Reading List Picks of 2025
It’s time again for this annual list (and apologies for publishing it late). Here’s all the things I read in 2025 that gave me ideas, crystallised my thinking or changed my mind. The best writing of the year, and what was most useful in the day job.
There’s bits on product management, artificial intelligence, working together, digital government, strategy, and other good stuff.
Product management
What makes a good outcome?
Perfect advice from Jamie on shaping good outcome statements. A good outcome clearly describes the desired change and motivates teams by being memorable and relatable. A must-read for anyone crafting mission statements.
Read What makes a good outcome?, 3 mins.
Agile and the Product Model
Cracking piece by Marty Cagan on how Agile is a part of the product model. Add a dash of dual-track, a sprinkle of Three Amigos, and we’re cooking on gas.
Read Agile and the Product Model, 4 mins.
Product ops is creative destruction
A nice reminder on product operations or how you ‘PM the PM experience’. A lot of product leads and heads are focused on product operations at the moment, I think.
Read Product ops is creative destruction, 9 mins.
Everything I Got Wrong About Product (So You Don’t Have To)
I nodded a lot when reading this, and I’ve learned these same things over the years. So glad someone wrote it down!
Read Everything I Got Wrong About Product (So You Don’t Have To), 6 mins.
Overfitting and the problem with use cases
Wonderful destiny as this showed up in my feeds right as we were talking about designing wizards versus studios. Designing creative tools often suffers from ‘overfitting’, where solutions become too specialised and fail to adapt to diverse user needs. Instead of creating complex machines for specific tasks, it’s better to offer simple, versatile tools that users can apply in various ways.
Read Overfitting and the problem with use cases, 7 mins.
Artificial intelligence
AI as normal technology
Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor wrote this paper, which is long but oh-so worth it. It articulates how I use the boring magic mindset to view technology. What I like about it is that it’s addressing two viewpoints: the overwhelmingly for and the overwhelmingly against. The language of inevitability around AI is not helpful as it doesn’t allow for hypotheses to be proven wrong. But the rhetoric around AI being abhorrent – which they call ‘non-proliferation’ – isn’t helpful either, as it doesn’t allow for hypotheses to be proven right. A realistic view, founded on AI as a normal technology, is a route forward. No hype, no hyperbole, just finding what works.
Read AI as normal technology.
What we talk about when we talk about AI
An excellent piece on AI literacy from Rachel Coldicutt. Understanding AI’s real capabilities and limitations is crucial for informed discussions about its role in society.
Read What we talk about when we talk about AI, 11 mins.
Taking Jaggedness Seriously
Great piece on making real-world adoption of AI happen. Leaning in to the jagged frontier requires you to listen to users and focus on human-computer dynamics.
Read Taking Jaggedness Seriously, 26 mins.
On A New Ecology of Tools
Rather enjoyed this, especially line about the ‘means of co-ordination’. A piece encouraging that instead of chasing a solitary AGI, we should design distributed, accountable systems that keep power and co-ordination plural.
Read On A New Ecology of Tools, 5 mins.
Study Finds Consumers Are Actively Turned Off by Products That Use AI
Who’d have thunk it. A new study shows that mentioning ‘artificial intelligence’ in product descriptions decreases consumer trust and lowers the likelihood of purchases. Share that with your leaders who are lapping up the hype.
Read Study Finds Consumers Are Actively Turned Off by Products That Use AI, 2 mins.
Beware government ministers hyping technologies
Stick around for the eye-watering fact from the Australian government’s failed experiment with a hype technology.
Read Beware government ministers hyping technologies, 4 mins.
Microsoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition “Atrophied and Unprepared”
A stark warning in a study by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University. It found that relying on generative AI reduces people’s critical thinking skills. As workers become more confident in AI tools, they engage less in independent problem-solving. How might we increase critical thinking and problem-solving in our tools and processes?
Read Microsoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition “Atrophied and Unprepared”, 5 mins.
AWS CEO says AI replacing junior staff is ‘dumbest idea’
AWS CEO Matt Garman called replacing junior staff with AI “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Which sounds about right to me.
Read AWS CEO says AI replacing junior staff is ‘dumbest idea’, 3 mins.
The Weaponisation of Openness? Toward a New Social Contract for Data in the AI Era
The open data movement helped spread knowledge but is now being exploited by large AI companies that harvest public resources without consent or pay. This extraction is causing institutions to close access, risking a ‘data winter’ that harms public benefit and research. A thought-provoking piece on the need for new governance and benefit models to ensure public-spirited efforts don’t prop up value-extractive businesses.
Read The Weaponisation of Openness? Toward a New Social Contract for Data in the AI Era, 9 mins.
Working together
Every organisation has some madness
Think this might be the best thing I read all year. Fantastic piece by Katherine Wastell. Inspired me to start writing a thing about leadership I’ve been noodling on for a while. Real change needs clear direction, behavioural shifts, and balanced thinking plus doing.
Read Every organisation has some madness, 3 mins.
How Much Frustration Can You Tolerate?
Handy reframing for anyone setting goals (or holding others accountable to their own). By accepting discomfort as part of the process, you can better achieve your long-term aspirations.
Read How Much Frustration Can You Tolerate?, 5 mins.
Growth mindset
A good piece that’s useful for coaching others on a growth mindset. A growth mindset means believing you can improve through effort and learning from challenges. Instead of focusing on your identity, praise your efforts and embrace mistakes as opportunities for growth.
Read Growth mindset, 4 mins.
How Belonging Makes the Difficult Seem Manageable: Why We Are Wired to Share the Load
Notes on how to do hard things. (Do them together.)
