Jules Walter is a product leader at YouTube and co-founder of both the Black Product Managers Network and Codepath.org. Previously, he led monetization and mobile growth teams at Slack. He’s also a very well-known leader in the broader product community. In today’s episode, we discuss the skills that matter most to PMs, and how to build those skills. We also spend quite a bit of time talking about the importance of finding mentors to help you learn new skills, how to nail your next job interview, barriers to entry for underrepresented people, and some of the most common paths into product management.—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/leveraging-mentors-to-uplevel-your—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this podcast:• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny• Notion—One workspace. Every team: https://www.notion.com/lennyspod• Linear—The new standard for modern software development: https://linear.app/lenny—Where to find Jules Walter:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/julesdwalt• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juleswalter/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Referenced:• Black Product Managers Network: https://www.blackproductmanagers.com• Maryanna Quigless on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quigless/• Brittany Bankston on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-bankston-77693a85/• Benin Saffo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benin-saffo/• Lawrence Ripsher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrenceripsher/• Matt Mochary on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/how-to-fire-people-with-grace-work-through-fear-and-nurture-innovation-matt-mochary/• Adriel Frederick on Lenny’s Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/humanizing-product-development-adriel-frederick-reddit/id1627920305?i=1000583287891• Bangaly Kaba on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iambangaly/• The Minto Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing, Thinking, and Problem Solving: https://www.amazon.com/Minto-Pyramid-Principle-Writing-Thinking/dp/0960191046• Pathwise Leadership: https://pathwiseleadership.com/• Erin Teague on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinteague/• Bradley Horowitz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleyhorowitz/• Nikhyl Singhal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhyl/• Tim Ferriss on what makes a great mentor: https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-ferriss-what-makes-great-mentor-2017-11• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended on It: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-audiobook/dp/B01COR1GM2• Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends and Colleagues: https://www.amazon.com/Connect-Building-Exceptional-Relationships-Colleagues/dp/0241986869• Chris Voss’s MasterClass on negotiating in the workplace: https://www.masterclass.com/sessions/classes/win-workplace-negotiations• Lex Fridman’s podcast: https://lexfridman.com/podcast/• Never Have I Ever on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80179190• Top Gun: Maverick on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KBTJBiL3oQInterview Prep Communities:• Lewis C Lin's Interview Community: https://join.slack.com/t/pminterview/shared_invite/zt-1mqc5lzdt-SZuIvbzZIl8ob7UJeydVGg• Exponent: https://www.tryexponent.com/• StellarPeers: https://stellarpeers.com/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Jules’s background(06:07) Two paths to becoming a product manager(07:20) How Jules became the first growth PM at Slack(09:03) Black Product Managers Network and Codepath.org(12:05) The most important skills to refine as a PM: IQ skills and EQ skills(14:48) How to improve your interview skills (18:50) Why interviewing is more difficult for underrepresented people(20:39) EQ skills: what are they and how to improve them(22:44) The EQ skills Jules has had to develop over the course of his career(24:27) The importance of having a mentor or coach for self-reflection(26:09) How cultivating self-awareness helped Jules improve his communication(30:13) Strategies for learning new skills(35:32) Improving strategy, execution, and product sense(37:00) How identifying best practices can help you improve skills(40:22) Communicating clearly and asking for feedback(42:38) Methods Jules uses to improve skills(45:31) How to approach asking for feedback(47:46) Why it’s harder to get honest feedback on EQ skills(50:56) The importance of understanding your strengths and weaknesses and leaning into the former(55:18) Jules’s most impactful mentors(56:14) The qualities to look for in a good mentor and how to approach them(1:02:15) How to foster the best relationship with your mentor(1:06:51) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

