Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Brought to you by Microsoft Clarity—See how people actually use your product | Lenny’s Job Board—Hire the best product people. Find the best product gigs | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments—Nancy Duarte is the CEO of Duarte Inc. and has helped create over 250,000 presentations for influential business leaders across the globe, including Apple, TED, the World Bank, and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. She’s also written six best-selling books, and her TED talk has garnered over 3 million views. She regularly contributes to HBR, MIT-Sloan, and Forbes, and her books are essential reading in leading business schools worldwide. In today’s episode, we discuss:• Why empathy is at the heart of everything Nancy does• Why you’re presenting more often than you think• Tactics for creating interesting presentations and telling better stories• The concept of a “torchbearer leader” and why it’s important• Strategies for overcoming stage fright and nerves• Tips for communicating and presenting remotely• How Nancy landed Apple as a client and what she learned—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/storytelling-with-nancy-duarte-how-to-craft-compelling-presentations-and-tell-a-story-that-sticks/—Where to find Nancy Duarte:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancyduarte• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyduarte/• Website: https://www.duarte.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Nancy’s background(03:25) The insane number of presentations Nancy has helped create(04:52) The most memorable presentation of Nancy’s career, and what it taught her(07:04) The lasting impact of working with Al Gore(09:00) How Nancy landed Apple as a client(11:44) How working with Apple informed future presentations(16:22) 3 things to remember when creating a deck(17:33) The importance of empathy(20:29) Empathy in action(22:40) Why internal presentations are so high-pressure(23:09) Signs you’re doing a good job making the audience the hero of the story(25:38) The structure of great talks(28:08) Lessons from great historical speeches(30:02) You’re presenting more often than you think(32:07) How Nancy uses this story structure in her marriage(35:00) The framework What is? What could be? What is the ideal bliss?(36:07) The importance of visuals(41:12) Slide-making principles (titles, organization, and more)(45:46) The Minto Pyramid Principle(48:02) Think and plan before diving into software(50:00) The Duarte process for crafting presentations(53:18) How remote work has influenced the way we communicate and present (55:46) Strategies for overcoming stage fright and nerves(1:01:10) The concept of “torchbearer leaders” and why it’s important (1:04:54) The surprising truth about informal vs. formal production quality(1:07:37) Examples of PMs telling great stories(1:11:49) Lightning round—Referenced:• Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth: https://algore.com/library/an-inconvenient-truth-dvd• Apple’s Think Different campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sMBhDv4sik• The Secret Structure of Great Talks (Nancy’s TED talk): https://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks• The Structure of Great Talks graphic: https://www.google.com/search?q=nancy+duarte+ted+talk+great+story+up+and+down+like+teeth&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2hoCZmJH_AhVXATQIHb1KC2AQ0pQJegQIBxAB&biw=1512&bih=838&dpr=2#imgrc=5Jei-bDCXe2qQM• I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP4iY1TtS3s• The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking and Problem Solving: https://www.amazon.com/Minto-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-Thinking• The Minto Pyramid Principle and the SCR Framework, by Lenny: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/minto-pyramid-principle-scr• Illuminate: Ignite Change Through Speeches, Stories, Ceremonies, and Symbols: https://www.amazon.com/Illuminate-Through-Speeches-Stories-Ceremonies• Marshall Ganz: https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty/marshall-ganz• Brian Chesky: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianchesky/• Airbnb’s Snow White storyboards: https://uxdesign.cc/how-airbnb-proved-that-storytelling-is-the-most-important-skill-in-design-15d04ac71039• The Writer’s Journey: https://www.amazon.com/Writers-Journey-Anniversary-Mythic-Structure• Business Proposal: https://asianwiki.com/Business_Proposal• Writer: https://writer.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Coda—Meet the evolution of docs | Lenny’s Job Board—Hire the best product people. Find the best product gigs | Eco—Your most rewarding app—Andy Raskin helps CEOs align their leadership teams around a strategic narrative—a single story that powers success in sales, marketing, product, fundraising, and recruiting. His clients include Gong, Dropbox, Uber, Salesforce, Square, and IBM. In today’s episode, we discuss:• What a strategic narrative is, and how to craft one• How having a strategic narrative can bring alignment to your entire company• Examples of strategic narratives in action• Who needs a strategic narrative and who doesn’t• Why Andy thinks about movements instead of categories—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-power-of-strategic-narrative-andy-raskin/#transcript—Where to find Andy Raskin:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyraskin/• Website: https://www.andyraskin.com/• Podcast: https://andyraskin.com/podcast/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Andy’s background(08:03) What is a strategic narrative?(10:34) How Salesforce would have pitched the old way(12:02) Examples of a strategic narrative in action (15:23) How one piece of writing skyrocketed Andy’s career(16:40) The power of writing online(17:53) Two paths to writing online(19:27) Naming the old game(20:59) Naming the stakes (23:29) Naming the objective(25:17) Naming the obstacles(26:35) Overcoming the obstacles(26:57) How the strategic narrative parallels the hero’s journey (28:25) Telling one story well vs. being a good storyteller(29:18) The 5-step framework summarized(31:33) An example of the 5-step framework in action(36:12) The impact of shifting to the strategic narrative approach (39:08) Companies that are nailing their strategic narrative (40:36) Why Andy thinks about movements instead of categories(44:15) Should every company have a strategic narrative?(46:33) Signs that something is broken in your strategic narrative(48:53) Steps to get started on your own(51:36) How to reach Andy(51:53) Why the second session is the low point in the process(55:30) Why the CEO needs to be part of the process(57:40) Lightning round—Referenced:• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/• Marc Benioff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff/• Zuora: https://www.zuora.com/• The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-greatest-sales-deck-ive-ever-seen-4f4ef3391ba0• Gong: https://www.gong.io/• Tien Tzuo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tientzuo/• Want a Better Pitch? Master the “Move”: https://medium.com/firm-narrative/want-a-better-pitch-master-the-move-5fbee071ca7f• Star Wars: https://www.starwars.com/• The Hero with a Thousand Faces: https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Faces-Collected-Joseph-Campbell/dp/1577315936• 360Learning: https://360learning.com/• Nick Hernandez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoconut/• Amit Bendov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitbendov/• Drift: https://www.drift.com/• OneTrust: https://www.onetrust.com/• “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott: https://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/pamela.golden/engl2327/shitty-first-drafts-by-anne-lamott/view• Story: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Substance-Structure-Principles-Screenwriting/• Out of Sheer Rage: https://www.amazon.com/Out-Sheer-Rage-Wrestling-Lawrence/• Station Eleven: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10574236/• Fitbit: https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/home• Apple Watch: https://www.apple.com/watch—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Microsoft Clarity—See how people actually use your product | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments | Eco—Your most rewarding app—Gustav Söderström is the Co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer at Spotify. He is responsible for Spotify’s global product and technology strategy, overseeing the product, design, data, and engineering teams. Prior to Spotify, he founded 13th Lab, a startup that was later acquired by Facebook’s Oculus. He also served as the Director of Product and Business Development for Yahoo Mobile and founded Kenet Works, a company focused on community software for mobile phones, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2006. In today’s episode, we discuss:• How Spotify structures product teams to promote freedom of thought• Lessons on thinking long-term and navigating negative feedback• Why Gustav started a podcast and what he’s learned• How AI has impacted the work PMs, engineers, and designers do within Spotify• AI-generated music and its impact on artists• What’s next for Spotify and Spotify Podcasting—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-scaling-spotify-the-science-of-product-taking-risky-bets-and-how-ai-is-already-impacting-the-future-of-music-gustav-soderstrom-co-president-cpo-and-cto-at-spotify/#transcript—Where to find Gustav Söderström:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GustavS• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavsoderstrom/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Gustav’s background(04:08) The various roles Gustav has occupied at Spotify(06:54) Why Gustav launched a podcast and what he learned(12:37) How PMs and product teams should think about AI(21:23) AI-generated music(26:19) Will AI continue to be a magic trick for products?