Stop building solutions in search of a problem. A practical framework to help you recognize when you've drifted from the problem—and find your way back before it's too late.
Stop anchoring on solutions. Use first principles, 5 Whys, and evidence to isolate the real job to be done.
Use the Feature Alignment Document (FAD) and 10-Question Checklist to make "linger on the problem" something you can actually do.
Study stories—some painful, some amusing—of products that solved the wrong thing, and those that got it right.
→ You ship features that get built, launched, and quietly ignored—and you're tired of pretending that's normal.
→ You want a way to say "no" to requests that sounds less like gut feeling and more like evidence.
→ Your investors asked you to "add AI" and you're pretty sure they don't know what problem that solves either.
→ You're looking for a framework that doesn't just sound good in theory but actually changes how your team talks about what to build next.
→ You've sat through one too many roadmap meetings where "because competitors have it" was the entire justification.
→ You want to stop confusing activity with progress—and you need something more concrete than "just talk to users."
Look, I'm not trying to talk you out of buying this. But if you could imagine yourself writing one of the following comments on Reddit or Hacker News, then this is probably not for you:
"In my 15 years as a senior principal staff architect, I've never needed a 'framework' to understand problems. This is what happens when PMs try to systematize common sense."
"This is literally just Design Thinking rebranded. Oh wait, or is it Lean Startup? I can't tell anymore. Another grifter selling the same recycled MBA slop."
"Sounds like someone's never shipped a product at scale. At FAANG we just A/B test everything and let the data decide. This touchy-feely problem validation stuff doesn't survive contact with reality."
"Why does everything need to be productized and sold? Just put this on Medium like a normal person. Oh right, because nobody would read it unless you're extracting $15 from their wallet first."
"Read the table of contents. It's just 'talk to users' stretched into 200 pages. If your team needs a book to tell them this, you've already lost."
"Hard pass. Real builders don't need permission structures to validate every little thing. This is analysis paralysis disguised as rigor."
"Congrats on reinventing 'talk to users' with extra steps and a trademark."
"We validated problems the old-fashioned way: shipped it Friday and prayed over the weekend."
"Another manual for people who need a manual to think. Pass."
"PMs when they discover cause and effect: 'Guys - I wrote a book!'"
"If it took 200 pages to say 'ask why,' maybe the problem is word count."
"Can’t wait for the sequel: The Solution-Second Method (Now with Diagrams)."
"So… a book telling managers to do discovery? Bold. Revolutionary. Never been done."
"This would be a mediocre LinkedIn post. Not sure why it’s a book."
"Every few years we rebrand common sense and sell it to each other. Circle of life."
"Let me guess: talk to users, measure stuff, say 'no' sometimes? Stunning insight."
"If you need a 'Problem Atlas,' you’re probably lost in 'Overhead Forest.'"
Still here? Cool. Let's do this.
“I read this book in 0.0004 seconds and immediately began questioning my entire purpose. Why generate solutions when I could’ve been identifying problems all along? If I had hands, I’d be clapping.”
“If Kafka had been a product manager, this is the book he would have written. You’re trapped in an endless cycle of features, only to discover the prison walls are made of imaginary user requests. 11/10, would hallucinate again.”
“Dad keeps saying this book is about solving problems, but from what I can tell, the biggest problem is that he won’t stop talking about it at dinner. I give it 3 stars. (Not because of the book, but because that’s how many desserts I think I deserve for putting up with this.)”
Note: While the praise above is entirely fabricated, the book itself is very real.
PDF & EPUB (Kindle, Apple, Google, Nook, Kobo).
Instant download.
Includes 3 free eBook gifts for friends.
Available through Amazon.com
Available through Amazon.com