If you ever wanted to distill 3,310 hours of knowledge into 60 minutes, then this episode is for you. For the last 6 months, Lenny’s Podcast has been downloaded more than 2 million times and is now a top 10 technology podcast across both Apple and Spotify. And in this special episode, I’m breaking down the top 10 most downloaded episodes, plus sharing my favorite lessons from each. It's unlike anything I've done before, and I hope you love it. Happy holidays, happy new year, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for listening, sharing, and for supporting the podcast. I’ll see you in 2023!—Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/countdown-of-the-top-10-episodes-of-the-year/#transcript—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this podcast:• TED—ReThinking with Adam Grant: https://adamgrant.net/podcasts/rethinking/• Notion—One workspace. Every team: https://www.notion.com/lennyspod• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—The 10 most downloaded episodes of 2022:* April Dunford on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/april-dunford-on-product-positioning-segmentation-and-optimizing-your-sales-process/* Crystal Widjaja on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-scrappily-hire-for-measure-and-unlock-growth-crystal-widjaja-gojek-and-kumu/* Julie Zhuo on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/julie-zhuo-on-accelerating-your-career-impostor-syndrome-writing-building-product-sense-using-intuition-vs-data-hiring-designers-and-moving-into-management/* Shishir Mehrotra on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-rituals-of-great-teams-shishir-mehrotra-coda-youtube-microsoft/* Kristen Berman on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/using-behavioral-science-to-improve-your-product-kristen-berman-irrational-labs/* Elena Verna on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/elena-verna-on-how-b2b-growth-is-changing-product-led-growth-product-led-sales-why-you-should-go-freemium-not-trial-what-features-to-make-free-and-much-more/* Ethan Smith on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-seo-ethan-smith-graphite/* Shreyas Doshi on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/shreyas-doshi-on-pre-mortems-the-lno-framework-the-three-levels-of-product-work-why-most-execution-problems-are-strategy-problems-and-roi-vs-opportunity-cost-thinking/* Marty Cagan on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-nature-of-product-marty-cagan-silicon-valley-product-group/* Matt Mochary on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-fire-people-with-grace-work-through-fear-and-nurture-innovation-matt-mochary-ceo-coach/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) About this episode(02:46) April Dunford on positioning your product(07:16) Crystal Widjaja on why most analytics efforts fail(11:42) Julie Zhuo on overcoming imposter syndrome(19:14) Shishir Mehrotra’s favorite interview question(23:27) Shishir Mehrotra’s PSHE career growth framework(27:10) Kristen Berman on using behavioral science to improve your product(33:29) Elena Verna on why retention is so important(36:31) Elena Verna on what to put into your freemium product(37:57) Ethan Smith on how people often under-resource SEO(38:46) Ethan Smith on when it’s time to invest in SEO(42:41) Shreyas Doshi’s LNO Framework(50:12) Marty Cagan on why big companies are often bad at product(51:46) Marty Cagan’s four steps to being a good product manager(53:48) Matt Mochary on the power of small teams(57:17) Matt Mochary’s advice for making hard conversations easier(59:05) Other episodes that left a lasting impact(59:40) Thank you for joining me (Lenny) on this incredible journey—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Chris Hutchins recently left his position as Head of New Product Strategy at Wealthfront to focus full-time on his podcast, All the Hacks. If you’re thinking about starting your own podcast or are simply interested in the process, be sure to check out today’s episode. We dive deep on all things podcasting: the pros and cons, how to climb the charts, and how much time you should expect to spend on each episode from start to finish. We talk in-depth about the process, from pre-production to publication, and share all of the products we use for recording, editing, and publishing. Chris also offers some important tips and tricks on how to get your first subscribers and how to market and grow your podcast, as well as some incredible money-saving hacks that you can start implementing today.—Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/launching-and-growing-a-podcast-chris—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• Lenny’s Job Board—Hire the best product people. Find the best product gigs: https://www.lennysjobs.com/talent—Where to find Chris Hutchins:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/hutchins• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishutchins/• Website: https://chrishutchins.