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Des Traynor

Co-founder and chief strategy officer of Intercom; writes and speaks about product strategy, customer support and, lately, what AI does to both.

Des Traynor did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake

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What they believe

The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These one: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.

All 3 beliefs, on korrents

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Everything, newest first — across every channel.

Sources

18 November 2016

Des TraynorRecommends

  • Lovedrcmnd.app

    Getting Real

    Their words

    The number one book I recommend any entrepreneur to read is Getting Real by Basecamp, named 37 Signals when they published. It is probably the most inspiring book on business I’ve ever read, and it made me realise that small teams can build huge successes.

    intercom.com

  • Recommendsrcmnd.app

    The Secrets of Consulting

    Their words

    A more left of field one would be The Secrets of Consulting by Gerry Weinberg. It’s not on many “Top 10 books for entrepreneurs” lists, but on an abstract level, consulting explains a lot of things, like interpersonal dynamics, and how larger companies can easily go off track.

    intercom.com

  • Recommendsrcmnd.app

    Revising Prose

    Their words

    I’d also recommend Revising Prose by Richard Lanham. I’ve rarely met a great CEO or founder who isn’t also a great writer.

    intercom.com

+ 3 more

  • Lovedrcmnd.app

    Managing Humans

    Their words

    For example Managing Humans by Rands (Michael Lopp) is a great book on management.

    intercom.com

  • Likedrcmnd.app

    It’s Not How Good You Are

    Their words

    For example, when I was starting my career, I definitely took a lot of much-needed motivation from Paul Aarden’s It’s Not How Good You Are, which Eoghan had given me a copy of.

    intercom.com

  • Likedrcmnd.app

    The Innovator's Dilemma

    Their words

    A decade later I took a lot of inspiration from The Innovator’s Dilemma for a similar reason – we were about to embark on this crazy Intercom thing and I needed to believe it was possible.

    intercom.com

3 July 2013

Des TraynorKorrents

From one piece Product strategy means saying no 3 beliefs · intercom.com

The whole feed →

Beliefs

  • Korrents What they believe 3 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.

    Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.

    Recent

    • Building a great product means being great at saying no -- not maybe, not later, no.
      If you’re building a product, you have to be great at saying no. Not “maybe” or “later”. The only word is no. Building a great product isn’t about creating tons of tactically useful features which are tangentially related.

      Product strategy means saying no Said 3 Jul 2013

      Full record — everyone who holds this →

    • Whether a feature is quick to build is a roadmap question, never a reason on its own to build it.
      The main problem with this argument is that the scope of work should never be a reason to include a feature in a product.

      Product strategy means saying no Said 3 Jul 2013

      Full record — everyone who holds this →

    • A real product decision says a proposal is a great idea and still turns it down for something else.
      Real product decisions aren’t easy. They require you to look at a proposal and say “This is a really great idea, I can see why our customers would like it. Well done. But we’re not going to build it. Instead, here’s what we’re doing.”.

      Product strategy means saying no Said 3 Jul 2013

      Full record — everyone who holds this →

    All 3 beliefs →

What is a korrent?

A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.

Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.

Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.

Recommends rcmnd

  • rcmnd What they recommend 6 things — each backed by an exact quote.

    Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.

    Recent

    Show 3 more
    • Recommends Revising Prose
      I’d also recommend Revising Prose by Richard Lanham. I’ve rarely met a great CEO or founder who isn’t also a great writer.

      intercom.com 18 Nov 2016

      What others say about Revising Prose →

    • Recommends The Secrets of Consulting
      A more left of field one would be The Secrets of Consulting by Gerry Weinberg. It’s not on many “Top 10 books for entrepreneurs” lists, but on an abstract level, consulting explains a lot of things, like interpersonal dynamics, and how larger companies can easily go off track.

      intercom.com 18 Nov 2016

      What others say about The Secrets of Consulting →

    • Loved Getting Real
      The number one book I recommend any entrepreneur to read is Getting Real by Basecamp, named 37 Signals when they published. It is probably the most inspiring book on business I’ve ever read, and it made me realise that small teams can build huge successes.

      intercom.com 18 Nov 2016

      What others say about Getting Real →

    All 6 recommendations →

Where they publish

About the English under a post

Some people here publish in a language other than English. Where they do, this site shows a machine translation beneath the post, in this typeface — the site's own, not theirs.

The post itself is never changed, moved or hidden: what is set in the serif above is exactly what the person published, and it is what to quote them on. A translation can be wrong in ways that matter, especially about tone.

Only the post's own words are translated. A quoted post, a linked article and a belief on korrents.com are left in their original language.