(28:27) How Spotify organizes product teams(34:33) How Spotify operationalized autonomy(35:45) Why Spotify uses a centralized model for structuring their organization(43:34) The big bet Spotify took with redesigning its interface, and what they learned(57:26) How they tested their hypothesis before launch(1:02:35) Gustav’s “10% planning time” methodology (1:03:53) How to bring energy and clarity to your work(1:08:07) How to systematize deep thinking(1:10:29) The peeing-in-your-pants analogy (1:11:38) Thoughts on how the Swedish culture is portrayed in Succession (1:13:30) What’s next for Spotify and Spotify Podcasting(1:15:52) Lightning round—Referenced:• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/• Daniel Ek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-ek-1b52093a/• Spotify: A Product Story podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3L9tzrt0CthF6hNkxYIeSB• Spotify’s AI DJ: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-02-22/spotify-debuts-a-new-ai-dj-right-in-your-pocket/• Avicii: https://avicii.com/• DALL-E: https://openai.com/product/dall-e-2• Stable Diffusion: https://stability.ai/• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/• Brian Chesky: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianchesky/• Succession on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/succession• Fjällräven: https://www.fjallraven.com/us/en-us• 7 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy: https://www.amazon.com/7-Powers-Foundations-Business-Strategy• Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor: https://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Munger-Tren-Griffin• The Mystery of the Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity: https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Aleph-Mathematics-Kabbalah-Infinity• Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime: https://www.amazon.com/Something-Deeply-Hidden• Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/Helgoland-Making-Sense-Quantum-Revolution• The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World: https://www.amazon.com/The-Beginning-of-Infinity• The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes—and Its Implications: https://www.amazon.com/The-Fabric-of-Reality• The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes: https://www.amazon.com/The-Case-Against-Reality-audiobook/dp/B07VL5TCVF/ref=sr_1_1• Gödel’s Proof: https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6dels-Proof-Ernest-Nagel• The Demon in the Machine: How Hidden Webs of Information Are Solving the Mystery of Life: https://www.amazon.com/Demon-Machine-Information-Solving-Mystery• Halt and Catch Fire on Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/halt-and-catch-fire/umc.cmc.5s15r46uj0wx044tipm2zoh88• Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Braintrust—For when you needed talent, yesterday | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments | Rows—The spreadsheet where data comes to life—Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur, author, investor, and currently Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer and EVP of Design and Emerging Products. He founded Behance, an online platform for creative professionals to showcase and discover work, and served as CEO until its acquisition by Adobe. Scott is an early advisor and investor in several businesses at the intersection of technology and design, including Pinterest, Uber, Warby Parker, Airtable, and Flexport. He is also the author of two nationally bestselling books and founded 99U, a publication and conference focused on productivity in the creative world. In today’s episode, we discuss:* How to strengthen your product sense* Why you should only do half the things you want* What it takes to build a successful consumer product* Why you are probably underinvesting in onboarding* The future of AI and how to prepare for it* Advice for founders and PMs who are feeling stuck* Why resourcefulness will take you further than resources* Adobe’s current priorities and their exciting path ahead—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-on-building-product-sense-navigating-ai-optimizing-the-first-mile-and-making-it-through-the-messy-middle-scott-belsky-adobe-behance/#transcript—Where to find Scott Belsky:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/scottbelsky• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottbelsky/• Blog: https://www.implications.com/• Website: www.scottbelsky.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Scott’s background(04:50) Why Scott shifted roles at Adobe(08:29) Advice for PMs looking to build product sense(10:43) The first mile(13:18) How to develop more empathy(16:33) How to build consumer products that work(20:42) Scott’s philosophy that you should “only do half the things you want to do”(26:15) Scott’s optimism about how the world will look in five years with AI(29:44) How AI will impact product teams(32:55) How the PM role will change as a result of AI(35:09) How Adobe is leveraging AI tools(36:59) What the term “golden gut” means(38:15) Advice for PMs to stay ahead of the new AI trends(41:02) How to start writing more(41:49) The messy middle(47:03) What Scott looks for as an angel investor (50:16) Why resourcefulness will take you further than resources (52:41) Adobe’s current priorities and the path ahead(54:58) Lightning round —Referenced:• Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/• Behance: https://www.behance.net/• Casey Winters on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/thinking-beyond-frameworks-casey-winters-pinterest-eventbrite-airbnb-tinder-canva-reddit-grubhub/• Crafting The First Mile Of Product: https://medium.com/positiveslope/crafting-the-first-mile-of-product-7ed25e8f1027• Shishir Mehrotra on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-rituals-of-great-teams-shishir-mehrotra-coda-youtube-microsoft/• Scott’s tweet on only doing half the things you want to do: https://twitter.com/scottbelsky/status/1441469886975279109?s=20• Matt Mochary on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-fire-people-with-grace-work-through-fear-and-nurture-innovation-matt-mochary-ceo-coach/• Adobe Firefly: https://www.adobe.com/sensei/generative-ai/firefly• Howie Liu (CEO at Airtable): https://www.linkedin.com/in/howieliu/• ChatGPT: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt• The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture by Scott Belsky: https://www.amazon.com/Messy-Middle-Finding-Through-Hardest/dp/0735218072• Adobe Express: https://www.adobe.com/express• Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell: https://www.amazon.com/Build-Unorthodox-Guide-Making-Things/dp/0063046067• Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey on Netflix: https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Cosmos-A-Spacetime-Odyssey/80004448• Vinod Khosla’s prediction: https://futurism.com/80-of-it-jobs-can-be-replaced-by-automation-and-its-exciting• Queue: https://www.queue.co/• Tome: https://tome.app/• Kevin Kelly on The Tim Ferriss Show: https://tim.blog/2014/08/29/kevin-kelly/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Microsoft Clarity—See how people actually use your product | Eco—Your most rewarding app | LMNT—Zero-sugar hydration—Ayo Omojola is Chief Product Officer at Carbon Health, one of the fastest-growing and most innovative health tech companies in the world. Previously, he was a PM leader at Cash App, where he co-created the Cash Card and scaled it to a nine-figure revenue line for Square. He’s also an angel investor in companies like Mercury, Modern Treasury, Faire, and many others. In this episode, we discuss:• How Cash App broke through the noise and became a consumer app success story• Why small teams are better than big ones• Hard-won lessons on team building and hiring• Why it’s “criminal” not to connect people in your network to things that they need• Why you sometimes shouldn’t listen to experts• The importance of first-principles thinking• Advice for health tech founders—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/frameworks-for-product-differentiation-team-building-and-thinking-from-first-principles-ayo-omojola-carbon-health-cash-app/#transcript—Where to find Ayo Omojola:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ay_o• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omojola/• Blog: https://kunle.app/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Ayo’s background(04:13) The story of how Ayo used Quora for discoverability (06:44) The scale of Cash App (07:37) What Cash App did well(10:12) Lessons from building consumer apps (13:08) Why it’s so