In this book, Don Norman discusses how design should be centered around the user's needs, emphasizing the importance of visibility, natural relationships between controls and functions, and the intelligent use of constraints. He argues that poor design, rather than user ineptness, is often the cause of frustration with everyday objects. The book covers various aspects of design, including affordances, signifiers, and the seven stages of action, providing a comprehensive guide to creating user-friendly products.
In 'Crossing the Chasm', Geoffrey A. Moore explores the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, which includes innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. He highlights the significant gap or 'chasm' between early adopters and the early majority, where early adopters are willing to sacrifice for the advantage of being first, while the early majority waits for evidence of productivity improvements. The book provides strategies for narrowing this chasm, including choosing a target market, understanding the whole product concept, positioning the product, building a marketing strategy, and selecting the most appropriate distribution channels and pricing. The third edition includes new examples, strategies for digital marketing, and connections to Moore's subsequent works like 'Inside the Tornado'.
Nan Yu is the head of product at Linear, one of the most beloved and fastest-growing B2B SaaS products out there today, and the gold standard for high-performing tech teams. In our conversation, we discuss:
• Why speed and quality aren’t actually at odds
• Linear’s unique approach to product development
• Nan’s systematic approach to creativity
• Linear’s philosophy on deadlines
• The “double triangle” framework for product management
• Nan’s approach to landing his dream product roles
• Much more
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Brought to you by:
• Sinch—Build messaging, email, and calling into your product
• Paragon—Ship every SaaS integration your customers want
• Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/linears-secret-to-building-beloved-b2b-products-nan-yu
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Where to find Nan Yu:
• X: https://x.com/thenanyu
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thenanyu/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introduction to Nan Yu and Linear
(04:54) Survey insights: Linear vs. Jira
(07:51) The speed vs. quality myth
(09:24) Building and iterating quickly
(15:31) Avoiding bloat in enterprise software
(23:57) Understanding user needs deeply
(30:09) How to approach customer calls
(34:10) Creating strong emotional hooks
(40:31) Managing the product backlog
(44:46) Systemizing creativity
(48:16) Demo: Saving drafts in Linear
(51:38) Breaking constraints and building at extremes
(54:15) Adopting new tools
(58:22) The “double triangle” framework for product management
(01:04:23) Effective job-hunting strategies for PMs
(01:09:15) Thoughts on deadlines
(01:14:15) Lightning round
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Referenced:
• Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
• Linear: https://linear.app/
• Patrick Collison’s post on X: https://x.com/patrickc/status/1869422495985750459
• Magnus Carlsen on X: https://x.com/magnuscarlsen
• Hikaru Nakamura on X: https://x.com/gmhikaru
• Geoffrey Moore on finding your beachhead, crossing the chasm, and dominating a market: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/geoffrey-moore-on-finding-your-beachhead
• Customer Request feature on Linear: https://linear.app/customer-requests
• Everlane: https://www.everlane.com/
• Schlep Blindness: https://paulgraham.com/schlep.html
• Linear’s triage tool: https://linear.app/docs/triage
• Patrick Collison’s post about mental models on X: https://x.com/patrickc/status/1443215022029619200
• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach
• Unpacking Amazon’s unique ways of working | Bill Carr (author of Working Backwards): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unpacking-amazons-unique-ways-of
• Mode: https://mode.com/
• The Diplomat on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81288983
• Sakura Micron pens: https://www.amazon.com/SAKURA-PIGMA-MICRON-ESSENTIAL-COLORS/dp/B07VJFXT3C/
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Recommended books:
• Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers: https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstream/dp/0062292986
• The Design of Everyday Things: https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654/
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career 
