Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv (Product Lead at Riverside)

Sep 22, 2024

01:31:22

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Tal Raviv, a seasoned product manager at Riverside, shares insights from his 12-year journey as an individual contributor at companies like Patreon and AppsFlyer. He discusses the rise of 'super ICs' and why he embraces this role over management. Tal emphasizes the importance of autonomy and purpose in product management and reveals how he leverages AI tools for productivity. He also shares lessons from failures, strategies for building self-reliant teams, and the vital role of customer perception in decision-making.

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Tal Raviv highlights the benefits of remaining an individual contributor, emphasizing the fulfillment from autonomy and deep engagement in one's work.

He discusses the necessity for individual contributors to advocate for their worth in tech, stressing the importance of equitable compensation conversations.

Tal illustrates the effective use of AI tools to boost productivity in product management, significantly reducing tedious tasks and enabling strategic focus.

Deep dives

The Value of Staying an Individual Contributor

Tal Raviv emphasizes the choice to remain an individual contributor (IC) throughout his career instead of moving into management. He believes that happiness and motivation can stem from engaging deeply with one’s work, as he enjoys the autonomy and mastery that comes with the IC role. By observing those who transitioned into management, he found that their tasks often did not excite him, reinforcing his decision to stay in a hands-on role. Tal's perspective highlights that clarity regarding one's professional fulfillment can be more significant than adhering to conventional career paths.

Product Scrapbooking

01:40

Writing product spec with ChatGPT and Whisper

04:05

Understand Where Value Resides

00:41

Recognize Your Worth as an Individual Contributor

01:24

Intro

2min

The Joy of Being an Individual Contributor: A Unique Career Path

3min

Navigating Career Path Choices: Embracing the IC Role

4min

Empowering Individual Contributors in Product Management

13min

Empowering Product Management through AI and Collaboration

15min

Revolutionizing PM Productivity and Understanding Company Dynamics

4min

Identifying Key Departments Driving Company Growth

2min

Navigating Team Dynamics and Decision-Making in Product Management

3min

Navigating Customer Perception in Product Management

8min

10.

Navigating Product Management: Lessons from Experience

24min

11.

Balancing Professionalism and Creativity

14min

Tal Raviv is a product manager at Riverside, where he joined as its first PM. Over his 12-year career as an individual contributor, Tal has been an early PM at Patreon, AppsFlyer, and Wix, working in consumer growth, developer API platforms, and pricing. He started his career by co-founding a profitable SaaS company and also volunteers as a surf instructor for people with disabilities. In our conversation, Tal shares:

• Why he has chosen to stay an individual contributor rather than moving into management

• The rise of “super ICs” and how companies can support this career path

• Advice for succeeding as a long-term IC product manager

• How he uses AI to enhance his productivity

• How to build self-reliant teams and make yourself redundant

• Lessons from failures

• Much more

—

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—

Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-super-ic-pm-tal-raviv

—

Where to find Tal Raviv:

• X: https://x.com/talraviv

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsraviv/

• Maven course: https://maven.com/tal-raviv/product-manager-productivity-system/

—

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

—

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Tal’s background

(02:24) Choosing to stay an IC product manager

(07:05) The value of IC roles

(08:31) Compensation and career path

(12:37) Advice for companies on creating space for ICs

(14:33) Leveraging AI for productivity

(22:44) Build your personal PM productivity system

(37:39) Contrarian opinions and insights

(44:32) Book smart vs. street smart decision-making

(51:51) There’s no one right way to get things done

(57:03) Failure corner

(01:19:04) Lightning round

(01:26:50) Living through conflict

—

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

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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv (Product Lead at Riverside)

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Value of Staying an Individual Contributor

Navigating Compensation as an Individual Contributor

Leveraging AI for Product Management

Learning from Failure in Product Management

Creating a Culture of Self-Reliance in Teams

Pragmatism in Decision-Making

Product Scrapbooking

Writing product spec with ChatGPT and Whisper

Understand Where Value Resides

Recognize Your Worth as an Individual Contributor

Get the Snipd
podcast app

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Save any
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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv (Product Lead at Riverside)

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Value of Staying an Individual Contributor

Navigating Compensation as an Individual Contributor

Leveraging AI for Product Management

Learning from Failure in Product Management

Creating a Culture of Self-Reliance in Teams

Pragmatism in Decision-Making

Product Scrapbooking

Writing product spec with ChatGPT and Whisper

Understand Where Value Resides

Recognize Your Worth as an Individual Contributor

Get the Snipdpodcast app

AI-poweredpodcast player

Discoverhighlights

Save anymoment

Share& Export

AI-poweredpodcast player

Discoverhighlights

Get the Snipd
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