important to be different(14:08) What Ayo learned from how Square/Block operates(16:36) How to succeed at building a startup within a startup(19:06) How Ayo transitioned from fintech to health tech(22:51) Why Ayo loves hiring founders (28:32) Team-building strategies(32:12) The importance of going deep and challenging assumptions(36:58) Why you should always ask questions(38:45) Lessons in leadership(41:43) Advice for founders in the health-care space(44:48) What Carbon Health is(46:58) Lightning round—Referenced:• Ayo on Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Ayo-Omojola• Carbon Health: https://carbonhealth.com/• Cash App: https://cash.app/• Lob: https://www.lob.com/• Mailform: https://www.mailform.io/• Venmo: https://venmo.com/• PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/us/home• Apple Cash: https://www.apple.com/apple-cash/• Square: https://squareup.com/us/en/home/• Block: https://block.xyz/• Pinwheel: https://www.pinwheelapi.com/• The Three-Body Problem: https://www.amazon.com/Three-Body-Problem-Cixin-Liu/dp/0765382032• Children of Time: https://www.amazon.com/Children-of-Time• Children of Memory: https://www.amazon.com/Children-Memory-Adrian-Tchaikovsky/• Children of Ruin: https://www.amazon.com/Children-Ruin-Time-Adrian-Tchaikovsky/• Stormlight Archive: https://www.amazon.com/Stormlight-Archive-Boxed-Set-Books/• Fire in the Deep: https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Deep-Robert-J-Miller/• War of the Worlds on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.49a287c2-44ed-4ffc-afa0-fab86dd0d31d• Succession on HBO Max: https://play.hbomax.com/player/urn:hbo:episode:GWukCJAu0e4uHwwEAAAB5• No Context Succession on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nocontextroyco—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Braintrust—For when you needed talent, yesterday | AssemblyAI—Production-ready AI models to transcribe and understand speech | Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life—Jonathan Becker is the founder and president of Thrive Digital, where he and his team have deployed more than $3.5 billion in paid acquisition budgets for companies like Uber, Asana, Square, Tempur-Pedic, and MasterClass. He spent the first part of his career mastering SEO and is a world expert in DTC, lead generation, demand generation, and user acquisition. In today’s episode, we discuss:• Signs that your company is a good fit for paid growth• Strategies for optimizing ad creatives• The merits of different marketing channels: paid vs. organic search, TikTok and short-form• Insights on attribution and how to approach it effectively• How market conditions and AI impact paid growth• The crazy story of how Jonathan won Uber as a client—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/mastering-paid-growth-jonathan-becker-thrive-digital/#transcript—Where to find Jonathan Becker:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jzbecker• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanbecker123/• Website: https://thrivedigital.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Jonathan’s background(07:25) The crazy story of how Jonathan won Uber as a client(11:56) Interchangeable terms for “paid growth”(12:31) Why you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket(16:48) What kind of companies should pursue paid growth(23:07) Is it possible to reach scale exclusively through paid growth?(27:07) The evolution of performance marketing(29:39) Advice for founders choosing between SEO and paid(32:18) Strategies for optimizing ad creatives(44:43) Paid vs. organic search, TikTok and short-form(49:56) Where to spend money in order to drive growth for B2B SaaS(55:06) Attribution in performance marketing (1:04:18) The impact of AI on paid growth(1:12:52) Advice for early-stage startups on hiring in-house vs. hiring an agency (1:17:09) Qualifications to look for in your hires(1:23:23) How Jonathan won Snapchat as a client(1:28:55) Lightning round—Referenced:• Andrew Wilkinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/awilkinson/• Garrett Camp: https://www.forbes.com/profile/garrett-camp/• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/• Grammarly: https://app.grammarly.com/• Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/en• Supermetrics: https://supermetrics.com/• Recast: https://getrecast.com/• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/• DALL-E: https://openai.com/product/dall-e-2• Storyworthy: https://www.amazon.com/Storyworthy-Engage-Persuade-through-Storytelling/dp/1608685489• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike: https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike-ebook/dp/B0176M1A44• American Kingpin: https://www.amazon.com/American-Kingpin-Criminal-Mastermind-Behind/dp/1591848148• The Big Short: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596363/• White Lotus on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-white-lotus—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Mixpanel—Product analytics that everyone can trust, use, and afford | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments | Braintrust—For when you needed talent, yesterday—David Singleton is Chief Technology Officer at Stripe, where he oversees engineering and design teams. Since joining Stripe, David has helped grow the technology org across the U.S. and developed new engineering hubs in Singapore and Dublin as well as Stripe’s fifth hub, remote engineering, across the globe. Before Stripe, he spent 11 years at Google, where he was VP of Engineering, leading product development and coordinating more than 15 different hardware partnerships. In today’s episode, we cover:• Hiring secrets that set Stripe employees apart• How to build a product-minded engineering team• How to operationalize meticulousness• Strategies for maintaining developer productivity at scale• The process of “friction logging” used to make better products• How AI is changing the way engineers work• Insights for planning and prioritizing at scale—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/building-a-culture-of-excellence-david-singleton-cto-of-stripe/#transcript—Where to find David Singleton:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/dps• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpsingleton/• Website: https://blog.singleton.io/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) David’s background(04:22) How Stripe’s unique hiring process has helped them build an incredible team(12:27) An example of a relentlessly curious and passionate employee(14:11) Structured hiring loops at Stripe(16:39) How Stripe built a product-minded engineering culture(21:56) Stripe’s operating principles (25:39) How Stripe uses “friction logging” to build a meticulous product culture (32:22) How to operationalize friction logging(35:02) How to set PMs up for success(36:53) Stripe’s collaborative approach to product evaluation(41:17) Advice for presenting to CTOs (42:58) How to get better at building products(45:28) Stripe’s “engineerications” and the importance of getting into the weeds as a leader(52:03) Auto-testing and other strategies to improve shipping speeds(59:29) Improving developer productivity(1:00:54) How AI has impacted the way Stripe builds product (1:07:03) Why David is excited about Copilot(1:09:24) Lessons from managing people(1:14:30) Planning and prioritization based on first-principles thinking(1:18:23) Lenny’s feedback from using Stripe(1:19:14) What’s next for Stripe(1:22:10) Lightning round—Referenced:• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• Jeff Weinstein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwweinstein/• How we use friction logs to improve products at Stripe: https://dev.to/stripe/how-we-use-friction-logs-to-improve-products-at-stripe-i6p• GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot• High Output Management by Andrew Grove: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884• Build by Tony Fadell: https://www.amazon.com/Build/dp/1787634116/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0• Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building by Claire Hughes Johnson: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-People-Tactics-Management-Building/dp/1953953212/• Andrej Karpathy on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrejKarpathy• Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/home/• Emily Sands: https://www.linkedin.com/in/egsands/• Michelle Bu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebu/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Rows—The spreadsheet where data comes to life | Braintrust—For when you needed talent, yesterday | Coda—Meet the evolution of docs—Carilu Dietrich is a former CMO, most notably the Head of Marketing who took Atlassian public. These days she’s an advisor to CEOs and CMOs of hypergrowth B2B companies and has worked with companies like Miro, Segment, Bill.com, 1Password, Productboard, Sprout Social, Weights & Biases, and more. In today’s episode, we discuss:* Patterns across the most successful hypergrowth companies* How to advance in your career, and how to someday become an executive* How to decide which company to work at* Advice for navigating the job market during tough times* How to find and execute new growth opportunities* Why most CMOs and CPOs get fired, and what we can learn from this—Find the transcript for this episode and all past episodes at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/episodes/. Today’s transcript will be live by 8 a.m. PT.