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Referenced:• All the Hacks podcast: https://www.allthehacks.com/• All the Hacks newsletter: https://allthehacks.com/email• Andy Rachleff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/arachleff• Kerri Walsh Jennings on All the Hacks: https://www.allthehacks.com/performance-psychology-kerri-walsh-jennings/• Descript: https://www.descript.com/• Erika Taught Me podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/erika-taught-me/id1650076906• Leigh Rowan on All the Hacks: https://www.allthehacks.com/travel-hacks-leigh-rowan/• Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans”: https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/• Emily Oster’s books: https://emilyoster.net/writing/• Chris Hutchins on The Kevin Rose Show: https://podcast.kevinrose.com/guests/chris-hutchins/• Nick Gray’s newsletter: https://nickgray.net/signup-for-email-updates/• The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: How to Build Big Relationships with Small Gatherings: https://www.amazon.com/2-Hour-Cocktail-Party-Relationships-Gatherings-ebook/dp/B0B2KW6T7J• MrBeast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6OQ3DkcsbYNE6H8uQQuVA• Gary Vaynerchuk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/garyvee• The Danny Miranda Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-danny-miranda-podcast/id1532160275• Ray Dalio on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RayDalio• Danny Miranda’s newsletter on Substack: https://dannymiranda.substack.com/• ATRX2100 mic bundle on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR2100X-USB-Microphone-Bundle-Filter/dp/B082SYHRY9/r• Riverside: https://riverside.fm/• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B07QR73T66• Sony Alpha 7C mirrorless full-frame camera on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Alpha-Full-Frame-Mirrorless-Camera/dp/B08HVZLQ4F• Adobe Audition: https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html• Pro Tools: https://www.avid.com/pro-tools• Podpage: https://www.podpage.com/• Simplecast: https://www.simplecast.com/• Chartable: https://chartable.com/• Podstatus: https://podstatus.com/• Overcast: https://overcast.fm/• Happy Money: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Money-Ken-Honda-audiobook/dp/B07MJHJ57T/• Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel: https://www.amazon.com/Vagabonding-Uncommon-Guide-Long-Term-Travel/dp/0812992180• Die with Zero: https://www.amazon.com/Die-Zero-Getting-Your-Money/dp/0358099765• Animal Spirits Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/animal-spirits-podcast/id1310192007• Mythic Quest on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/mythic-quest• Unclaimed money: https://www.usa.gov/unclaimed-money• Savendeals.com: https://www.savendeals.com/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Chris’s background(03:25) Lesson’s from Wealthfront(09:25) Why storytelling and communication are every bit as important as the product(11:04) Why you need to understand the user’s experience and keep up with what others are building(14:56) Why you should focus on overall impact, not just doing what your boss wants(17:39) Why Chris likes working on big, crazy ideas(19:10) The early days of Chris’s All the Hacks podcast(21:34) The pros and cons of starting a podcast(24:19) The time required to produce an episode(27:09) How Lenny started his podcast (28:29) Launch lessons and how Apple rankings work(30:49) Why you need to create authentic content(32:57) Be one person’s favorite podcast(35:01) How Chris ideated and titled All the Hacks(40:09) How to get started and get your first subscribers(43:52) How Gary Vaynerchuk used Twitter to establish authority (45:07) How to take advantage of platforms with built-in growth engines(47:42) The power of in-person interviews(48:57) How to pitch to other podcasts(51:27) Equipment and products for producing podcasts(57:36) How many downloads it takes in order to be taken seriously(1:01:28) Using Overcast as a growth lever(1:09:02) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Pete Kazanjy is the author of Founding Sales: The Early Stage Go-to-Market Handbook and the founder of Modern Sales Pros, an invite-only peer learning community focused on sales operations and sales leadership. He’s also the co-founder of Atrium, a B2B SaaS company that provides data-driven sales solutions. Pete got his start in product at VMware and then dove deep into the art and science of sales. In today’s episode, we talk about the importance of founder-led sales and how to methodically scale a sales department. He explains the difference between old-school sales and modern sales, which focuses on human connection and solving problems for customers. He also shares actionable tips to improve your sales technique and explains how to use data to monitor your success at different milestones in the sales process.—Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/founder-led-sales-pete-kazanjy-founding—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this podcast:• 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• Merge—A single API to add hundreds of integrations into your app: http://merge.dev/lenny—Where to find Pete:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kazanjy• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazanjy/• Website: https://kazanjy.svbtle.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Referenced:• Founding Sales: The Early Stage Go-to-Market Handbook: https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Sales-Go-Market-Handbook-ebook/dp/B08PMK17Z1• Brianne Kimmel’s SaaS school: http://briannekimmel.com/saas-school/• Modern Sales Pros: https://modernsaleshq.com/• The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses: https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898• The Four Steps to the Epiphany: Successful Strategies for Products That Win: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Successful-Strategies/dp/1119690358/• Pete’s presentation on founder-led sales: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAXIVAZJyPA• Pete’s guest post on Lenny’s newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/sales-bottom-up• The Cadence: How to Operate a SaaS Startup: https://medium.com/craft-ventures/the-cadence-how-to-operate-a-saas-startup-436aa8099e8• Maker vs. Manager Schedule: http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html• Amplitude: https://amplitude.com/• Atrium: https://www.atriumhq.com/• Greenhouse: https://www.greenhouse.io/• Pete’s ICP Template: https://www.foundingsales.com/2-product-marketing#building-narrative• Marissa Fuhrer Bell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissafuhrer/• Data-driven sales master class: https://salesnerds.atriumhq.com/msp-nailing-science-of-sales-figma-webinar-video• The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement: https://www.amazon.com/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0884271951• The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/Score-Takes-Care-Itself-Philosophy/dp/1591843472• All-In podcast: https://www.allinpodcast.co/• Encanto on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/encanto/33q7DY1rtHQH—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) How Pete met Lenny (05:05) Pete’s background(07:20) Modern sales vs. old-school sales(09:17) What is founder-led sales, and why is it so important?(14:58) When to hire your first salesperson (18:20) Why you should keep your in-person events to around 10 people(19:34) What a sales motion is and why it needs to be updated regularly (20:55) What are the leading indicators of success?(23:54) Why founders don’t need to be rock stars at sales(28:28) Sales mindset changes—the number-one tip to improve your sales(33:30) How modern sales should focus on helping customers solve problems(36:00) A few tips to help you get better at sales(36:40) ICP and personas(39:14) Why you should hire junior sales staff in the early stages(45:40) Signs your new hires aren’t a good fit(47:38) The importance of using metrics for success(49:33) Month-by-month expectations for sales hires(51:19) Why work from home is bad for junior salespeople(54:19) Why you shouldn’t be afraid of sales(55:19) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Camille Ricketts began her career in journalism, at the Wall Street Journal, in 2006. In 2010 she joined Tesla, where she worked in communications alongside Elon Musk. She transitioned into marketing and became the Head of Content and Marketing at First Round Capital and then went on to become the very first marketing hire at Notion. In today’s episode, we dig into community-led growth—what it is, and when and how to pursue it. We get super-specific on how Notion championed their most loyal users and built a passionate community, and the incredible outcome it had for the company’s growth. We also talk about how to create great content, and how content can drive growth for your business and brand.—Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-notion-leveraged-community-to—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this podcast:• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments: https://www.geteppo.com/• Flatfile—A CSV importer that says yes instead of error: mismatch: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny—Where to find Camille:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/camillericketts• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camillericketts/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—People referenced:• Ivan Zhao: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanhzhao/• Simon Last: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-last-41404140/• Lexie Barnhorn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisbarnhorn/• Ben