Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
What differentiates the highest-performing product teams | John Cutler (Amplitude, The Beautiful Mess)
Episode guests
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Alignment between company structure and strategy is crucial for high-performing product teams.
- High-performing teams have strong opinions loosely held, fostering a culture of learning and effective decision-making.
- Belief in the transformative power of products drives high-performing teams to prioritize excellence and customer-centricity.
- Leadership coherence, trust, and talent within the team are critical factors for high-performing product teams.
- Culture and values shape behaviors, decision-making, and mindset, creating a supportive and motivating environment for high performance.
Deep dives
Coherence between strategy and structure leads to high performance
One key factor that differentiates the highest performing product teams is the coherence between their company's structure and their current strategy. This means that their funding approach, incentives, org structure, and even technical architecture align with their strategic goals. While the tactics to achieve this alignment may vary between companies, having a clear and consistent connection between structure and strategy is crucial.
Strong opinions loosely held drive high performance
Another characteristic of high performing product teams is the presence of strong opinions loosely held. This means that team members have firm beliefs and convictions but are open to alternative perspectives and willing to adapt their opinions when new information arises. It strikes a balance between having conviction and being open to feedback and new ideas, which fosters a culture of learning, growth, and effective decision-making.
Belief in the power of products is a common trait
High performing teams often share a common belief in the transformative power of products. They understand that the success they achieve today is the result of deliberate decisions made in previous years. This belief drives them to prioritize product excellence, continuous improvement, and customer-centricity. It motivates them to strive for the highest level of quality and constantly push the boundaries of what their products can achieve.
Leadership coherence and skills play a significant role
Leadership coherence, where the words and actions of leaders align, is a critical factor in high performing product teams. When leaders lead by example, communicate effectively, and practice what they preach, it creates a sense of trust, unity, and purpose within the team. Additionally, having the necessary skills and experience within the team is essential for success. While skills can be developed and honed over time, having a talented and skilled team from the start sets the foundation for high performance.
Culture and values impact team performance
Although not explicitly mentioned in the list, culture and values have a profound impact on team performance. A strong and positive company culture that aligns with the values of the team members creates a supportive and motivating environment where everyone can thrive. It shapes behaviors, decision-making, and the overall mindset within the team. When the culture promotes open communication, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose, it sets the stage for high performance.
The importance of culture and values in organizations
Culture and values are integral to the way organizations function. They shape how people act and make decisions, and can vary based on factors such as belief systems and cultural backgrounds. It is essential for companies to define their values and communicate them effectively, not only in vague terms but by highlighting specific behaviors that embody those values. This helps establish a clear and actionable culture.
Varying approaches to ownership in different cultures
The concept of ownership can differ significantly across different cultures, particularly between individualistic and collective cultures. In individualistic cultures, ownership tends to be defined more independently, whereas in collective cultures, it is understood within the context of the broader community. This distinction has implications for companies when defining their culture and values, as it is important to consider and communicate the specific behaviors and mindset associated with ownership in their particular cultural context.
Cultural differences in product team operations
Product team operations can vary across different countries and cultures. Individualistic cultures tend to emphasize individual contributions and project brokering, while collective cultures prioritize teamwork and a shared team objective. Additionally, hierarchical orientations and information flow can differ, with some cultures being more bureaucratic and others being more focused on individual responsibilities. Recognizing and understanding these cultural differences is crucial when working with international product teams and can inform effective collaboration and decision-making.
Adapting advice for non-tech companies and transformations
Much of the advice on product management is often geared towards Silicon Valley tech startups. However, many product managers work at non-tech companies that are undergoing transformations and face unique challenges. It is important to acknowledge that not all advice will be relevant or applicable in every context. Companies undergoing transformations should focus on adapting advice to their specific needs, creating miniaturized versions of desired outcomes or strategies, and viewing frameworks as learning tools rather than rigid rules.