—Where to find Carilu Dietrich:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hypergrowth-advisor/• Newsletter: www.carilu.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/clu007—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Carilu’s background(04:28) Habits and behaviors that will help you reach an executive role(07:15) Why there is no substitute for working hard(08:15) 5 things you need to do to get to the C-suite(10:39) Choosing the right company for accelerated career growth(12:42) Criteria for assessing a phenomenal company(14:41) Asking better questions and making decisions with energy(16:05) Advice for finding a job during a recession (19:25) The importance of quality products and sustained brand advertising(24:06) Lessons from successful hypergrowth companies(28:14) Is word of mouth a necessary growth lever?(31:31) How to accelerate word-of-mouth marketing(35:28) Atlassian’s product-led growth strategy and delayed sales team hiring(39:54) When to hire your first salesperson (43:04) Common growth levers and roadblocks (47:01) How to build trust between CEOs and CMOs(49:00) Challenges of C-suite roles in startups(52:55) Bundling strategies(57:17) Lightning round—Referenced:• Tomasz Tunguz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasztunguz/• Denise Persson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisepersson/• Oracle: https://www.oracle.com/• Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/• Classy: https://www.classy.org/• Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com/en/• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/• Okta’s “Businesses at Work” 2023: https://www.okta.com/businesses-at-work/• Y U No Use Hipchat billboard: https://techcrunch.com/2011/04/22/y-u-no-have-lame-billboard-hipchat/• Productboard: https://www.productboard.com/• Miro: https://miro.com/• Scott Farquhar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottfarquhar/• Elena Verna on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-product-led-sales-elena-verna/• Tao Te Ching, Stephen Mitchell translation: https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Laozi/dp/0060812451/ref=asc_df_0060812451/• How to Win Friends and Influence People: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/8183227899/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0• Never Split the Difference: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-audiobook/dp/B01COR1GM2/ref=sr_1_1• Everything Everywhere All At Once on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/movie/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-fa320000-8cf3-46fc-8c45-df5ec67b71f2• Tara Brach guided meditations: https://www.tarabrach.com/guided-meditations/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Linear—The new standard for modern software development | Braintrust—For when you needed talent, yesterday | Rows—The spreadsheet where data comes to life—Elena Verna is a leading growth expert with over 15 years of experience in tech. She was SVP of Growth at SurveyMonkey and interim CMO at Miro, where she built high-performing teams that drove significant growth. She recently served as interim Head of Growth at Amplitude and currently advises and is a board member for early-stage startups. In today’s podcast, we discuss:• What product-led sales is• How product-led sales differs from product-led growth• Unpacking common acronyms: PQAs, PQs, PQLs, and MQLs• When and how to consider investing in PLS• Metrics for identifying qualified accounts• The team, data, and tooling required for implementing PLS• Common pitfalls to avoid when adding PLS—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-product-led-sales-elena-verna/#transcript—Where to find Elena Verna:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaverna• Twitter: https://twitter.com/elenaverna• Newsletter: https://elenaverna.substack.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Elena’s background and what she’s doing now(07:13) Product-led sales (PLS) vs. product-led growth (PLG)(12:47) How sales solutions can be applied to enterprise-level problems(15:06) Defining enterprise-level problems (17:51) How product-led companies start with PLS(20:30) When to add sales(22:36) Two ways to get to PLS(24:27) Why every sales-led-growth company needs to add PLG(26:50) Two ways you can own revenue(28:37) PQAs, PQs, PQLs, and MQLs(37:17) How to get started adding PLS(42:01) Metrics to identify PQAs(47:00) Why sales should be carefully applied (49:07) Systems, infrastructure, and tooling(50:59) The people and resources required for PLS(53:42) Why you should have a clear ROI for every new hire(55:05) Why product needs to be accountable for monetization with PLS(59:57) Revenue-based goals product teams should have(1:06:28) Common pitfalls startups run into when implementing PLS(1:09:15) Benchmarks and the amount of time needed for implementing enterprise solutions(1:12:04) Using onboarding to profile users(1:13:08) Will AI be the next sales movement?—Referenced:• Elena’s previous episode on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/elena-verna-on-how-b2b-growth-is-changing-product-led-growth-product-led-sales-why-you-should-go-freemium-not-trial-what-features-to-make-free-and-much-more/• Miro: https://miro.com/• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Elena’s PLS funnel diagram: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/elenaverna_b2b-product-led-sales-guide-activity-7052664130763206658-yxLK/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop• Elena’s memes: https://www.elenaverna.com/memes• Mixpanel Signal reports: https://mixpanel.com/blog/mixpanel-signal-launch/• Amplitude Compass chart: https://help.amplitude.com/hc/en-us/articles/235147347-The-Compass-chart-discover-your-users-a-ha-moments• Looker: https://www.looker.com/• Tableau: https://www.tableau.com/• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/• Marketo: https://nation.marketo.com/• Waitlist for PLG course on Reforge: https://www.reforge.com/programs/product-led-growth—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life | Braintrust—For when you needed talent, yesterday | Linear—The new standard for modern software development—Varun Parmar is the Chief Product Officer of Miro and has over two decades of experience in the tech industry. Prior to joining Miro, Varun held executive positions as Chief Product Officer at Box and Syncplicity (acquired by Dell EMC) and spent six years in product management at Adobe. He also co-founded Doculus, which was later acquired by Box. In today’s episode, we discuss:• The importance of empathy and how to foster it• The “AMPED” structure for cross-functional product teams• How to move fast and stay ahead of the competition• Powerful product and design rituals• How Miro acquired their first 1,000 users• How Miro successfully added a sales motion—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/an-inside-look-at-how-miro-builds-product-lessons-on-outmaneuvering-competitors-team-structure-product-quality-and-moving-fast-varun-parmar-cpo-of-miro/#transcript—Where to find Varun Parmar:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/vparmar230• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vparmar/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Varun’s background(04:08) How Miro operates as a cross-cultural product team(07:22) How applying empathy helped Miro build Miro Talktrack(11:51) What makes Miro stand out(17:08) Miro’s AMPED structure(22:57) The benefit of having product marketing as a part of the cross-functional team(25:24) How competition affects growth and product strategy(31:43) Why speed is so important and how to improve it(34:21) How Miro ensures that their products meet quality standards(37:19) How to remove blockers(47:22) Miro’s product development process(53:34) How OKRs work at Miro(55:55) The product stack at Miro(1:01:20) Big bets vs. maintenance and bug fixes at Miro(1:03:44) The “three horizons” framework(1:04:30) The importance of accountability(1:10:46) How Miro got their first 1,000 users(1:12:33) Other growth levers at Miro(1:15:53) Adding a sales motion(1:18:08) Miro AI, and new updates and enhancements coming soon(1:20:12) Lightning round—Referenced:• Miro: https://miro.com/• Miro Talktrack: https://help.miro.com/hc/en-us/articles/7825622973330-Miro-Talktrack-board-recordings-BETA-• The design sprint: https://www.thesprintbook.com/the-design-sprint• Jake Knapp on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-knapp/• Miroverse: https://miro.com/miroverse/• Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity: https://www.amazon.com/Amp-Unlocking-Hypergrowth-Expectations-Intensity/dp/1119836115• Reinforcement learning: https://towardsdatascience.com/reinforcement-learning-101-e24b50e1d292• Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira• Confluence: https://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence• Coda: https://coda.io/• Looker: https://www.looker.com/google-cloud/• Productboard: https://www.productboard.com/• Three horizons framework: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/enduring-ideas-the-three-horizons-of-growth• Capterra: https://www.capterra.com/• Elena Verna on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/elena-verna-on-how-b2b-growth-is-changing-product-led-growth-product-led-sales-why-you-should-go-freemium-not-trial-what-features-to-make-free-and-much-more/• Barbra Gago on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/category-creation-and-brand-building-barbra-gago-pando-miro-greenhouse-culture-amp/• FIFA World Cup template: https://miro.com/miroverse/fifa-world-cup-2022-editable-bracket-diagrams/• When Breath Becomes Air: https://www.amazon.com/When-Breath-Becomes-Paul-Kalanithi/dp/081298840X/• Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone: https://www.amazon.com/Hit-Refresh-Rediscover-Microsofts-Everyone/dp/0062652508/• Ted Lasso on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Sprig—Product insights that drive product success.