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Chris Compston

@chriscompston.bsky.social
158 followers 98 following 223 posts

I build great product operating models, so you can build great products Consulting: chriscompston.com Newsletter: chriscompston.substack.com

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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
A shared framework won't save a team that reads "impact" and "priority" differently and never says so out loud. Naming that gap first is the actual work. Mihaela Drăghici on this, a guest piece for my newsletter: chriscompston.substack.com/p/most-produ...
chriscompston.substack.com
Most product frameworks fail because teams don’t share the same language
A guest post by Mihaela Drăghici
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
To all the banking apps out there - you don’t need that personalised loading spinner. It’s ok.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Having terrible handwriting is a great encryption approach
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I’ve been away for a couple of weeks. Is AI still a thing?
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
isaiprofitable.com
isaiprofitable.com
Is AI Profitable Yet?
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Accidental life motto: “If I think, then I don’t do. If I don’t think, then I do”
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
My May Review is out! 🏴‍☠️ A product operating model is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Read more: chriscompston.substack.com/p/0526-may-r...
chriscompston.substack.com
05.26 May Review
🏴‍☠️ Most Product Transformations Don’t Stick
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
There's still a gap between what is being said about AI and what is actually happening inside most organisations. And it's wider than it should be. Most organisations are exactly where you'd expect them to be. The noise just makes it hard to see that. chriscompston.substack.com/p/cutting-th...
chriscompston.substack.com
Cutting Through the AI Noise
This article is a round-up of where that thinking has landed, and a reflection on why many of us are fearing being left behind.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
A couple of weeks ago Christine Itwaru interviewed me for The Product Heart's Spotlight series. We talked Product Ops, clarity, why the generalist is making a comeback. A good conversation! www.theproductheart.com/p/tph-spotli...
theproductheart.com
TPH Spotlight: Chris Compston
On the generalist's return, and why clarity is everything.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Always travel with a cap
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
My Monthly Review is out! Is stakeholder management still the core of great product work, even in the age of AI? Haleik Coleman thinks so. I'm inclined to agree. Plus: hiring horror stories, strategic translation layers and a lot of great conversations. chriscompston.substack.com/p/0426-april...
chriscompston.substack.com
04.26 April Review
⭐️ Product Management is Stakeholder Management, Still.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
"We're working on AI." Cool! But, in which way?? There are at least five distinct things that phrase could mean. I wrote about them here: chriscompston.substack.com/p/five-ways-...
chriscompston.substack.com
Five Ways to Think About AI
Across my client work and the broader industry conversations I have, AI comes up constantly ...
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Last night was the first product event in a long time where, at the end, the host asked if anyone was looking for a new role to put their hand up … and no one did. Turning point? Or maybe everyone is just holding on to bad roles for fear of nt getting anything else.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Great article. The MVP part really lands, a term so broken that people needed eight alternatives for it! Signs it probably wasn't doing much useful work in the first place.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Words do not fail because they are bad words. They fail because we use them as though 'shared vocabulary' is the same as 'shared understanding'. Read more: chriscompston.substack.com/p/how-do-you...
chriscompston.substack.com
How Do You Pronounce Your Name?
Before a recent conversation got started, I asked the other person how to pronounce their name.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Words like 'empowered', 'agile', 'customer-centric', and now 'AI' circulate freely in organisations. The cost of that vagueness is not abstract. It shows up in misaligned teams, stalled initiatives, and work that quietly goes in three different directions.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
🤔 How often do you stop to ask whether everyone means the same thing by the word that was just used? Probably not often enough. Most of us don't! Everyone nods. Nobody checks.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
“I AM the diversity!”
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Explorations Finding My AI Flow State: What does a genuinely useful relationship with AI tools actually looks like in practice? chriscompston.substack.com/p/exploratio...
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
“You should only employ people with AI capabilities” - person who sells AI courses.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Find European tech, software, and service alternatives that respect your data sovereignty, are built with GDPR in mind, and store data in Europe. europeantechmap.eu
