Field Notes

Most product organisations don’t struggle because their teams lack talent, frameworks, or motivation. They struggle because the environment around those teams is unclear. There’s usually a strategy somewhere. People broadly understand the ambition. The roadmap is full, everyone is working hard, and from the outside things look productive. And yet decisions keep drifting upward. Teams check things with leadership more than they expected. Priorities move around more often than

Article about the differences in AI rules that can lead to swapped bodies and copyright infringements

Evals for Humans - From Axial to Recall a humans guide to AI evaluation jargon

After a few red herrings and terrible builds, here are a few tips for for coding with AI as your co-pilot when vibe coding. Treat AI as a Collaborative Partner - Engage with the AI by asking for its ideas and inviting alternatives. Instead of merely instructing it on tasks, seek its perspective and insights. Establish the Mood Before Design - Begin by articulating the mood or feeling you want the product to convey. This will inform the tone and direction of your design and

Product development magic happens with vibe coding, here's how I built a workshop planner in a week.

What If Stories Could Teach Reading, Empathy, and Neurodiversity? Spark Space by Layla Foord

Why it can be hard to carry the weight of your own face

The mess and ambiguity of creating clarity

A practical guide for product and strategy leaders ready to rebuild with clarity, care, and systems that last. Introduction: The Courage to Pause If you’re struggling to get any meaningful new enhancements or features through to customers not because you lack ideas, but because the process is stuck, bloated, political, or brittle, then this guide may help. If your roadmap is full but your momentum is low, and you find yourself wondering why everything feels so hard now, this

Not because you’ve failed — but because the thing you’re building doesn’t quite match what you now know to be true. When Progress Starts to Feel Heavy There’s a point in every product’s life when it starts to feel harder to move.You’re still building. Still releasing. Still solving things, more or less.But if you’re honest, each new feature lands with less clarity than it used to.The impact gets muddier. The outcomes get harder to track.And somehow the whole thing starts to f

For my daughter a new song coming soon. by layla_foord You Already Are, Enough You don’t have to try Just listen [Verse 1] We waited a long time To meet someone like you And now that you’re here The world feels true You’re learning your way But the light in you Was always this way Like a quiet ray [Chorus ] You don’t have to know it all You don’t need a plan You’re already strong You already stand You don’t have to try so hard You already are… You already are… Enough Enough [

You are not the hero, but the subject of their fear. In the stories we admire, on screen, in books it is the leader steps outside first. Out of the shuttle. Into the smoke. Onto the alien surface with nothing but instinct and a crew watching from behind. Think Jean-Luc Picard, or Ripley, or Moana. Brave. Resolute and admired. But in real life, when a leader steps into something unknown, like a new technology, a new way of working, a future still taking shape, the admiration i

Some children come into your child’s life and take up all the space. They don’t shout or throw punches. Often, they’re liked, even admired. But slowly and almost imperceptibly, something changes. Your child begins to shrink. They start saying less, doubting more. Their world gets smaller. Their joy dulls at the edges. When you ask what’s wrong, the answers are fragmented, with a text, a shift in tone, a weird look after school. Nothing you can take to a teacher. Nothing that

They never say hello, but it's not intentional. They're just different to me.

I wrote this song for my husband, it's in recognition of the way he loves me. It's not a fairtytale, it's real. He holds me exactly how I need to be held. He sees the best in me, even when I don't. We have been together for 24 years. It hasn't been a straight ride. But relationships, take work, and they get stronger each time. I love you Adam. I Don't Love Me The Way You Do From the EP: Resonance I Don't Love Me The Way You Do by layla_foord [Verse 1] I don’t love me the way

Something big is happening. Fast Adoption You can feel it. So can everyone else. LinkedIn is a freakin' nightmare of AI, EM's and bogus claims. But here’s the strange part: very few people can explain it clearly. Most are caught between fascination and fatigue. Between wild optimism and quiet fear. That’s not because people are behind. It’s because this change is happening faster than our language for it . Let’s slow it down. Let’s walk through it - carefully, clearly, and wi

Do you know the story of the hare and the tortoise? Most people think it's about speed. Really, it's about assumptions. One moves fast, burns out, and loses. The other moves with focus, consistency and wins. Not because it was faster. Because it never lost the plot. In investment, we often play the hare. You buy into a company once it’s attractive enough to justify your capital. And then, almost immediately, you start again. Tear it apart. Bring in your own brigade. Shift the

You know that feeling. You’ve just presented a strategy. It’s been shaped with care, aligned across teams, socialised with the CEO. People nod. You hit send. Then someone says “Seems like a good start — but have we all aligned on this?” And just like that, the room reopens. The thing you spent four months building is now back on the table. Not because it needs clarity — but because someone wants control. It’s subtle. Passive disrespect comes wrapped in curiosity. But it lands

A reflection on the quiet exit of experience, and what it costs us. In almost every job I’ve had over the last decade, I’ve been one of the only people my age. That hasn’t always bothered me. I’ve stayed curious. Learned fast. Led change. But lately, I’ve started noticing something. Older people in tech are quietly disappearing from meaningful roles. Taking positions beneath their capability. Taking significant pay cuts. Losing confidence. Leaving altogether. Not because they

The Living Music Lab is an emerging space where artists create fluid, responsive music using voice, real instruments, and AI tools like Mureka without needing perfection. This is how I returned to songwriting after years away.