John Cutler writes the popular and beloved product newsletter The Beautiful Mess. For many years, he was a Product Evangelist at Amplitude, which led him to meeting and working with a large number of product teams around the world. Through this role, he gained unique insight into how the best product teams operate. In today’s episode, John reflects on leaving his role at Amplitude, and explains the attributes that the top 1% of product teams share. We also go deep into some of his favorite frameworks and discuss the best way to apply these frameworks to your work. We also unpack skills like product sense and product mindset, and what he’s planning in his new role at Toast.
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Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-differentiates-the-highest-performing
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Where to find John Cutler:
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/johncutlefish
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpcutler/
• Newsletter: https://cutlefish.substack.com/
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Referenced:
• Amplitude: https://amplitude.com/
• The North Star Playbook: https://info.amplitude.com/north-star-playbook
• Craig Daniel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigmdaniel/
• Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595
• AppFolio: https://www.appfolio.com/
• High Leverage Product Evangelism: https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/high-leverage-product-evangelism
• Satya Nadella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella/
• The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business: https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Map-Breaking-Invisible-Boundaries/dp/1610392507
• Innovation Labs: https://innovationlabs.com/
• BEES: https://mybeesapp.com/
• Marty Cagan on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-nature-of-product-marty-cagan#details
• Sooner Safer Happier: Antipatterns and Patterns for Business Agility: https://www.amazon.com/Sooner-Safer-Happier-Patterns-Antipatterns/dp/1942788916
• Teresa Torres on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresatorres/
• Andrew Huberman on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab/?hl=en
• TBM 49/52: Pyramid of Leadership Self/Other Awareness: https://cutlefish.substack.com/p/tbm-4952-pyramid-of-leadership-selfother
• ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/chat
• How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business: https://www.amazon.com/How-Measure-Anything-Intangibles-Business-ebook/dp/B00INUYS2U
• Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations: https://www.amazon.com/Accelerate-Software-Performing-Technology-Organizations/dp/1942788339
• User Story Mapping: Discover the Whole Story, Build the Right Product: https://www.amazon.com/User-Story-Mapping-Discover-Product/dp/B08TZGKKF2
• Build with Maggie Crowley podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/build-with-maggie-crowley/id1445050691
• One Knight in Product podcast: https://www.oneknightinproduct.com/index.html#page-top
• Sunny Bunnies on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81286920
• Booba on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81011059
• Toast: https://pos.toasttab.com/
• Drift: https://www.drift.com/
John’s list of high-performing people worth following:
• Dr. Cat Hicks (@grimalkina) https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcathicks/
• Stephanie Leue https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-leue/
• Amy Edmondson (@AmyCEdmondson) https://www.linkedin.com/in/amedmondson/
• Dominica DeGrandis (@dominicad) https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicadeg/
• Courtney Kissler https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-kissler-0930681/
• Christina Wodtke (@cwodtke) https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinawodtke/
• Matthew Skelton https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewskelton/
• Heidi Helfand (@heidihelfand): https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidihelfand/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) What is a product evangelist? John’s unique role at Amplitude
(05:50) John’s reflections and feelings on leaving Amplitude
(17:28) What John’s doing next
(18:52) John’s newsletter: The Beautiful Mess
(27:49) What do the top 1% of product teams have in common?
(40:08) Different ways companies are successful, and why anyone can improve
(45:55) Investing in people vs. investing in processes
(48:49) The importance of culture and values
(49:59) Global company cultures: the individualist vs. the collectivist
(55:55) Why it’s hard to make changes in large companies
(58:49) How to view frameworks
(1:01:02) The spectrum of performance in big and small companies
(1:05:27) Examples of high-performing people who work outside of Silicon Valley
(1:09:02) The skill of product management
(1:11:35) The value of learning a bit about everything
(1:13:46) Why do people often underestimate the loops available at their company
(1:16:20) Chronic vs. acute issues at companies
(1:18:07) Unpacking the skills behind product sense and product mindset
(1:20:44) A place for people without the traditional meritocracy mindset
(1:22:38) John’s writing process and what he plans on writing about next
(1:27:52) How to use ChatGPT for learning and levity
(1:31:56) Lightning Round
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