Read How Belonging Makes the Difficult Seem Manageable: Why We Are Wired to Share the Load, 4 mins.
What Makes a Good Team?
All the hallmarks of good team design in here. Could become a good scorecard.
Read What Makes a Good Team?, 2 mins.
Principles of Adaptive Working v1.0
Mark Eddleston introduces ‘Principles of Adaptive Working’, a flexible framework for teams and organisations to navigate complexity and uncertainty. Defines the dark matter needed in between your teams.
Read Principles of Adaptive Working v1.0, 5 mins.
A million little pieces
Good thoughts from Mike on how hard it can be to align work and direction across large teams.
Read A million little pieces, 5 mins.
Digital government
5 Ways Public-Sector Services are not the same as Private-Sector ones
Good notes from Rachel on why you can’t think about public sector services in the same way as private sector ones.
Read 5 Ways Public-Sector Services are not the same as Private-Sector ones, 3 mins.
Governments Are Not Startups
Similar notes from Mariana Mazzucato and Rainer Kattel, also talking about key capabilities that public sector organisations should cultivate.
Read Governments Are Not Startups, 6 mins.
Making Public Services Work: Five Tenets for Operational Leaders
More on those essential capabilities and mindsets. Paul Morrison and Prof Michael Lewis outline five essential principles for operational leaders in public services, focusing on long-term value, user-centered design, capacity and demand alignment, efficient workflows, and cross-agency collaboration.
Read Making Public Services Work: Five Tenets for Operational Leaders, 7 mins.
Digital and mission-driven government: growth
9 mins. A clarion call from Richard, via Nesta, showing ways forward for a digital, mission-driven government. We (planning.data.gov.uk) get a shout-out which is nice.
Read Digital and mission-driven government: growth, 10 mins.
It’s time to get serious about design
A primer on true design, not treating design as making small fixes or interface tweaks. Designers must have freedom to explore, create, and solve complex problems beyond simple tasks. Leadership should create space for creativity and empower designers to drive real change.
Read It’s time to get serious about design, 7 mins.
Small acts of maintenance
Really lovely piece from Nia Campbell. The idea of ‘organisational inheritance’ is a good one, and in line with something I often quote from Ellie: ‘We should do the hard work to make [things] simpler for those who come after us.’
Read Small acts of maintenance, 3 mins.
Strategy
3 reasons to start with words
You might think big projects are the only way to change, but starting with clear and simple words can be pretty effective. Another good reminder to write it down.
Read 3 reasons to start with words, 2 mins.
So you want to be a strategist? I’m not sure it means what you think it means!
A few choice quotes from Andy Budd: true strategy work is rare, often messy, and done alongside many other tasks. It usually involves small efforts over time, not a clear, separate role or big, perfect plans.
Read So you want to be a strategist? I’m not sure it means what you think it means!, 3 mins.
Blood, Sweat and Roadmaps
This is a post about strategy, really, and how all the symptoms of a dysfunctional strategy can be seen in a roadmap. It’s good in showing how fixing organisational issues is more important than creating perfect roadmaps.
Read Blood, Sweat and Roadmaps, 10 mins.
Other good stuff
Screening Stanley
I loved this article on the Stanley cup craze (remember that?) which, as someone not on Instagram or TikTok at the time, helped me understand just why everyone’s carrying these clunky metal cups around. The piece goes beyond that though, digging deep into the cultural reasons behind the craze.
Read Screening Stanley, 11 mins.
Designing a design studio
I loved this. Anna reflects on running a small design studio that tried to be ethical, creative, and caring rather than purely profit-driven. It got me thinking about what I’d like to do next. Running a little agency would be fun, but I’ve never been in one. Dunno what good looks like. Maybe it’s obvious? Anyway, thank you for this gift of a piece, Anna.
Read Designing a design studio, 13 mins.
Thatcher, Farage and toe-sucking: Adam Curtis on how Britain came to the brink of civil war
Enjoyed this as I learned a lot, but also Adam Curtis cuts to the chase in his writing more so than his films. He argues that the collapse of trust in politicians, fuelled by scandals and radical economic theories, has led to a fragile political landscape. This environment has created a cycle of distrust, resulting in the rise of controversial figures like Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.
Read Thatcher, Farage and toe-sucking: Adam Curtis on how Britain came to the brink of civil war, 12 mins.
Would your home have been under a motorway?
In the 1960s, London planned huge motorways called the Ringways that would have destroyed many neighbourhoods and parks. All to deal with people buying more and more cars, apparently. Glad this never happened.
Read Would your home have been under a motorway?, 13 mins.
Gen Z is leading the charge back to the office
For a while, I’ve been considering the poor working experience government’s unconsidered back-to-the-office mandate has had on teams. But this piece highlights how damaging it can be for younger workers looking to learn from their senior peers. The distributed, remote-first dynamic can work for some people, and some organisations, of course. But it’s worth remembering the people who value in-person time too.
Read Gen Z is leading the charge back to the office, 7 mins.
How I use Obsidian
2025 was the year several people asked me about how I use Obsidian. I have a sort of decent system but I still need to copy the one outlined in this post, an incredibly comprehensive description of how Steph Ango uses Obsidian for note-taking, writing, and organising thoughts in a flexible and structured way.
Read How I use Obsidian, 8 mins.
Think Weeks: What They Are and How to Do Them Right
A Think Week is a dedicated time for deep and creative thinking, inspired by Bill Gates. It involves stepping away from daily demands and focusing on big-picture ideas for personal or professional growth.
Read Think Weeks: What They Are and How to Do Them Right, 7 mins.
Check out my reading lists from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024