Why cultivating agency matters more than cultivating skills in the AI era | Max Schoening (Head of Product, Notion)

Max Schoening, Head of Product at Notion, examines how AI is fundamentally reshaping product development by lowering the barrier to entry for building software. The core of professional success in this new landscape is agency—the realization that the world is malleable and that individuals can actively change their environment rather than being constrained by traditional role definitions. Designers and product managers are increasingly leveraging AI to prototype and ship code, moving beyond static design tools to understand the medium of software itself. While AI accelerates the initial phases of product creation, the ultimate value lies in maintaining a "tiny core" of exceptional functionality rather than endless feature bloat. True mastery involves iterative feedback loops and a focus on building reliable, useful tools that prioritize user needs over corporate-driven constraints.