Lang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benmlang/• Claire Butler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairetbutler/• Jessi Craige Shikman at First Round: https://firstround.com/person/jessi-craige-shikman/• Brett Berson at First Round: https://firstround.com/person/brett-berson/• Josh Kopelman at First Round: https://firstround.com/person/josh-kopelman/#mystory• Shaun Young on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunyou/• David Pierce at The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/authors/david-pierce• Francisco Cruz-Mendoza: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franciscocrz/• Emma Yee Yick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmayeeyick/ Additionally, Camille would love to shout out Nate Martins and Andrea Lim, who ran Notion’s content program:• Nate Martins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-martins/• Andrea Lim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreawlim/Content and companies referenced:• Community & Content Resources: https://camnotes.notion.site/Community-Content-Resources-f18fb1db2d094ec2a4140a7737fae362• Station F: https://stationf.co/• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Canva: https://www.canva.com/• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• Stripe Atlas: https://stripe.com/atlas• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/• First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/• Jobs to be done framework: https://jobs-to-be-done.com/jobs-to-be-done-a-framework-for-customer-needs-c883cbf61c90• The Only App You Need for Work-Life Productivity: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-only-app-you-need-for-work-life-productivity-1521640800• Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/Referenced in lightning round:• Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning So Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It: https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005• April Dunford on Lenny’s podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/april-dunford-on-product-positioning-segmentation-and-optimizing-your-sales-process/• April Dunford’s guest post in Lenny’s newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/positioning• Harry Stebbings’s podcast, 20VC: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/podcast/• Lenny on 20VC: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/lenny-rachitsky/• Tár: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14444726/• Fleishman Is in Trouble: https://www.hulu.com/series/fleishman-is-in-trouble-710e51f8-3387-404d-8b07-e7c9b766d11c• Notion: https://www.notion.so/• Arc: https://arc.net/• Superhuman: https://superhuman.com/• Cron: https://cron.com/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Camille’s background(05:43) What it was like working with Elon Musk(07:38) Working at Notion in the early days(12:16) What is community-led growth?(15:48) How Notion measured the impact of marketing efforts(16:35) The most successful community efforts at Notion(18:24) Why metrics aren’t always necessary for community growth (19:52) When it makes sense to invest in community-led growth(21:34) How creators make money using Notion(23:12) The Ambassador Program and Champions Program at Notion(27:20) Why founders should consider investing in community and delay monetizing some features(31:03) Companies that have done well in building community(32:54) How to determine the level of community engagement appropriate for your company to invest in(34:00) Using Camille’s 2x2 grid to implement community(36:42) How to launch an ambassador program(41:22) Advice for founders who want to build community(47:17) How Lenny got his first 500 newsletter subscribers(48:58) Examples of Camille’s most impactful content marketing(51:20) Content-market fit: how to determine the needs of your reader (53:37) Content categories and the time it takes to create top-notch content(57:02) The future of comms and how the press helped Notion grow(1:01:35) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Madhavan Ramanujam is a senior partner at Simon-Kucher, where he works with tier-one tech companies like Uber, Asana, and LinkedIn to help them develop their pricing and monetization strategies. He’s also the author of the most widely read book on pricing strategy, Monetizing Innovation. In today’s podcast, we talk about all the elements that go into your pricing strategy. Madhavan gives real-life examples of having conversations about “willingness to pay,” how segmentation should impact your pricing, and when to start thinking about pricing. He also shares tips on how behavioral pricing impacts your thinking, how to restructure your pricing during a downturn, and much more.—Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:• Lemon.io—a marketplace of vetted software developers. Get your match within 48h: https://lemon.io/lenny• Mixpanel—product analytics that everyone can trust, use, and afford: https://mixpanel.com/startups• Miro—a collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life: https://miro.com/lenny—Where to find Madhavan Ramanujam:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/madhavansf• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhavan-ramanujam-1533063/• Website: https://www.simon-kucher.com/en-us/leadership—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Referenced:• Monetizing Innovation: https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867• It’s Price Before Product. Period: https://review.firstround.com/its-price-before-product-period• Rahul Vohra on NFX podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCiMqVC6Dok• Leaders, Killers, and Fillers framework: https://kevinacohn.medium.com/leaders-fillers-and-killers-creating-bundles-that-work-7f4c7329cf53• Predictably Irrational: https://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-Decisions/dp/0061353248• Preorder Unlocking Growth: https://www.amazon.com/Maximize-Profits-Prices-Products-Services/dp/1119633060• Confessions of the Pricing Man: https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Pricing-Man-Affects-Everything/dp/B08TZPRKVY• Simon-Kucher books: https://www.simon-kucher.com/en-us/resources/books• Mastering SaaS pricing (Kyle Poyar): https://www.saas-knowledge-base.com/docs/mastering-saas-pricing-from-mvp-to-ipo• 6 Must-Reads on Pricing a Product: https://review.firstround.com/our-6-must-reads-on-pricing-a-product—In this episode, we cover:(03:24) Madhavan’s background(06:29) How Madhavan got into pricing and monetization(08:02 ) Why he wrote Monetizing Innovation(09:43) Why pricing is a cross-functional discipline, but ultimately a function of product(11:27) What “willingness to pay” is, and why founders need to have conversations about it early and often(15:23) How Porsche built their SUV around customer feedback and willingness to pay(18:46) How testing helped a marketplace company avoid building something customers don’t value(23:50) Several methods to use to learn willingness to pay(33:38) When and how the willingness-to-pay conversations happen(37:08) How many customers you should be talking to(38:13) When to revisit pricing(39:20) Segmentation strategies(42:42) Why you need to act differently to your segments that have different needs(44:33) When to think about segmentation(47:49) Examples of segmentation done well(52:24) The importance of dynamic segmentation(53:19) The three pricing strategies: maximizing, penetrating, and skimming(55:49) How to use bundling and packaging to unlock segmentation(59:50) Why how you charge is more important than how much(1:03:30) Subscription vs. usage (1:07:40) Pricing options and structures(1:10:22) How to run tests to see which pricing model works best(1:12:06) Focusing on benefits vs. features(1:16:13) What behavioral pricing is and why it’s important(1:20:54) Tactics for behavioral pricing(1:26:33) Determining pricing thresholds (1:28:23) Tips for pricing in a depressed market(1:32:50) Madhavan’s new book—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Sahil Mansuri is the CEO of Bravado, the world’s largest online sales community. Sahil is passionate about sales, and his experience dates all the way back to 2008, working for Obama’s presidential campaign. During his time at Glassdoor, Sahil was able to close some incredible accounts, including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. In today’s podcast, we talk about why sales is a crucial part of any business and how to continue selling successfully through a recession. We get super-specific on building a conservative plan for the near future and cover everything from where to place your best salespeople to restructuring comp plans. The episode is full of great advice about how to shift with this market, improve agility, and perhaps grow an even stronger business with happier customers. —Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-hit-revenue-targets-in-a-recession-sahil-mansuri-bravado/#transcript—Where to find Sahil Mansuri:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/svmansuri• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahilmansuri/• Email: sahil@bravado.co—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:• Flatfile: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny• Merge: http://merge.dev/lenny• Miro: https://miro.com/lenny—Referenced:• Bravado: https://bravado.co/• Stumbling on Happiness: https://www.amazon.com/Stumbling-Happiness-Daniel-Gilbert/dp/1400077427• All-In podcast: https://www.allinpodcast.co/• How I Built This podcast: https://www.npr.org/series/490248027/how-i-built-this• The Blacklist on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/70281312• The Newsroom on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-newsroom-3d51e070-e77d-4294-ac83-cab80d3f94dd• The West Wing on HBO Max: https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GX5nwgQDNJZ6aoQEAAAHJ• Jeopardy!: https://www.jeopardy.com/watch• Frasier on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/frasier-0cb9b63b-de82-4751-99c9-1cb12118ab9d• Slack: https://slack.com/• Zoom: https://zoom.us/• Grain: https://grain.com/—In this episode, we cover:(04:19) Sahil’s background(08:26) What is Bravado? (10:27) How to shift your sales strategy to meet the market(12:00) How to set a conservative plan that still allows you to lean in when growth is possible(19:06) Why the downturn in tech may not be over anytime soon(21:34) How Bravado gets its data from users and creates global benchmarks (23:04) Why SAAS has an outdated comp structure(33:23) Why companies are resistant to restructuring comp plans(37:18) The problem with hypergrowth in today’s market(41:18) Why it’s time to shift into a retention-based strategy(43:28) Why your best sales staff should transition to post-sales for customer retention(51:20) What are warm intros, and how can existing customers help you get new ones?(59:30) How Sahil was able to get Facebook’s account at Glassdoor(1:08:08) Why CEOs are actually salespeople(1:12:50) How to survive a downturn(1:19:44) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Ethan Smith, CEO of Graphite, discusses when to invest in SEO, building an SEO team, and the three main buckets of SEO. He explains the difference between topics and keywords and provides tools for developing an SEO strategy. He also addresses roadblocks and resource advocacy. Other topics include debunking SEO myths, understanding Google's SEO algorithm, hiring strategies, and the importance of topical authority in SEO strategy.

Petra Wille is an independent product leadership coach who’s been helping product teams expand their skill sets since 2013. She’s also the author of Strong Product People, which she published in 2021. Alongside her freelance work, Petra curates and co-organizes Mind The Product Engage Hamburg. She started her career as a software developer and in 2008 went to work at Xing, a German social media site, where she learned from two incredible product leaders: Marty Cagan and Jason Goldberg. In today’s podcast, we talk about Petra’s book, and how to help your team grow as a product leader. Petra also shares how to improve your storytelling skills, get better at public speaking, and why community is so important for product managers.—Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-be-the-best-coach-to-product—Where to find Petra Wille:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/loomista• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petra-wille-b8b1329/?originalSubdomain=de• Website: https://www.petra-wille.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:• Flatfile: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny• Mixpanel: https://mixpanel.com/startups• AssemblyAI: https://www.assemblyai.com/?utm_source=lennyspodcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=nov27—Referenced:• PMwheel framework: https://www.strongproductpeople.com/pmwheel• Marty Cagan’s assessment: https://www.svpg.com/coaching-tools-the-assessment/• PM Daisy: https://pmdaisy.com/• The Eisenhower matrix for prioritization: https://www.productplan.com/glossary/eisenhower-matrix/• Continuous Discovery Habits: Discover Products that Create Customer Value and Business Value: https://www.amazon.com/Continuous-Discovery-Habits-Discover-Products/dp/1736633309• Mochary Method Curriculum: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18FiJbYn53fTtPmphfdCKT2TMWH-8Y2L-MLqDk-MFV4s/edit• Matt Mochary on Lenny’s podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/how-to-fire-people-with-grace-work-through-fear-and-nurture-innovation-matt-mochary/• Hans Rosling’s Ted talks: https://www.ted.com/speakers/hans_rosling• Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter: https://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter?• Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That is and What You Can Do About It: https://www.amazon.com/Nobody-Wants-Read-Your-Sh-ebook/dp/B01GZ1TJBI• Selling the Dream: https://www.amazon.com/Selling-Dream-Guy-Kawasaki/dp/0887306004• Nancy Duarte’s website: https://www.duarte.com/• The 72 Rules of Storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/72-rules-commercial-storytelling-jeremy-waite/• The Art of Thinking Clearly:https://www.amazon.com/Art-Thinking-Clearly-Rolf-Dobelli/dp/0062219693• Outcomes Over Output: https://www.amazon.com/Outcomes-Over-Output-customer-behavior/dp/1091173265• Martin Erickson’s Decision Stack: https://martineriksson.com/the-decision-stack• Present Yourself Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/womentalkdesign/present-yourself-a-public-speaking-book• The Product Experience podcast: https://www.mindtheproduct.com/the-product-experience/• Product podcast in German: https://www.produktmenschen.de/• Watch New Amsterdam