—Ada Chen Rekhi is an executive coach and co-founder of Notejoy. She helps founders scale themselves alongside their teams. She has over a decade of experience leading teams through periods of rapid transition, from the chaos of founding early-stage startups to leadership roles in growing SurveyMonkey and LinkedIn. In today’s podcast, we discuss:• How utilizing a “curiosity loop” can aid you in decision-making• A values exercise that can help determine if your life choices align with your personal values• Ada’s “explore and exploit” framework for making the most of your job opportunities• The advantages of seeking an executive coach and useful tips on finding one• Tips for women navigating working in Silicon Valley• Why it’s so important to provide constructive feedback—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-make-better-decisions-and-build-a-joyful-career-ada-chen-rekhi-notejoy-linkedin-surveymonkey/#transcript—Where to find Ada Chen Rekhi:• Website: https://www.adachen.com/• Twitter: https://twitter.com/adachen• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adachen/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Ada’s background(03:17) What a curiosity loop is and when to use one(11:39) Using curiosity loops in your personal life(14:13) How curiosity loops are like customer advisory councils(16:30) A values exercise(25:30) Ada’s “explore and exploit” framework(31:28) When it’s time to leave your job(35:37) Logo collecting and why you should optimize for your values instead(39:30) What triggered Ada to reevaluate her career path(42:10) Why most people don’t actually need a coach(44:59) When coaching is valuable(47:20) How to find the right coach(51:38) Advice for women in Silicon Valley(1:00:08) Eating your vegetables—why you need to power through things you find challenging(1:05:07) Why you should write to crystallize knowledge, rather than for likes(1:06:54) How to successfully build a company with your spouse(1:11:07) Lightning round—Referenced:• SurveyMonkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/• Values exercise: https://www.adachen.com/build-your-inner-scorecard-a-10-minute-exercise-for-better-decisions/• Clay: https://www.clay.com/• The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick): https://www.amazon.com/Dip-Little-Book-Teaches-Stick/dp/1591841666/• Research on the coaching industry: https://www.adachen.com/an-in-depth-guide-to-executive-coaching-everything-you-need-to-know-part-1/• The inner scorecard: https://fs.blog/the-inner-scorecard/• How to find a coach: https://www.adachen.com/a-practical-guide-how-to-find-an-executive-coach-part-3/• Radical Candor: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kim-Scott/dp/1250258405/• Kim Malone Scott: https://kimmalonescott.com/• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion: https://a.co/d/6JycbJo• Designing Your Life: https://a.co/d/cS2IqG0• Ted Lasso on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+: https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star-trek-strange-new-worlds/• Notejoy: https://notejoy.com/• Captio: https://captio.co/• Note to Self: https://notetoselfapp.com/• Arc: https://arc.net/• Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Time-Focus-Matters-Every/dp/0525572422—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security | LMNT—Zero-sugar hydration | AssemblyAI—Production-ready AI models to transcribe and understand speech—Laura Modi is the CEO and co-founder of Bobbie, the first woman-owned, organic infant formula in the U.S. Previously, Laura spent over five years at Airbnb, where she served as Director of Hospitality. Before that, she spent over four years at Google in finance and operations. In today’s podcast, we discuss:• Biggest lessons from five years at Airbnb• Lessons about building great culture• The power of naivete• From growth to “slowth”: Why Bobbie prioritized existing customers over growth during the height of the formula shortage• The importance of momentum above all else• Finding work-life balance with the right infrastructure, support, and frameworks• The importance of brand, and how to build a brand• What it takes to win in DTC—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-build-a-cult-like-brand-laura-modi-bobbie/#transcript—Where to find Laura Modi:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurahughes6/• Email: Laura@hibobbie.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Note: Lenny is a small angel investor in Bobbie.—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Laura’s background(04:20) What Laura worked on at Airbnb(06:22) The director of hospitality role(07:08) How supporting hosts led to growth at Airbnb(08:28) Lessons from Airbnb around culture and storytelling that impact how Laura runs Bobbie(09:44) How Laura builds a strong culture at Bobbie (11:45) The risk she took in starting her own company(13:41) Advice on taking risks(15:10) What is Bobbie(17:15) The scale of Bobbie(17:55) The infant formula shortage crisis (19:49) How the growth team pivoted to being the “slowth” team(23:23) Lessons from the crisis(25:16) Building a brand(31:12) Branding internally(33:58) The time the FDA shut Bobbie down over labeling(36:45) How Laura balances her busy mom life with being a founder(40:17) The power of naivete (44:03) Why Laura hires optimistic doers(45:56) Growing a DTC company(47:14) How Bobbie leverages content, community, and commerce(49:42) Bobbie’s pie chart of growth(50:43) Emily Oster’s influence (52:40) The importance of momentum and how to create it(54:15) Lightning round—Referenced:• Bobbie: https://www.hibobbie.com/• Davos: https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2023• MrBeast’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA• Josh Miller on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/competing-with-giants-an-inside-look-at-how-the-browser-company-builds-product-josh-miller-ceo/• Milk Drunk podcast: https://milk-drunk.com/• Emily Oster on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProfEmilyOster• Cribsheet: https://www.amazon.com/Cribsheet/dp/1788164490• Great by Choice: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Choice-Uncertainty-Thrive-Despite/dp/1847940889• Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine: https://www.amazon.com/Metabolical-Processed-Nutrition-Modern-Medicine/dp/0063027712/• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable: https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Cow-Transform-Business-Remarkable/dp/014101640X• Expecting Better: https://www.amazon.com/Expecting-Better-Conventional-Pregnancy-Wrong/dp/0143125702• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity: https://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Longevity-Peter-Attia-MD/dp/0593236599• Bad Sisters on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/bad-sisters• NoseFrida the Snotsucker: https://frida.com/products/nosefrida• Careers at Bobbie: https://www.hibobbie.com/pages/careers—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security | Public—Invest in stocks, treasuries, crypto, and more | LMNT—Zero-sugar hydration—Shweta Shrivastava is a Senior Product Leader at Waymo, an autonomous driving technology company backed by Alphabet. Prior to joining Waymo, she was the CPO of Nauto, where she also worked on AI-assisted driver tools. Shweta has worked in product for over 15 years in senior roles at several companies, including Amazon and Cisco. In today’s episode, we discuss:• How Waymo builds trust with riders• Product management at Waymo vs software-only products• The state of self-driving technology• The importance of being a disruptor and why large companies need to disrupt more• Underrated product management skills—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/product-lessons-from-waymo-shweta-shrivastava-waymo-amazon-cisco/#transcript—Where to find Shweta Shriva• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shshrivastava/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Shweta’s background(03:47) What Shweta and her team are responsible for at Waymo(05:30) About the autonomous driving vehicle hardware, software, and simulation tools (08:14) Differences in working at Waymo vs. a more traditional software company(11:02) How Waymo builds trust with riders and the difference between driver assist and fully autonomous(13:57) An example of how Waymo builds trust with riders(15:55) The commercial, operational, and system behavior metrics Waymo uses (20:38) What are L5 autonomous vehicles and why Shweta thinks L4 vehicles