The best leaders aren’t setting goals. They are setting puzzles.
In this episode, Monique sits down with Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking, to explore a new paradigm for leadership in a world obsessed with metrics. Radhika’s framework has been adopted across 40+ countries, helping leaders, founders, and teams replace goal-chasing with vision-led learning.
Through her concept of puzzle setting, Radhika invites us to shift from controlling outcomes to cultivating curiosity, from chasing performance to building meaning. She explains why traditional frameworks like OKRs can erode creativity, and how leaders can learn to navigate uncertainty by framing better questions instead of setting faster goals.
This conversation bridges innovation and introspection, challenging every listener to reflect not just what they’re building, but why. Whether you’re leading a team, a company, or your own transformation, this episode will shift how you think about leadership, from hitting targets to solving meaningful puzzles.
In this episode:(01:37) - Radhika Dutt's Diverse Career Journey (05:42) - The Mindset of Puzzle Setting and Solving (10:00) - Challenging Conventional Goal-Setting: The OKR Debate (15:00) - The Limitations of OKRs in Complex Work Environments (22:07) - The Iterative Process of Learning and Experimentation (29:12) - Redefining Metrics: From Vanity to Leading Indicators (35:47) - Public vs. Private Companies: The Metrics Dilemma (44:10) - The Impact of Short-Term Thinking on Business Practices (47:04) - The Human Element in Business (52:48) - Long-Term vs Short-Term Mindset (48:52) - Navigating Existential Threats as a Leader (54:19) - Balancing Vision and Survival (01:02:16) - The Hippocratic Oath of Product (01:19:42) - Personal Vision and Life Experimentation
Grab your copy of Radhika’s Book:- Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter | https://a.co/d/cEe6HKA
- Website | https://rdutt.com/
- LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/radhika-dutt/
- Website | https://www.thegreatlifeexperimentpodcast.com/
- Instagram - thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast | https://www.instagram.com/thegreatlifeexperiment_podcast
- Instagram - @itsmoniqueschafer | https://www.instagram.com/itsmoniqueschafer
- YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@GreatLifeExperiment
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