europeantechmap.eu
European Tech Map | European tech alternatives
Find European tech, software, and service alternatives that respect your data sovereignty, are built with GDPR in mind, and store data in Europe.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
AI or Human? facetest.psy.unsw.edu.au/aifaces.html
facetest.psy.unsw.edu.au
UNSW Face Test - AI-Face Research
See how your face recognition skills compare to others with our free tests. Find out for free if you are a super-recogniser or face-blind.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
‘Be kind, have a sense of humour, fall in love, enjoy strawberries’ - Alan Turing
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Celebrate the success of others as if it were your own.
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Reposted by Chris Compston
Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
I need to write something about pricing/value at some point. If you're doing creative work, constraints & being scrappy often make for stronger work, but if you are paying someone else for their work or advice, paying more leads to better outcomes, because you'll pay attention and value the work.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Phew! At least now I know what errors to correct ... oh wait
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
How lovely and supportive of someone new to the industry
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Good customer service? Over Christmas I was so disappointed the restaurant had sold out of pigs in blankets … they went out and bought more just for me. Nice.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
The [Colour] [Animal] Always a creative or marketing agency.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Bleh
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Part of the fun of any new hobby is the associated spreadsheet
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
🎄🎅🏻 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope you are all going to enjoy the end of year break, I'm planning to totally switch of and relax with family and friends. 📵 See you all in 2026 ... something exciting is coming! 📚
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Love this. If I knew anything about … well … all of this, I’d love to give it a go youtu.be/UCHQCaAtMd8?...
youtu.be
I Built a Cute Virtual Pet That Hunts Wi-Fi
YouTube video by CiferTech
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
10% will dislike you no matter what. 10% will love you no matter what. 80% are undecided - that’s where your energy belongs. Don’t chase critics or preach to the choir. Focus on the 80% who are open, listening, and reachable. 💙
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Those times are very much over
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Last week we had our fourth Product Ops Leaders Forum call. We had an international group of Product Ops Directors and Heads Of to discuss the challenges and themes of hiring talent in the space. 💜 As ever it was an engaging and open conversation; productopsleaders.substack.com/p/hiring-pro...
productopsleaders.substack.com
Hiring Product Ops Talent
What Product Ops leaders look for when building their teams
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
15 years since I last used Adobe InDesign. While it feels way more cumbersome than it used to, I'm surprised at how much my muscle memory for keyboard shortcuts has lasted! 📝 Writing the Make the Product Shift Reference Guide. Details on chriscompston.com if you're interested to know more!
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
I’m not sure the “ex-[enter cool company name]” has ever been that impressive, but it’s even less so nowadays.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
I knew the hiring was a mess right now … but damn 😆
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
"2025 [Anything] Wrapped!" Damn, come up with your own ideas, at least a different word.
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
This alignment is wild
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Product Excellence Isn't Accidental Every product organisation needs one person who is focused on how it operates chriscompston.substack.com/p/product-ex...
chriscompston.substack.com
Product Excellence Isn't Accidental
Every product organisation needs one person who is focused on how it operates
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
I find it hilarious that websites and apps are still adding the falling snow in December. Damn, I was doing that 20 years ago. ❄️ ❄️ ❄️
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Chris Compston @chriscompston.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
My latest newsletter is out! The two main topics I cover this month; 🚀 High-Performing Product Teams by Design - who owns your product operating model? 🎯 Optimising your Capabilities - start to think about the system and view it as a whole chriscompston.substack.com/p/1125-novem...
chriscompston.substack.com
11.25 November Review
Who owns the operating model in your product organisation?
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Reposted by Chris Compston
Adrian Howard @adrianhoward.com · 03/12/2025
A little ramble on the value of tracking interruptions over tracking time on task. adrianhoward.com/posts/track-...
adrianhoward.com
Don't Track Tasks. Track Interruptions.
TL;DR: Instead of tracking your time, try tracking the interruptions instead.
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