are good enough(22:53) How to keep investors enthusiastic when it’s a long-term investment(25:24) Building successful teams and successful products(26:39) Determining what you’re not building, especially before product-market-fit(27:49) Why large companies need to disrupt their own models (29:33) The most underrated product management skills(33:07) Tips for getting promoted(35:19) Where is Waymo and how to try it out(36:46) Lightning round—Referenced:• Waymo: https://waymo.com/• Nauto: https://www.nauto.com/• Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595• Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers: https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstream/dp/0062292986• The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail: https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Technologies-Management-Innovation/dp/1633691780• Top Gun: Maverick on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Top-Gun-Maverick-Tom-Cruise/dp/B0B18G8R9B—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Wealthfront—Make smarter stock investments | Lenny’s Job Board—Hire the best product people. Find the best product gigs | Ahrefs—Improve your website’s SEO for free—Nikita Miller is a product leader, angel investor, and advisor. She has built and led product teams at companies ranging from early-stage startups to multinationals, and she is currently SVP of Product Management at The Knot Worldwide. Nikita is passionate about scaling product teams to support high-growth businesses and was a product leader at Trello and Atlassian for five years. In today’s podcast, we cover:• Lessons from building and growing Trello• Nikita’s roles and responsibilities framework• How the PM landscape is changing• Lessons about managing remote teams• Tactics for driving urgency within teams• Why working cross-culturally was such a formative experience—Find the transcript and references at: ⁠https://www.lennyspodcast.com/driving-alignment-and-urgency-within-teams-work-life-balance-and-the-changing-pm-landscape-nikita-miller-the-knot-trello/#transcript—Where to find Nikita Miller:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikitadyer• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikitadyer/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Nikita’s background(03:56) How Nikita helped Trello develop enterprise features (09:41) Trello vs. Jira(10:28) Similarities and differences between building for users at The Knot vs. Trello(15:02) Pro tips for Trello users(15:41) Nikita’s roles and responsibilities framework(21:10) Why scrum masters are disappearing and what shifts are happening on teams(21:56) Why every team should have a data scientist embedded in it(23:27) The proper cadence for the rules and responsibilities framework, and problems around execution(25:27) Outcomes and output(28:34) The importance of urgency, and how to cultivate a sense of urgency(29:52) How to determine if your team is moving quickly enough(31:03) Prioritization between big bets and optimizations(31:29) Questions Nikita asks to understand her team’s speed (33:30) Changes in the field of product management(36:42) Advice for people who want to get into product(38:40) Why being a PM is hard, and thoughts on work-life balance(43:03) How to manage remote teams and how to do successful, short, in-person meetups(47:59) The importance of having overlapping work hours and onboarding in person(49:09) The advantages of working in different cultures (52:58) The question Nikita finds most useful(55:07) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Disclosure: I am a Wealthfront client and I have received non-cash compensation for the testimonial in this episode. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Amplitude—Build better products | Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life | Ahrefs—Improve your website’s SEO for free—Hila Qu is an Executive in Residence at Reforge as well as a renowned growth advisor, angel investor, and published author (her book about growth was named one of the top 10 business books of 2018 in China). Previously, she served as the Director of Growth at GitLab, where she implemented and scaled their PLG motion, and VP of Growth at Acorns, scaling them from 1 million to 5 million users. In today’s episode, we discuss:• The importance of having both a product-led and a sales-led motion for companies of all sizes• A step-by-step process for implementing PLG• Common pitfalls of layering on PLG• How to audit your existing funnel• Conversion, activation, and retention tactics• Structuring your growth organization from day one, and as it scales—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-adding-a-plg-motion-hila-qu-reforge-gitlab/#transcript—Where to find Hila Qu:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HilaQu• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaqu/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Hila’s background(03:26) The outcome of writing guest posts for Lenny’s Newsletter(05:12) Why companies should have PLG and sales(07:58) What PLG is and why it’s so popular(09:41) Zoom, an example of a PLG company(11:24) Common pitfalls in adding a PLG motion(16:06) The spectrum of when PLG makes sense(20:04) What you need to be successful in a product-led growth strategy(24:52) The first step to adding a PLG motion(30:11) What GitLab does and how the sales funnel and PLG funnel work there(34:07) Mapping out the funnel(35:29) Finding leverage and other next steps(38:24) What an aha moment is and conducting an audit(47:30) Activation and conversion (52:17) Why you should start with activation, and who is doing it well(55:24) Retention, the messy part of the funnel(1:00:34) How Hila made an impact on retention at Acorns(1:03:03) The two buckets of data (1:04:56) Tools for implementing a PLG motion(1:08:47) The importance of data (1:10:20) Tips to get started, and why you need to have good data first(1:12:10) How to do a data audit(1:15:04) Building a PLG team(1:22:40) The core growth squad(1:27:51) Lightning round—Referenced:• Hila’s guest post on Lenny’s Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/five-steps-to-starting-your-plg-motion• Ravi Mehta on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/building-your-product-strategy-stack-ravi-mehta-tinder-facebook-tripadvisor-outpace/• Amplitude: https://amplitude.com/• GitLab: https://about.gitlab.com/• Lauryn Isford on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/mastering-onboarding-lauryn-isford-head-of-growth-at-airtable/• Acorns: https://signup.acorns.com/• PostHog: https://posthog.com/• Mixpanel: https://mixpanel.com/• Pendo: https://go.pendo.io/• Optimizely: https://www.optimizely.com/• Eppo: https://www.geteppo.com/• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/• Clearbit: https://clearbit.com/• ZoomInfo: https://www.zoominfo.com/• Endgame: https://www.endgame.io/• Pocus: https://www.pocus.com/• Pace: https://www.paceapp.com/• Toplyne: https://www.toplyne.io/• Crystal Widjaja on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-scrappily-hire-for-measure-and-unlock-growth-crystal-widjaja-gojek-and-kumu/• Redshift: https://aws.amazon.com/redshift/• The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness: https://www.amazon.com/Almanack-Naval-Ravikant-Wealth-Happiness-ebook/dp/B08FF8MTM6• How Women Rise: https://www.amazon.com/How-Women-Rise-Habits-Holding/dp/1847942253/• 硅谷增长黑客实战笔记 (Hila’s best-selling book on growth): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BZC8L78?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_ND87BRFMB0CMWBEVB747• The Wandering Earth II: https://wellgousa.com/films/wandering-earth-ii• The Three-Body Problem: https://www.amazon.com/Three-Body-Problem-Cixin-Liu/dp/0765382032• Lululemon yoga pants: https://shop.lululemon.com/c/women-pants/yoga/• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/chat• Someday: https://www.amazon.com/Someday-Alison-McGhee/dp/1416928111—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Amplitude—Build better products | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments | Ahrefs—Improve your website's SEO for free—Casey Winters is a longtime and legendary advisor and operator. He’s worked with companies like Airbnb, Faire, Canva, Whatnot, Thumbtack, Tinder, and Reddit and until recently was the Chief Product Officer at Eventbrite, where he managed the PM, design, research, and growth marketing teams. Before Eventbrite, he led growth and product teams at Pinterest and Grubhub. In today’s episode, we discuss what Casey calls the “zero interest rate phenomenon” product manager and how to avoid becoming one. He provides valuable insights on thinking outside popular frameworks, shipping products efficiently, and avoiding overreliance on user research. We explore the three types of network effects, how to leverage them, and how to break someone else’s network effect. Finally, Casey shares his contrarian approach to interviewing product managers and his thoughts on the future of PM roles with AI.—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/thinking-beyond-frameworks-casey-winters-pinterest-eventbrite-airbnb-tinder-canva-reddit-grubhub/—Where to find Casey Winters:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/onecaseman• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywinters/• Blog: https://caseyaccidental.