Execution Without Losing Your Soul
The Gap Between Plan and Reality
Every plan is a fiction until it meets execution. The best PMs (and PM-minded engineers) close this gap by building systems for shipping — not just roadmaps.
The Shipping Spectrum
Where does your team fall?
| Under-shipping | Healthy | Over-shipping |
|---|---|---|
| Perfectionism | "Good enough, ship it" | Spaghetti everywhere |
| Analysis paralysis | Data-informed decisions | Ship and pray |
| Quarterly releases | Bi-weekly cadence | Daily chaos |
| Zero technical debt | Managed debt | Drowning in debt |
The sweet spot: ship frequently, with intention.
Breaking Down Work
The #1 execution skill is decomposition. Large features fail because they're large, not because they're hard.
The 2-Day Rule: No task should take more than 2 days. If it does, break it down further.
Before:
"Build user dashboard" (3 weeks, vague, scary)
After:
- Design data model for progress tracking (0.5 day)
- Build progress API endpoint (1 day)
- Create dashboard layout component (0.5 day)
- Add course progress cards (1 day)
- Add certificate display (1 day)
- Connect to real data + loading states (1 day)
- Polish + responsive (1 day)
Same scope. Zero ambiguity. Each piece is shippable.
MVPs That Actually Work
An MVP is not "the crappy version." It's the smallest thing that tests your riskiest assumption.
Bad MVP: Build the whole feature with ugly UI. Good MVP: Build only the part you're least sure about, with great UX.
Ask: "What's the riskiest assumption?" Then build just enough to test it.
Managing Technical Debt
Technical debt isn't bad — it's a loan. Like financial debt, the question is whether you're taking it intentionally with a payback plan.
Healthy debt: "We'll use a simple solution now and refactor when we hit 10K users." Unhealthy debt: "I know this will break eventually but let's just ship it."
The PM's job: ensure the team allocates ~20% of each cycle to debt paydown. The engineer's job: make debt visible with clear descriptions of cost and risk.
Communication Rhythms
| Cadence | What | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Standup / async update | Team |
| Weekly | Progress check + blockers | Team + PM |
| Bi-weekly | Demo / ship | Team + stakeholders |
| Monthly | Retro + planning | Team |
| Quarterly | Roadmap review | Team + leadership |
Exercise: Ship Something This Week
Take one idea you've been thinking about. Apply the 2-Day Rule to break it into tasks. Ship the first task by end of week.
Key Insight: The best product work isn't about having the best ideas — it's about having a system for turning ideas into shipped software, repeatedly.