Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

How to foster innovation and big thinking | Eeke de Milliano (Retool, Stripe)

Feb 2, 2023

Eeke de Milliano, Head of Product at Retool and former product lead at Stripe, shares her expertise on fostering innovation in tech teams. She discusses the importance of a culture of writing and structured brainstorming for cultivating creativity. Eeke dives into tactics for managing product resources and the balance between flexibility and structure in product launches. Her framework prioritizes core products and big bets, leading to the successful launch of multiple products at Retool. Get ready to rethink how your team approaches innovation!

01:02:55

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Episode guests

Eeke de Milliano

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Quick takeaways

Managers should support high performers who can thrive without heavy processes.

Establish a minimum viable process to provide a framework without limiting creativity.

Prioritize the needs of the best users to create a better user experience and avoid unnecessary complexities.

Deep dives

Building for Innovation

Process can sometimes hinder the creativity and innovation of the highest performers in a company. The fear of failure and the desire for consistency often lead to the introduction of strict processes that limit the potential of these individuals. To foster innovation, it is crucial for managers to recognize and support the high performers who can thrive without heavy processes. This requires giving them air cover and accepting the organizational costs associated with accommodating their unique needs.

The 70-20-10 Investment Model for Product Management

02:21

How to Foster Innovation in a Company

03:59

Creativity Suffers Under Constraints

02:29

Building Products at Stripe

00:59

Intro

4min

Navigating Product Management at Stripe

17min

Cultivating Creativity in Teams

9min

Embracing Creativity in Product Innovation

5min

Innovative Product Launch Strategies

9min

Empowering High Performers in Product Management

17min

Exploring Innovative Productivity Solutions

2min

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Eeke de Milliano is the Head of Product at Retool and a former product lead at Stripe. In this episode, we discuss how any team can become an innovation machine. We talk about how a culture of writing led to a team of rigorous thinkers at Stripe. We cover tactics to breed innovative teams that you can replicate at your own company: From embracing retrospectives to creating systems that give individuals the "permission to think big". Eeke shares her framework for prioritizing resources between core products, strategic initiatives, and big bets, and how it helped Retool launch three new products in a year. She also gives a comprehensive overview of the right level of process for companies of different sizes, and how to build a talent portfolio.

Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-foster-innovation-and-big

Where to find Eeke de Milliano:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/eekedm

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eeke-de-milliano-3b05a629/

Where to find Lenny:

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

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

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

Referenced:

• Snir Kodesh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/snirkodesh/

• Stripe: https://stripe.com/

• Stripe’s operating principles: https://stripe.com/jobs/culture