Michael Jenkins

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Thoughts

Reading, writing, and what I'm chewing on

The ProductOps series, written in public one idea a week, and the books on my nightstand.

Writing

The ProductOps series

Start with the short version →

Next up · 18 posts in all

  • 00The status meeting is the reportcoming soon
  • 01Judgment doesn't scale by itselfcoming soon
  • 02Autonomy or alignment is a false choicecoming soon
See all 18 posts

Wave 1 · Leaders first

  • 00The status meeting is the reportcoming soon
  • 01Judgment doesn't scale by itselfcoming soon
  • 02Autonomy or alignment is a false choicecoming soon

Wave 2 · What breaks

  • 03The product has a manager and no operatorcoming soon
  • 04A dashboard is not a loopcoming soon
  • 05The promise ends at approvalcoming soon

Wave 3 · Why now

  • 06Dollars move once a year. Focus moves every week.coming soon

Wave 4 · What it stands on

  • 07Everything here stands on older ideascoming soon

Wave 5 · The model

  • 08ProductOps on one pagecoming soon
  • 09Every judgment call names its outcomecoming soon
  • 10Weighting is leadership, written downcoming soon
  • 11Outcomes are weighted. Guardrails are not.coming soon
  • 12Machines flag. People respond.coming soon
  • 13A shipped project isn't a finished betcoming soon

Wave 6 · The owner

  • 14What the owner controls, and what they explaincoming soon

Wave 7 · AI inside

  • 15AI proposes. Leaders decide. Every decision teaches the system.coming soon
  • 16Agents earn autonomy the way people earn trustcoming soon

Wave 8 · The horizon

  • 17What I don't know yetcoming soon

Reading

On the shelf

Shōgun · James Clavell

★★★★☆Finished Jul 2026

  1. Shōgun · James Clavell★★★★ Jul 2026
  2. With the Old Breed · Eugene B. Sledge★★★★★ May 2026
  3. Band of Brothers · Stephen E. Ambrose★★★★★ Apr 2026
  4. The Fool of New York City · Michael D. O'Brien★★★★ Mar 2026
  5. The Correspondent · Virginia Evans★★★★★ Feb 2026
  6. Ordinary Grace · William Kent Krueger★★★★ Feb 2026
  7. 11/22/63 · Stephen King★★★★ Feb 2026
  8. James · Percival Everett★★★★ Sep 2025
  9. The Chronicles of Narnia · C.S. Lewis★★★★★ Jun 2025
  10. Lonesome Dove · Larry McMurtry★★★★★ Jun 2025
  11. The Wingfeather Saga · Andrew Peterson★★★★★ Jun 2025
  12. Theo of Golden · Allen Levi★★★★★ Feb 2025
  13. The Art of Action · Stephen Bungay★★★★★ Jun 2024
  14. The Creative Act · Rick Rubin★★★★ Jan 2024
  15. The Wright Brothers · David McCullough★★★★★ Dec 2023
  16. Undaunted Courage · Stephen E. Ambrose★★★★★ Dec 2023