Do THIS to Build a $1M+ Product Team (ex Google, Bitly PM)
Product Growth Podcast
Redefining Product Management
This chapter explores the misconceptions of product management roles, contrasting expectations in tech firms with the realities in traditional industries. It delves into personal experiences, the importance of business model adaptation, and the challenges faced by product managers in justifying their impact and costs.
Imagine a Product Management content creator who… Reddit actually likes? Yep, the most “complain-y” part of the internet actually loves Matt LeMay. His book Product Management in Practice, consistently gets praise there.
So, when I heard he was launching a second book, that too on the important subject of how to be impact-oriented as a product team, I had to have him on.
Today, we’re chatting about:
* Impact-First Product Teams - 01:13
* How to Win the Love of Reddit - 14:38
* Breaking the "Low Impact Death Spiral" - 31:14
* How His Business Breaks Down as an Author - 53:15
Brought to you by:
* Linear: Plan and build products like the best
* Miro: The innovation workspace: your team’s canvas
* Amplitude: Try their 2-min assessment of your company’s digital maturity
Key Takeaways
* The business expects a return on its investment in product teams—with teams costing roughly $1 million annually, you must proactively manage the conversation about why your work matters to the business.
* Most organizations perpetuate low-impact work through the "low impact death spiral"—teams choose easier, less scrutinized projects that lead to complicated products, making high-impact work even harder, which further incentivizes low-impact work.
* Understanding your business's next existential milestone is critical—whether it's raising funding, hitting quarterly revenue targets, or expanding to new markets, this determines how you should measure your team's success.
* The most commercially-minded product leaders are often the happiest—by accepting that success depends on factors outside your control, you can focus on contributing what you can and find greater satisfaction in your work.
* Many product teams have goals stored in multiple disconnected places—this creates confusion about what success actually looks like and makes it impossible to drive day-to-day decision-making.
* Draw a direct line from your work to business impact—keep your goals no more than "one step away" from company goals, using clear statements like "converting X single-product users to multi-product users will contribute Y revenue."
* Breaking free of Silicon Valley best practices is liberating—most companies operate in different commercial contexts than big tech, requiring different approaches and tradeoffs.
* The question every team should ask: "If you were CEO, would you fully fund this team?"—this mindset shift helps people understand the resource investment their team represents and evaluate their true impact.
* Product managers should prioritize clarity over comfort—addressing miscommunications or misconceptions immediately prevents much bigger problems down the road, even if it feels awkward.
* Platform teams can demonstrate impact by directly connecting to the metrics of teams they support—they should focus on how their work helps other teams deliver more impact or deliver impact more quickly.
Check it out on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
Where to Find Matt
* Books:
* "Impact First Product Teams"
* "Product Management in Practice"
* LinkedIn: Matt LeMay
* Website: https://mattlemay.com/
Related Podcasts:
* Marty Cagan - Marty shares how irreplaceable PMs build products that drive real business outcomes.
* Melissa Perri - Melissa shows how to tie product work directly to the company's existential goals.
* Ed Biden - Ed and I talk about the cost and ROI of product teams, and how to prove your ROI.
Up Next
I hope you enjoyed the last episode with Brad Schaefer (VP of Product at $1B+ Abrigo on How to go from PM to VP). Up next, we have episodes with:
* Aatir Abdul Rauf - VP Marketing, VFairs; 70K+ on LinkedIn
* Phyl Terry - Author, Never Search Alone
* Matt Arbesfeld - Founder and CEO, LogRocket
Finally, check out my latest deep dive if you haven’t yet: Most People are Building AI Products Wrong - Here's How to do it Right
If you want to advertise, email productgrowthppp at gmail.
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