Product management is inherently chaotic due to constant context switching, ambiguity, and difficult stakeholder conversations. Success isn't about finding a perfect process, but developing the resilience to navigate this mess and guide teams from ambiguity to clarity.

Veteran dealmaker Andy Cohen argues against a "win-at-all-costs" mentality in M&A. True success, particularly in tech deals where talent is key, comes from ensuring the acquired team feels the outcome is fair and their future is promising. If one side feels they lost, the integrated entity will fail.

Don't chase every deal. Like a spearfisherman, anchor in a strategic area and wait patiently for the 'big fish'—a once-in-a-decade opportunity—then act decisively. This requires years of preparation and the discipline to let smaller opportunities pass by, focusing only on transformative deals.

Reflecting on her growth, Tim Hortons' CMO identifies becoming more patient as her most significant evolution. For ambitious leaders, learning that not everything must be accomplished at once is a crucial shift that improves strategic focus and reduces organizational churn, even if some initiatives remain on the back burner.

Many M&A teams focus solely on closing the deal, a critical execution task. The best acquirers succeed by designing a parallel process where integration planning and value creation strategies are developed simultaneously with due diligence, ensuring post-close success.

When solving a critical bottleneck, founders should choose the most direct action with the highest probability of success. Instead of indirect methods like content marketing for leads, choose actions so direct it would be 'weird not to work'—such as immediately flying to a customer's office to sign a critical contract instead of waiting for an email.

High-stakes business requires not just intellect but the capacity to handle immense emotional pressure. This 'emotional endurance,' often forged through personal hardship, provides a critical competitive edge during moments of extreme stress, such as a multi-billion dollar negotiation where the outcome is uncertain.

Early M&A deals are often reactive, seller-led, and prone to post-acquisition chaos. By the tenth deal, teams mature, developing a clear strategy and a proactive, buyer-led process that controls the narrative and ensures integration success from the start.

Three dangerous mindsets, or "coats of conviction," derail M&A deals. They are: reactive positioning (chasing auctions), integration negligence (delaying planning), and the model mirage (trusting an untested financial model). A disciplined, proactive process is the antidote to these common pitfalls.