Tomer Cohen, Chief Product Officer at LinkedIn, reveals how the platform transitioned from a self-promotion tool to an engaging content hub. He shares his memorable mantra, "We might be wrong, but we are not confused," and emphasizes the significance of clarity and conviction in product leadership. The conversation highlights LinkedIn's innovative AI-first strategy, personal career lessons, and insights on balancing passion with practical project needs. Tomer also discusses the evolving landscape of job searching in the AI era, making it a must-listen for aspiring tech leaders.

Guests include Gustav Söderström (Spotify), Scott Belsky (Adobe), and Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn). Topics discussed include: AI as the product, the importance of data vs. models, workforce changes in an AI-first world, challenges of model implementation, the value of data, and excitement about the future of AI.

Tomer Cohen is the chief product officer at LinkedIn, and actually, I talked to Tomer twice. Here’s a little secret about Decoder: we do the interviews, and then often, the guest and I just keep chatting for a while. So after my first interview with Tomer, we were hanging out, talking about the perpetual battles between engineers, product managers, and designers. And he said something that completely jumped out at me:“We might be wrong, but we’re not fucking confused.” This isn’t a totally new line — it’s been floating around for a while, you can Google it — but you know I love an f-bomb, and honestly, it’s one of the most simple and clarifying things a manager can say, especially when managing across large teams. So I asked Tomer to come back and really dig in on that idea.On top of that, we’ve been talking a lot about running social networks lately, and LinkedIn is a fascinating social network because it doesn’t have the same engagement-based success metrics as other social platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Tomer doesn’t care about time spent on LinkedIn; the platform is designed to be successful when people get new jobs. That means his ideas for features and user experiences are just really different.Links:Employment Situation Summary (Jobs Report)December Workforce Report 2022 (LinkedIn)Vision to values flowchartChatGPT proves AI is finally mainstream — and things are only going to get weirderLinkedIn buys California-based SaaS learning platformHow big companies kill ideas — and how to fight back, with Tony FadellRAPID decision makingTranscript:https://www.theverge.com/e/23281360 Credits:Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.It was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters and our Executive Director is Eleanor Donovan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tomer Cohen is the CPO @ Linkedin. Since joining in 2012, Tomer has served in key leadership roles, helping launch and scale new innovative member and customer experiences. He previously led the growth and development of LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions portfolio and LinkedIn's consumer and mobile products. Prior to LinkedIn, Tomer worked as an entrepreneur with Greylock Partners and founded a company in the personal CRM space. In Today's Episode with Tomer Cohen We Discuss: 1.) From Israeli Military and Chip Design to CPO @ Linkedin: How did Tomer make his way from the Israeli military to being CPO @ Linkedin? What does Tomer know now that he wishes he had known when he became CPO? What have been some of his biggest lessons from working with Reid Hoffman? 2.) Product: Art or Science: How does Tomer determine whether product is art or science? If he were to put a number on it, what would it be? How does Tomer determine whether to go with his gut vs go with the data on product decisions? How is AI changing the role of product managers and product leaders? What do product leaders and PMs need to do to stay up to date with the latest changes in AI? 3.) Linkedin: Review of Current Products: Feed, Stories, Messenger How does Tomer analyse the success of "the feed" in Linkedin? What worked? What did not work? Why did "Stories" not work in Linkedin? What went wrong? What did they learn? What is Tomer doing to tackle the spam issue in Linkedin? What are the biggest challenges associated? Why does Linkedin still have such poor messaging service? Why is it a difficult problem to solve for? 4.) AI Changes Everything: Why does Tomer believe this wave of AI is the most significant technological shift in our lifetime? Who will win the race in AI; startups or incumbents? Which model will work most efficiently; open or closed? Will we see large enterprises prefer bundled AI options or unbundled with specialised providers?

Tomer Cohen is LinkedIn's Chief Product Officer and an expert in AI product development. He shares insights on LinkedIn's explosive growth from 100M to over 1B users, emphasizing the importance of transforming social feeds for knowledge-sharing. Tomer discusses essential principles for building AI products, the balance of humor and professionalism on LinkedIn, and the evolving role of content formats like newsletters and videos. He also provides tips for aspiring product managers on navigating the complexities of AI and landing their dream jobs.