Real Progress VS Busy Work with Tim Herbig: how to connect strategy, the right metrics and discovery to build what you want - Impactful Products, Beach Body or Meaningful Life.

Busy isn’t the same as better.

We sat down with product strategist, coach and consultant, and now a pubslihed author Tim Herbig to unpack a simple truth: real progress with impact that matters happens when strategy, metrics, and discovery align.

If you lead change across a product, a platform team, culture or your own habits - you’ll leave with a clearer way to choose what to focus on, what to measure, and what to learn.

Say no with confidence. Retire progress theater. And build momentum you can be proud of.

Key Insights:

• Context beats templates every time - "better practices" for your situation matter more than copying what worked for someone else
• Strategy’s real job is helping people say yes and no fast
• The "why" question is ruthlessly effective - if you can't explain why you're doing something, you're probably just checking boxes
• AI helps you reach hard problems faster but only if you're ready to actually solve them instead of automating busywork
• How to spot progress theater before it drains your energy and budget 

... also how to choose a better strategy for your beach body in 2026 and a lot more!

___________
TIM'S BIO

Tim Herbig is a product management coach, consultant, and author who helps teams make evidence-informed decisions by connecting strategy, OKRs, and discovery. For over a decade, he worked in various in-house and consulting roles across publishing, professional networking, and enterprise B2B SaaS. Tim's work has helped organizations from Lufthansa Group Digital Hangar to early-stage startups move from following "best practices" to developing better practices suited to their context that led to desired impact. Tim writes a popular weekly newsletter and is the author of "Real Progress: How to Connect the Dots of Product Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery." He lives by 3 core values: integrity (doing what you say), curiosity (going down rabbit holes), and sincerity (being honest even when it's hard).

5) CALL TO ACTION & RESOURCES

Ready to move from alibi progress to real progress?

Connect with Tim's work:

• Newsletter: https://herbig.co/newsletter (Weekly insights on strategy, OKRs, and discovery)
• Book: "Real Progress: How to Connect the Dots of Product Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery"
• Website: https://herbig.co/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herbigt

Mentioned in the episode:

• Petra Willa's PM Wheel concept
• James Clear's quote on context-dependent advice
• Ravi Mehta's concept of "market interrupt moments"
• Gibson Biddle's Strategy/Metric/Tactic framework

Tim's homework for you:

Start by asking one question this week: "Why are we doing this?" Then see if you can connect your answer to actual measurements and learning. That's where real progress begins.  

_________
Enjoyed this conversation?  

Don’t forget to subscribe to never miss an insight! Rate, and share the show with someone who needs a better way to make progress.  

Chapters

• 0:42 Meet Tim Herbig And The Big Idea
• 2:43 Product Lessons For Life And Change
• 5:58 Tim’s Path Into Product And Writing
• 9:05 Discovery, OKRs, And Strategy Converge
• 12:45 Building The Progress Wheel
• 15:16 What Strategy Really Is For Teams
• 18:25 Leading Vs Lagging Indicators Explained
• 23:05 Context Over Best Practices
• 28:08 When To Pivot Or Hold The Line
• 31:15 Alibi Progress And Real Results
• 36:04 Common Pitfalls And Workshop Traps
• 40:34 Why Write A Book Now
• 44:12 Writing Process, Feedback, And Flow
• 47:39 Using AI To Get To The Hard Part Faster
• 52:07 What Will AI Change
• 55:14 Turning Lags Into Leads
• 58:17 Practices To Retire And Evolve
• 1:01:12 What’s Next And Where To Find Tim
• 1:03:06 Closing And Book Reminder