Breaking through the instagramification of our industry

Afonso Malo, Product at Heart 2025

There’s a fine line between setting high and achievable standards for ourselves and our companies and falling into the trap of imitating “the best” without appreciating our own context. Somewhere between those impossible standards and the stalling of “it depends,” Afonso Malo offered us a third, more grounded way, in his closing keynote.

The air at Kampnagel was heavy, more than 600 curious product people gathered, waiting for the last talk of the day. Closing a conference is never easy. You carry the responsibility of the message people will walk home with.

You can close with aspiration. You can leave people dreaming.
What Afonso Malo did was close with big ambitions and high standards — but with both feet firmly planted in reality. He brought a breath of fresh air to the warm room, challenging all of us to reflect on how we can actually make an impact in our organisations.

The comparison trap

Let’s face it, we’ve all been there, caught between two extremes: constant comparison (we're not this, we're not that) and “it depends,” where nothing feels applicable because everything is too contextual. That's the comparison trap that Afonso surfaced.

On social media and stages we see best practices, success stories, the “so great and straightforward” journeys. And then there are our realities. Where we deal with complexities, nuances, and context that can leave us paralyzed and disillusioned. Thinking “everyone else is doing that, but it will never work here”.

It’s a clash of titans, and we’re stuck in the middle. We’re bombarded with oversimplifications because complexity doesn’t scale, but blueprints do. Certainty is interpreted as competence and care. Uncertainty? As if you haven’t dug deep enough. And often, there’s a wall between “that’s what works there, let’s do it” and “that’ll never work here.”

But is reality really so black and white? Of course not.

Afonso gave us a real Instagram vs. reality moment when he shared data from interviews with CPOs at some of the most successful companies in Scandinavia. Some of the very companies we often consider “the best.”

“The best and the rest” — but what if they’re the same company?

One striking truth came out of those interviews: even “the best” don’t think they’re doing the best work.

The good stuff is what gets shared on stage. But behind the scenes? Stakeholders asking for features, internal politics, frustrations, and much more. All the things that are below the tip of the iceberg and that almost never make it to the spotlight.

And even more importantly: expectations on product are highly contextual. What one CPO values may differ completely from another. “Top performer” means nothing without context.

Let that sink in: chasing what worked for someone else may lead you nowhere. 

Not because it wasn’t good, but because it’s not for your context. What matters is understanding what good looks like, then making it work for your organisation.

Don’t imitate. Apply critical sense. Start where your org is.

Aspire to high standards, one day at a time

It’s not about copying what others are doing and revolutionising an org in the name of “frameworks that will solve all of our problems”. It’s about curating, extracting, being inspired, and taking the next best next step.

Because you know what the most powerful superpower in improving a product org is? The compounding effect.

So how do you start creating that compounding impact? Afonso offered three concrete steps to help make your organisation 1% better, day after day:

1. Shift your lenses

Move from frustration and disappointment to optimism. Assume good intent, that the person across the table or screen wants the best for the company and the users. Work from there, together.

A simple trick for the mindset shift: instead of asking, “Why did they do that?”, ask “What pressure might they be under? What context were they missing?”

2. Abandon gap thinking

You probably can’t revolutionise how your company works overnight. That’s not the job. The job is to think big, start small, one improvement at a time.

Zoom out to see the big picture, then zoom in to improve one thing for your team: a process that brings you closer to users, a key stakeholder relationship, a better understanding of how your company makes money. The key is trading leaps for consistent, intentional improvements.

3. Focus on what you can control

No matter how small the action seems, if it creates a positive impact, it will compound.
And more than that, it positions you as someone who cares, creates value, and acts with the company’s best interests at heart. That opens doors.

What I’m taking with me

Here’s my personal take: Afonso’s talk was a refreshing reminder of the power of joy and positive impact in our work. Leading with those values is something I’ve found incredibly powerful. If more people would shift their lenses, stop comparing, and start impacting, I truly believe we could reduce the burnout that’s so consistently reflected in product surveys. And we’d have happier, more fulfilled, people.

But there is a caveat and one more point I want to add to Afonso’s talk: don’t fall into the trap of perfection while trying to apply this.

Look up at that slide with the two PMs, one leading with curiosity, the other with frustration. That doesn’t have to be two people. That’s definitely been me, on two different days.

Keeping an open mind and seeing with new lenses requires headspace. You won’t be at your best every day, and that’s okay.  I’ve learned to pause when I feel triggered and come back to the conversation with a clearer mind. I’ve learned that running and meditating help me make better decisions. And that being an empathic human means I can’t be at 100% of my mind capacity all the time.

We should strive to make these changes.
We should be the positive impact we want to see.
But we also need to understand what we personally need to get there.

As Afonso put it: Clarity. Ownership. Care.
Do it for yourself, and others will thank you.

The full video of Afonso’s closing keynote is below.
Give yourself the time to watch it and fully absorb the message: