBM 427: The Bottleneck Strike Again!
My goodness.
Jun 26
•
John Cutler
97
7
11
TBM 426: The Trouble With Mirrors
There’s a difference between mirrors and mirroring.
Jun 16
•
John Cutler
48
5
2
This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please
turn on JavaScript
or unblock scripts
