Useful Angles

Find your next
good idea.

A free daily newsletter for creative problem solving. One thing to watch, one to listen to, and one to read, with a useful framework and a question to try in work or life.

Useful Angles

Find the value before the feature

Tom Kelley: Field Observations with Fresh Eyes

Tom Kelley · Stanford eCorner / 2 min 48 sec

How ‘Little Ideas’ Can Lead to Powerful Innovations

David Robertson · Knowledge at Wharton / 22 min 46 sec (full episode)

Start here: Read: Three Feature Buckets · about 3 minBring your next three product ideas. Nash’s short framework makes you name the purpose of each one and inspect the mix. It offers a useful opening conversation before estimating effort or ranking the work.

A little of what your inbox could look like.

Good ideas travel.

A framework from a founder might change how you approach a project. An essay might unlock a problem you’ve been sitting with. We find those connections and give you a place to start.

A look at the latest picks

Oct 27, 2026. A framework, a reason to care, and a question to take with you.

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Listen

How ‘Little Ideas’ Can Lead to Powerful Innovations

David Robertson · Knowledge at Wharton22 min 46 sec (full episode)

Complementary innovation: build around the core

Useful when the next improvement might sit outside the object or software itself. It opens up the customer’s surrounding work as a place to look.

Make it your ownWhich awkward task around your product could a complementary service help your customer complete?

Listen to the conversation

Put one idea to work.

Start with a problem you have. These practical guides turn a framework into a question, an example, and a small next step.

Keep a shelf of possibilities.

Every recommendation has a home in the library. Find something to watch on a quiet evening, listen to on a walk, or read when you need a different perspective.

Explore the library

How Useful Angles chooses a fresh angle.

An idea you can use

We look for ways of thinking you can carry into a project, a decision, or a routine. Each recommendation names the framework, explains why it is worth your time, and gives you a question to make it your own.

A source you can follow

Useful Angles uses AI assistance for research and writing. Selections link to their creators or publishers; checks may use transcripts or detailed publisher notes rather than firsthand viewing or listening. Estimated reading times are labeled. Our guides distinguish illustrative exercises from evidence about what works.

A small daily menu

The email offers a watch, a listen, and a read each morning, plus a place to start. Choose what fits your day. When fewer sources meet our checks, we send fewer picks and explain why. Browse the actual recommendations before joining.

A way to make it better

Reply to an issue with a correction, a source we should revisit, or an example of how you used an idea. Subscribing is free and begins after email confirmation; every issue includes a way to unsubscribe.