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An inside look at how Figma builds product | Yuhki Yamashita (CPO of Figma)

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Jan 8, 2023

Guest

Yuhki Yamashita

Yuhki Yamashita, Chief Product Officer at Figma, previously held key positions at Uber, Google, and Microsoft. He discusses the significance of storytelling in product management and the potential impact of Adobe's acquisition of Figma. Yuhki also critiques the use of OKRs, emphasizing meaningful metrics that resonate with team values. He highlights Figma's commitment to community-building and collaborative tools, showcasing its innovative approach to user experience and software quality. It's an insightful look into product development and the future of design.

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ADVICE

Storytelling for PMs

Focus on storytelling to be a successful product manager.
Synthesize information and create memorable "memes" to drive action.

insights

INSIGHT

Owning the "Why"

PMs should own the "why" of a product, not just the "what" and "how".
Understanding the root cause of user needs leads to better product decisions.

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ANECDOTE

Customer Obsession

Dylan Field reads all customer feedback, even tweets with zero likes.
He uses a Slack channel called "Concerning Tweets" to share important feedback.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Navigating the Product Landscape

04:47 • 26min

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Navigating User Experience and Product Evolution at Figma

31:17 • 4min

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Building High-Quality Software at Figma

34:54 • 13min

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Innovation and Community at Figma

47:39 • 14min

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Embracing the Journey of Continuous Improvement

01:01:35 • 3min

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Podcast Preferences and Team Tools

01:04:38 • 4min

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Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

Chip Heath

Dan Heath

In 'Switch', Chip and Dan Heath explain that the primary obstacle to change is the conflict between the rational mind and the emotional mind. They present a framework for change that involves directing the rational mind, motivating the emotional mind, and shaping the environment. The book uses compelling stories and decades of research in psychology and sociology to illustrate how everyday people have achieved significant changes in various contexts, such as healthcare, home organization, and customer service.

The Story of the Stone

Also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber

Cao Xueqin

The Story of the Stone, also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber, is a seminal work of Chinese literature that follows the fortunes of the Jia family, mirroring the author's own experiences. It explores themes of love, fate, and social hierarchy, offering a detailed portrayal of life in High Qing China. The novel is renowned for its complex characters, particularly the young women, and its blend of realism and mythic elements.

Yuhki Yamashita is Chief Product Officer at Figma. Prior to Figma, he was Head of Design of Uber’s New Mobility efforts, and before that a product manager at Google and Microsoft. Adding to his impressive resume, Yuhki also taught introductory computer science at Harvard. In today's episode, we talk about operationalizing quality, the case against OKRs, and how Figma isn't just known for product-led growth, but also for building a community of empowered users. Yuhki also shares why he thinks storytelling is key to being a great product manager, owning the "why," and the potential impact of Adobe's acquisition of Figma.

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Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-inside-look-at-how-figma-builds

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Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this podcast:

• Notion—One workspace. Every team: https://www.notion.com/lennyspod

• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny

• Flatfile—A CSV importer that says yes instead of error: mismatch: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny

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Where to find Yuhki Yamashita:

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

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

• Website: https://www.figma.com/@yuhki

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Where to find Lenny:

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

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

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

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Referenced:

• Yuhki’s guest post on Lenny’s Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-figma-builds-product

• Shishir Mehrotra on Lenny’s Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rituals-of-great-teams-shishir-mehrotra-of/id1627920305?i=1000576021672

• Five Why’s template: https://www.figma.com/templates/5-whys-template/

• Dylan Field on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoink

• Jeff Holden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffholden

• Figma: https://www.figma.com/

• Friends of Figma: https://friends.figma.com/

• Camille Ricketts on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-notion-leveraged-community-to-build-a-10b-business-camille-ricketts-notion-first-round-capital/

• Adobe Illustrator: https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/campaign/pricing.html

• Adobe Photoshop: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/

• Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard: https://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/0385528752/

• The Story of the Stone, or The Dream of the Red Chamber: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Stone-Dream-Chamber-Vol/dp/0140442936

• Serial podcast: https://serialpodcast.org/

• The Good Nurse on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81260083

• FigJam: https://www.figma.com/figjam/

• Asana: https://asana.com/

• Slack: https://slack.com/

• Notion: https://www.notion.so/

• Dropbox Paper: https://www.dropbox.com/paper/start

• Figma’s Alignment Scale: https://www.figma.com/community/widget/1030848035996871692

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Yuhki’s background

(09:05) What Yuhki learned from being on a design team

(10:29) Why managing designers is more difficult than managing product teams

(12:20) Why storytelling is important for product managers

(16:35) How to improve your storytelling skills

(18:51) Why PMs need to know the “why” of the product they are managing

(22:34) The importance of developing a community and strong customer relationships

(26:13) How to use different types of feedback

(28:11) Working with Dylan Field

(32:44) Testing at Figma and the branching emerging feature

(34:54) Why your entire company should be using your product

(36:50) The importance of having personal accountability

(38:48) Why Yuhki likes to stay out of the way of engineers fixing their own bugs

(40:50) Yuhki’s thoughts on OKRs and how they are used at Figma

(48:40) Figma’s interview process

(51:45) How Figma’s sales team works by creating human connections and empowering designers

(54:57) How Figma built community and created organic growth

(56:36) Advice for founders

(58:57) The potential acquisition by Adobe and the future possibilities for Figma

(1:01:42) Closing thoughts

(1:03:44) Lightning round

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