Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career Unorthodox PM wisdom: Automating user insights, unselling job candidates, logging every decision, more | Kevin Yien (Stripe, Square, Mutiny)
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Aug 18, 2024 
Kevin Yien, a product leader at Stripe with a colorful background in engineering and design, shares his unconventional insights. He emphasizes that aspiring product managers should gain experience in technical roles first. Kevin also reveals his unique 'unsell email' technique for hiring and advocates for maintaining a decision log. The conversation dives into automating user research to quickly gather insights and reflects on the evolving influence of AI in product management. Plus, Kevin’s personal anecdotes add a delightful twist to his professional journey.
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Start in a Functional Role
- Aspiring product managers should start in engineering, design, or sales to gain foundational experience.
- This frontline work provides crucial exposure to building products and understanding customer needs.
PMs Unlock Potential
- Product management is about converting a team's potential energy into realized value for the customer.
- Initial product development should be driven by builders (engineers, designers, salespeople) who have the most direct customer feedback loop.
Write Well
- To be a great product manager, become a great writer.
- Writing brings clarity at scale, which is essential for effective communication and selling the product.