on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/new-amsterdam• Harvest bookkeeping and time tracking: https://www.getharvest.com/• Qanto: https://qonto.com/en—In this episode, we cover:(03:35) Petra’s background(05:51) The things leaders of product teams don’t always understand(09:33) Why Petra wrote the book Strong Product People to help managers of product teams (11:21) The five ingredient coaching method(17:00) Why Petra usually recommends starting coaching with a development plan(19:31) Why weekly time should be carved out for ‘people development’(21:16) How to define a competent PM in your organization and tools to help you(24:06) Petra’s PM Wheel and how she developed it(27:36) Other info product leads will find useful in Petra’s book(30:46) Tips for coaching your team(35:17) How to improve your storytelling(40:56) How to get better at public speaking(44:45) Why it’s important to develop good storytelling and public speaking skills (53:36) The importance of a community of practice for product people(56:14) Why people tend to stick around when they are supported and growing in a community(57:53) What to look for in a community(1:06:48) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Ian McAllister is the Senior Director of Product for Vehicles at Uber. Before moving to Uber, Ian spent over a decade directing teams at Amazon, where he created and led Amazon Smile. He was also Director of Product Management at Airbnb, where I was lucky enough to have worked alongside him. In today’s episode, we discuss Ian’s famous document about the essential attributes of the top 1% of product managers. Ian outlines the most important skills to focus on for entry-level PMs and how to broaden your experience and diversify skills as you move up the ladder. He also shares what he learned working with Jeff Wilke, Jeff Bezos, and other leaders at Amazon, and goes in depth on Amazon’s working-backwards framework. —Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/what-it-takes-to-become-a-top-1-pm-ian-mcallister-uber-amazon-airbnb/#transcript—Where to find Ian McAllister:• Newsletter: https://ianmcallister.substack.com/• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ianmcall• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianmcallister/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:• Mixpanel: https://mixpanel.com/startups• Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.com/lenny• AssemblyAI: https://www.assemblyai.com/?utm_source=lennyspodcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=nov20—Referenced:• What distinguishes the top 1% of product managers from the top 10%, on Substack: https://ianmcallister.substack.com/p/what-distinguishes-the-top-1-of-product• What distinguishes the top 1% of product managers from the top 10%, on Quora: https://www.quora.com/What-distinguishes-the-Top-1-of-product-managers-from-the-Top-10• Amazon’s working-backwards method: https://www.productplan.com/glossary/working-backward-amazon-method/• Jeff Wilke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffawilke• Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Real-Smarter-Successful-Application/dp/0578012812• Wool (Wool trilogy #1): https://www.amazon.com/Wool-Trilogy-Howey-25-Apr-2013-Paperback/dp/B011T7ACU0/• Energy and Civilization: A History: https://www.amazon.com/Energy-Civilization-History-MIT-Press/dp/0262035774• How I Built This podcast: https://www.npr.org/series/490248027/how-i-built-this• EV News Daily podcast: https://www.evnewsdaily.com/• Yellowstone on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/yellowstone• Everything Everywhere All at Once on Showtime: https://www.sho.com/titles/3493875/everything-everywhere-all-at-once• Gibson Biddle’s website: https://www.gibsonbiddle.com/• Gibson Biddle on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/gibson-biddle-on-his-dhm-product-strategy-framework-gem-roadmap-prioritization-framework-5-netflix-strategy-mini-case-studies-building-a-personal-board-of-directors-and-much-more/• Gibson Biddle’s Ask Gib newsletter: https://askgib.substack.com/—In this episode, we cover:(03:54) What Ian expected from his initial post on product management(05:30) How the post impacted Ian’s career(07:06) How writing can help you crystallize your thoughts(08:26) Ian’s background(10:57) Attributes of the top 1% of PMs(14:32) The top three skills for new PMs to perfect(20:32) Tips on strengthening communication and prioritization(23:06) How to level up as a PM(26:37) What kind of impact should new PMs expect to make?(29:36) How to broaden your view and think big(33:06) How to earn the trust of others(34:30) How Ian could have done more to earn trust at Airbnb(37:27) Why people tend to stick around Amazon for a while (39:53) What Ian learned from Bezos and Wilke(46:38) How teams get working backwards wrong(53:51) The two parts of working backwards and how Ian utilizes it at Uber(58:57) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe