Writing/Speaking
Notes on building with AI. This section is for teams that care less about AI theater and more about actually shipping
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Built with AI Podcast
In this episode, I show how I built Reps, an AI-powered personal training app, as a non-technical PM using English prompts in Cursor. We build a live double-progression feature that automatically adapts target reps and weights like a strong coach would. We also cover how I use AI to write PRDs, test edge cases, and ship features without hand-coding.
Listen → EpisodeHow to Build a SaaS Product That Coaches Customers to Success
Great SaaS products do more than track usage, they improve user capability. I outline a coaching-oriented product model that helps customers make better decisions inside the product itself. The focus is practical: design loops that increase confidence, not just clicks.
Read → 7 minHow to Motivate People with Leaderboards
Leaderboards can motivate progress or distort behavior, depending on how they are built. I break down design choices that increase skill development instead of ego loops. The piece gives product teams a cleaner framework for deciding when leaderboards help and when they hurt.
Read → 5 minMaking Communities
Healthy communities are designed, not wished into existence. This essay applies motivation science to community products, showing how autonomy, competence, and belonging shape participation quality over time. The goal is not activity spikes, but environments that help people keep showing up with purpose.
Read → 6 minMotivating Humans: An Introduction to Self-Determination Theory
Self-Determination Theory remains one of the most useful frameworks for product builders. This piece translates autonomy, competence, and relatedness into practical design choices teams can apply immediately. If you want motivation that compounds, this is the mental model foundation.
Read → 10 minLTBP #70 - Omar Ganai: Challenges With Applying Self-Determination Theory for PTs
Third conversation on Lift the Bar focused on the execution gap in motivation theory. We unpack why autonomy is easy to reference but hard to apply in real coaching, then share practical ways to support motivation without losing rigor.
Listen → EpisodeThe Nagging Issues of Nudging
Nudges can produce short-term behavior shifts, but they often decay once the prompt disappears. This piece breaks down where product teams misuse nudge tactics and why reactance becomes a hidden cost. I argue for autonomy-supportive design that builds durable motivation instead of compliance theater.
Read → 8 minLTBP #41 - Omar Ganai: Motivation Science for Better Client Results, Organismic Integration Theory & The Curse of Knowledge
Back on Lift the Bar to discuss why motivation science should be part of every coach's toolkit. We cover organismic integration theory, the curse of knowledge, and concrete ways to build competence, autonomy, and connection into client work.
Listen → EpisodeLTBP #11 - Omar Ganai Interview: Can We Motivate Our Clients?
A foundational discussion on what actually drives client follow-through. We break down intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, translate self-determination theory into plain language, and outline how to design habits clients can sustain.
Listen → Episode