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Casey’s background(03:36) What Casey is up to(05:24) Why the CPO position is frequently short-lived(07:26) What Casey learned in his role as CPO of Eventbrite(10:15) The “zero interest rate phenomenon” product manager(12:17) Advice for thinking outside common frameworks(18:35) When to bring in research(21:16) What Whatnot does(21:59) Casey’s approach to interviewing PMs (23:29) Red flags in interview responses(24:27) The future of product management with AI(27:47) Founder intuition vs. team expertise(33:33) How to influence founders(37:17) Adding the delivery driver app at Grubhub(40:00) Network effects(43:10) Why Zillow is a sticky product(44:05) How Grubhub’s network effect got taken over by DoorDash and Uber Eats(51:47) Don’t underestimate the competition(54:43) SaaS adding marketplace and vice versa(01:02:30) Defining marketplaces(1:03:34) What Substack is nailing(1:05:43) Tips for B2C subscription startups(1:13:15) Lightning round—Referenced:• Casey Winters on Lenny’s Podcast previously: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-sell-your-ideas-and-rise-within-your-company-casey-winters-eventbrite/• Whatnot: https://www.whatnot.com/• The 700-calorie breakfast you should eat if you want to live forever, according to futurist Ray Kurzweil: https://www.businessinsider.com/what-ray-kurzweil-eats-to-live-forever-2016-4• The Way of the Gun on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-way-of-the-gun-0fc9590c-3f85-48ab-96e9-1da1b9695065• Notion AI: https://www.notion.so/product/ai• Zapier: https://zapier.com/• Founder intuition vs. team expertise vs. customer expertise: https://caseyaccidental.com/founder-intuition-team-expertise/• Erika Warren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-warren/• Alyssa Ravasio (Hipcamp) on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssa-ravasio-23114717/• Marketplace supply strategy: comprehensive, exclusive, or curated: https://a16z.com/2021/03/31/marketplace-supply-strategy/• Nassim Taleb on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nntaleb• The Innovator’s Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business: https://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Revolutionary-Change-Business/dp/0062060244• OpenTable: https://www.opentable.com/• Booking.com: https://www.booking.com/• Faire: https://www.faire.com/• How to increase your retention: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-increase-your-retention-issue• The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement: https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0884271951• Thinking, Fast and Slow: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555/r• Profit from the Core: A Return to Growth in Turbulent Times: https://www.amazon.com/Profit-Core-Return-Growth-Turbulent/dp/1422131114/• Party Down on Starz: https://www.starz.com/us/en/series/party-down/2011• The Last of Us on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-last-of-us• Station Eleven on HBO Max: https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GYZWoOQ6F9cLDCAEAAABP• Kicking and Screaming on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/70052286• Raven by Kelela on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/06uhdSmIYrWRkdnAPjcRcT• Optical Delusion by Orbital on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2jQbFspnSh7erex6RDKQGJ• Stakes Is High by De La Soul on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3jlC2uhYNrhikZXLviEnpu—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Coda—Meet the evolution of docs | Rows—The spreadsheet where data comes to life | Lenny’s Job Board—Hire the best product people. Find the best product gigs.—Kevin Aluwi is the co-founder and former CEO of Gojek. With over 2.7 million drivers and over 3 billion orders completed, Gojek is the biggest startup in Indonesia and all of Southeast Asia. In today’s podcast, Kevin shares the story of how Gojek overcame endless obstacles—including being underfunded, being unable to send drivers payment, and the local motorcycle mafia coming after their drivers. We cover the importance of brand, the value of doing the hard things, how to be super-scrappy, and helpful tips on building a tech company outside of Silicon Valley.Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/taxi-mafias-cash-vaults-and-100-mom-growth-the-story-behind-southeast-asias-biggest-startup-kevin-aluwi-gojek/#transcriptWhere to find Kevin Aluwi:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kaluwi• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaluwi/Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Referenced:• Gojek: https://www.gojek.com/en-id/• WeChat: https://www.wechat.com/• Sequoia: https://www.sequoiacap.com/• eFishery: https://efishery.com/en/• What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture: https://www.amazon.com/What-You-Do-Who-Are/dp/0062871331• How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don’t Know: https://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/0195573560/• The Menu on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/movies/the-menu• Cyberpunk Edgerunners on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81054853• Arc: https://arc.net/• Steam Deck: https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeckIn this episode, we cover:(00:00) Kevin’s background(05:00) How Gojek got started and the current scale(08:35) Some of the services that Gojek currently offers or has offered(09:37) Kevin’s thoughts on super-apps(15:36) The importance of brand(23:08) How to create branding with consistency across copy and design(26:53) Challenges Gojek had in the early days that required scrappiness(33:03) Why Kevin doesn’t believe in moats as a durable solution, and the value of doing hard things(37:30) How Gojek hired private security to keep their drivers safe(39:38) The value of founders doing and understanding multiple roles within the company(44:12) How Kevin’s failed finance career led him to take a bet on building tech in Indonesia(47:30) Tips on building a tech company outside of Silicon Valley (52:09) What the market is like in Indonesia (55:42) What’s next for Kevin(57:41) Lightning roundProduction and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by AssemblyAI—Powerful AI models to transcribe and understand speech | Public—Invest in stocks, treasuries, crypto, and more | Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.—Lulu Cheng Meservey was formerly head of comms at Substack (where I host my newsletter and podcast) and is currently the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer at Activision Blizzard. She also writes one of my favorite newsletters, “Flack,” where she shares tactical advice for company comms, PR, and messaging. In today’s episode, we dive deep into the world of PR and comms. We discuss why taking risks is crucial, how to gain attention as an underdog, and why it’s important to have a super-specific audience. Lulu outlines several frameworks I’d never heard of before, including a concentric circles framework for identifying your audience, the cultural erogenous zones, and even a physics-based framework for comms.Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/navigating-comms-and-pr-lulu-cheng-meservey-substack-activision-blizzard/#transcriptWhere to find Lulu Cheng Meservey:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lulumeservey• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lulu-cheng-meservey/• Newsletter: https://www.getflack.com/Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Referenced:• “Binders full of women”: Mitt Romney’s four words that alienated women voters: https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2012/oct/17/binders-full-of-women-romneys-four-words• Bill Bishop’s newsletter on Substack: https://www.sinocism.com/• Hamish McKenzie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hamishmckenzie• The Network State: How to Start a New Country: https://www.amazon.com/Network-State-How-Start-Country-ebook/dp/B09VPKZR3G• How to increase virality: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/increasing-virality• Ryan Petersen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/typesfast• Brian Armstrong on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong• Palmer Luckey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PalmerLuckey• Pirate Wires: https://www.piratewires.com/• NYX: https://www.nyxcosmetics.com/• Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae: https://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/055338368X• The Last of Us on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-last-of-us• Notion: https://www.notion.so/• Lex: https://lex.page/In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Lulu’s background(04:36) What helps an idea spread(06:17) Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women”(07:19) Advice for coming up with contagious phrasing(08:36) Lulu’s esoteric reference that left her Twitter followers confused(11:08) The importance of taking risks, and Lulu’s thread on standing for free speech(12:53) An example of another sticky phrase(14:40) The cultural erogenous zones framework(16:08) How Kamala Harris made people care about education(17:29) How to get attention as the underdog(20:25) How Substack used the concentric circles framework to spread information(21:32) Understanding the layers in those concentric circles(25:44) How to get started figuring out your concentric circles(27:03) An example of aligning messaging with people’s values (28:19) Lulu’s mathematical formula framework for comms for a purpose(28:54) A physics-based framework for comms(35:56) How Balaji Srinivasan used the concentric circles approach with his book The Network State(39:46) The importance of a super-specific audience(41:12) Reasons your comms are failing(42:40) Why you should focus on one direct communication channel at first(46:58) Why not every founder needs to be on Twitter(48:02) Who LinkedIn works better for(49:23) Examples of messaging with a human voice and hopping on trends quickly(51:11) Reasons for direct comms (53:52) How to get started setting up a direct channel(56:09) Why consistent, good content is better than trying to go viral(59:28) Lightning roundProduction and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Writer—Generative AI for the enterprise | Dovetail—Bring your customer into every decision | Linear—The new standard for modern software development—Josh Miller is the CEO and co-founder of The Browser Company, where he helped build Arc, my go-to web browser. In today’s episode, we get an inside look at the unique structure and values of The Browser Company and how their company culture has helped them land some of the best talent in tech. Josh shares ways that his company embraces experimentation, including their “optimizing for feelings” approach to building, and explains why extreme transparency is at the forefront of everything they do.Special invite link to skip the waitlist: https://arc.net/gift/lennyFind the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/competing-with-giants-an-inside-look-at-how-the-browser-company-builds-product-josh-miller-ceo/#transcriptWhere to find Josh Miller:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshm• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-miller-b31259106/Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Referenced:• Early access to Arc: https://arc.net/gift/lenny• The Browser Company: https://thebrowser.company/• Arc: https://arc.net/• Hursh Agrawal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hurshagrawal/• Hacker News: https://news.ycombinator.com/• Scott Belsky on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottbelsky/• Notes on Roadtrips: https://thebrowser.company/values/• Shahed Khan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_shahedk• Paper by FiftyThree:  https://www.hellobrio.com/blog/digital-drawing-paper-fiftythree• Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/• Peter Vidani on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pter• The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/• Ellis Hamburger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellishamburger/• Airbnb’s Snow White project: https://uxdesign.cc/how-airbnb-proved-that-storytelling-is-the-most-important-skill-in-design-15d04ac71039• General Magic: https://www.generalmagicthemovie.com/• Linear: https://linear.app/• Raycast: https://www.raycast.com/• Cron: https://cron.com/• Thrive Capital: https://thrivecap.com/• Tuple: https://tuple.app/• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Harold and the Purple Crayon: https://www.amazon.com/Harold-Purple-Crayon-Crockett-Johnson/dp/0062086529• Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Forgetting-Name-Thing-Sees/dp/0520256093/• God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State: https://www.amazon.com/God-Save-Texas-Journey-State/dp/0525520104• The Last of Us on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-last-of-us• Adam Curtis documentaries on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLStWlBRkr0N_aYjPmbrrjm_rsstpkUBLc• Notion: https://www.notion.so/In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Josh’s background(03:56) Arc and the metrics they use to track growth(04:42) Arc’s retention numbers(08:22) Josh’s product-building philosophy and why he believes in optimizing for feelings(18:57) How The Browser Company’s values create a culture that allows them to ship so quickly(22:46) The “Notes on Roadtrips” doc about values(27:48) How Josh is able to hire such amazing talent(37:29) The good and bad of building in public(45:16) Some of the odd teams at The Browser Company and why Josh calls it a prototype-driven culture(46:01) The membership team(48:07) The storytelling team(52:00) Why The Browser Company doesn’t have traditional PMs(54:07) A case for adding PMs(57:32) The role of data, even in a company that optimizes for feelings(58:30) Airbnb’s Snow White project(1:02:14) How impactful moments in Josh’s life influenced values at The Browser Company(1:03:08) How the film General Magic has inspired Josh(1:04:32) The value of novel names(1:06:50) Why The Browser Company’s approach works for Arc(1:12:47) Why you need to nail latency and why Josh loves Tupl(1:14:33) The shift to cloud computing and the ultimate vision at The Browser Company(1:23:15) Lightning roundProduction and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Brought to you by Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life | Dovetail—Bring your customer into every decision | Writer—Generative AI for the enterprise—Christina Wodtke is an author, Stanford University professor, and speaker who teaches strategies for building high-performing teams. She’s also the author of Radical Focus, which some consider the de facto guide to OKRs. In today’s episode, we dive into OKRs and how they can be used to help your team achieve better results. Christina shares her expertise on crafting OKRs, how she uses them in her personal life, and common mistakes you should avoid when you sit down to write your own. She discusses effective goal setting and outlines a systematic approach to achieving key results. Finally, Christina gives some specific tips on how to improve your storytelling and drawing skills and explains why it’s smart to set ambitious goals.Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-okrs-christina-wodtke-stanford/Where to find Christina Wodtke:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cwodtke• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinawodtke/• Website: https://eleganthack.com/Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/Referenced:• OKR worksheet template: http://eleganthack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/OKR_Worksheet.pdf• Yahoo’s peanut butter memo: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116379821933826657• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable: https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756/• Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Focus-Achieving-Important-Objectives/dp/0996006087• Pencil Me In: https://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Me-Christina-Wodtke-ebook/dp/B075Z8J35G?• The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures: https://www.amazon.com/Back-Napkin-Expanded-Problems-Pictures/dp/1591842697/ref=sr_1_1• The Minto Pyramid Principle: https://www.barbaraminto.com/• Lane Shackleton’s guest post on Lenny’s Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-coda-builds-product• The Product Trio by Teresa Torres: https://www.producttalk.org/2021/05/product-trio/• Ken Norton’s website: https://www.bringthedonuts.com/about/• The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth: https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Organization-Psychological-Workplace-Innovation/dp/1119477247• The Overstory: https://www.amazon.com/Overstory-Novel-Richard-Powers/dp/039335668X/• Cloud Atlas: https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Atlas-Novel-David-Mitchell/dp/0375507256• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9114286/• The Team That Managed Itself: A Story of Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/Team-that-Managed-Itself-Leadership-ebook/dp/B07ZG5Y689In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Christina’s background(04:54) How Christina uses OKRs to manage her personal life(07:42) The purpose of OKRs(16:15) Mission, vision, roadmaps, and OKRs(20:57) How strategy ties in(22:39) Why OKRs should be kept simple, and the ideal way to express key results(23:45) The importance of customer satisfaction and why you need a qualitative researcher(24:58) Common mistakes people make when writing OKRs(26:14) An example of writing OKRs for an online magazine about interior design(29:28) The importance of repetition(33:17) The 5 whys(36:40) Why you should start OKRs with your best multi-disciplinary team(38:44) Christina’s book, Radical Focus(40:26) The importance of storytelling and drawing (even badly!)(43:21) Tips to become a better storyteller(44:29) Using the Minto method for storytelling(46:02) The cadence of OKRs and the importance of celebrations(51:09) A different kind of approval process to get OKRs done more efficiently(53:01) Why the focus on learning is more important than grading(54:29) Why you should set ambitious goals(57:47) Where to start(1:00:48) The overemphasis of UX in product management education and the importance of business sense(1:03:01) Advice for people seeking a career in product management(1:05:44) Lightning roundProduction and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe