Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconventional product advice | Alex Komoroske (Stripe, Google)

So much of the the way that we tackle problems and build products is this builder mindset. It's like I have a plan, I then manipulate things to match my plan and make it happen. And this is a way you can create tons of value. Part of the problem though is it can't possibly create more value than the effort that you put into it. What I look for instead are things that can be gardened, things that can grow on their own and that you can sort of direct or maybe give a little bit of extra energy to or or curate over. And is a totally different mindset for it. If you do this properly, it looks like magic. I've been told that this is Completed all the advice. that people get building products nowadays, but I think it's a very powerful approach that works in a lot of different contexts.

Today my guest is Alex Komarowski. Alex is one of the most original most articulate and first principle thinkers on the future of product and tech that I've ever come across. This conversation will get your brain buzzing in all kinds of ways. Alex spent 13 years at Google, where he worked on search, double click, he led Chrome's open web platform team for eight years, led augmented reality within Google Maps, and developed a new toolkit to line company wide strategy from the bottom up.

After a stint at stripe as head of corporate strategy, He's currently founding a startup that aims to reimagine the web for the AI era. In our wide ranging conversation, we cover how LLMs and Gen AI will impact how we build product in the coming years, what skills will matter most as AI becomes a bigger part of our lives, what companies can learn from Sly Mulk, organizational cfabe, The adjacent possible Strategy salons

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