Frameworks Aren’t Enough: The Real Value Lies in the Stories
Navigating frameworks and success stories to discover your own path
Recently, I’ve noticed a shift in how I approach personal growth. Where I once relied on conferences, videos, and articles to fuel my development, I’ve now found deeper value in the quiet, focused world of books.
And the same applies for watching videos or articles (with some exceptions)–I found to appreciate the quietness, lack of distractions from anything else the perfect setup to really recreate in my head the stories these authors speak of.
As a designer, I was always drawn to execution. Watching other designers in action—creating stunning visuals from scratch—was my favorite way to learn. I’d immediately apply these lessons in Photoshop, Sketch or Figma. This hands-on approach helped me grow quickly from junior to senior levels. It would be the equivalent of reading with a pen in your hand to make notes–and to be honest this was for me the best way to learn (at least growing from Jr towards more senior levels).
As I transitioned into leadership, my learning shifted. Instead of focusing solely on execution, my attention turned to two key areas: Frameworks and Stories of Value.
Frameworks
Frameworks became essential for me as I worked with teams. From organizing effective retrospectives to facilitating off-site events, I leaned on structured approaches like design sprints and crazy 8s to drive collaboration. As I progressed, I dove deeper into frameworks around product strategy and leadership since that felt also a part of the bigger picture of building products.
Looking back, if I would start it all over I would jump directly (only) into reading these books, as over the time I’ve been using or recommending them quite a lot.
My top 5 book recommendations here would be:
Blue Ocean Strategy, a good mix between the framework of discovering new value and expanding or being different and examples from real life.
Continuous Discovery, if you need to increase customer centricity and fine-tune your Product Discovery process.
Empowered & Inspired, probably the best books to get an overview picture on how to build products, from rituals to execution.
Org design for Design Org, if you are stepping in the leadership or management of design
Good Strategy/Bad Strategy + The Crux, if you are looking at creating company strategies, or validating them.
Stories of Value
Stories of Value, on the other hand, provided real-world insights. These success stories revealed the human side of leadership—how frameworks play out in actual practice. And I began to notice that many frameworks were just iterations of each other; in the end what mattered most wasn’t the framework itself, but how well it was applied. Given that by then I also had taken a few swings at applying them, I also realised that, by Oscar Wildes words:
Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.
I knew all the frameworks, I could pick and choose based on problems or desired outcomes–however I always felt that I’m missing an angle on the quality that I am generating with them.
If in the past I would find it easy to blame the process, now that I was quite well versed in how it should be done, I knew it wasn’t the framework, it was really about how you execute it, adapt it, and measure if that actually works for you or not (depending on what outcomes you aim for). And that learning stung like a bee.
With that I discovered or re-discovered some books that I found a lot more interesting (and sometimes I end up reading the same books or trying to find my old notes there). They don’t necessarily focus on a secret recipe but more on how to balance everything.
My top 5 book recommendations here would be:
Making of a manager, by Julie Zhuo – For anyone starting their journey into design leadership;
Unreasonable Hospitality, by Will Guidara – For always remembering to aim higher and the value of caring for details & delight.
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, by Phil Knight – For understanding the reality of building a company and setting it up for success.
Delivering Happiness, by Tony Hsieh – For learning ways to build a customer-first mindset and company
Build, by Tony Fadell – For learning how to put the amazing craft in balance with execution and the journey to get there.
I also find myself, besides recommending the books above, also calling out these 2 programs & the deck cards:
Product Strategy & Reforge Product Leadership, by Reforge
This shift—from focusing on frameworks to valuing stories of real-world success—taught me something essential. No matter how many strategies or tools I’ve learned, it’s the way they’re applied and the quality of the work that truly matters. Sometimes, the greatest lessons come from the experience itself, not from the tools we use along the way.