Christian Idiodi is a partner at Silicon Valley Product Group. After a long product career and founding multiple companies, Christian now spends his time working closely with product leaders at companies big and small to implement and improve their discipline of product management. In today’s episode, we discuss:• Why there’s often a negative perception of product managers, and how we can fix this• The four attributes of a product manager’s job: value, usability, viability, and feasibility• The power of finding reference customers• How Christian developed a process for high-volume hiring to help companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks• Tactical tips for coaching, building relationships, and building trust as a leader—Brought to you by Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams | Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security | Teal—Your personal career growth platform—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-essence-of-product-management-christian-idiodi-svpg/—Where to find Christian Idiodi:• X: https://twitter.com/CIdiodi• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cidiodi/• Website: https://www.svpg.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Christian’s background(03:56) The negative perception of product managers(07:58) How to become a PM people want to work with(11:30) The definition of a product manager(14:46) Where new PMs fail(16:59) Reference customers: what they are and why they are so important(24:05) A quick summary of how to build a product that people want and love(26:44) How to determine product-market fit(29:54) The benefits of this approach(34:11) Real examples of using reference customers(40:06) Doing things that don’t scale(48:40) How to get better at coaching and build trust with leaders(55:53) The fastest way to build trust(01:00:01) What to do in the absence of good coaching(01:02:51) How to get into product management(01:04:16) The pitfalls of early promotions(01:11:11) How to train someone for a promotion before giving the promotion(01:13:30) How to find a good coach(01:14:40) Christian’s product work in Africa(01:21:22) The importance of passion and empathy in product work(01:22:54) Lightning round—Referenced:• Marty Cagan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cagan/• The nature of product | Marty Cagan, Silicon Valley Product Group: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-nature-of-product-marty-cagan-silicon-valley-product-group/• Silicon Valley Product Group: https://www.svpg.com/• Enhanced Product Discovery by SVPG Partner Christian Idiodi at Lean Product Meetup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQKaFEqhiqc• Geoffrey Moore’s technology adoption curve: https://fourweekmba.com/technology-adoption-curve/• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• Building a culture of excellence | David Singleton (CTO of Stripe): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/building-a-culture-of-excellence-david-singleton-cto-of-stripe/• Building beautiful products with Stripe’s Head of Design | Katie Dill (Stripe, Airbnb, Lyft): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/building-beautiful-products-with-stripes-head-of-design-katie-dill-stripe-airbnb-lyft/• Rippling: https://www.rippling.com/• Snagajob: https://www.snagajob.com/• Howard Schultz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardschultz/• Tesla portable charger: https://shop.tesla.com/product/mobile-connector• Innovate Africa Foundation: https://www.innovateafrica.io/about/• Inspire Africa Conference: https://www.inspireafricaconference.com/• Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love: https://www.svpg.com/books/inspired-how-to-create-tech-products-customers-love-2nd-edition/• Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products: https://www.svpg.com/books/empowered-ordinary-people-extraordinary-products/• Transformed: Moving to the Product Operating Model: https://www.svpg.com/books/transformed-moving-to-the-product-operating-model/• Succession on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/succession• Billions on Showtime: https://www.sho.com/billions• Real sports app: https://www.realapp.link/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Jason Fried is the co-founder and CEO of 37signals, the maker of Basecamp and HEY. 37signals is a very different kind of company. With fewer than 80 employees, they have over 100,000 customers, generate tens of millions of dollars in profit each year, and have no investors, board, or any plans to ever raise money or sell the company. In our conversation, we explore a path many tech founders never consider—bootstrapping. We discuss:• Why he and his team prioritize profit above all else• The unexpected challenges with raising venture capital• The “Shape Up” framework for building products• Why, and how, to foster a gut-driven culture• Jason’s thoughts on why work should not feel like war• Advice for starting a bootstrapped business• The philosophy behind Once, 37signals’s new line of software products—Brought to you by Coda—Meet the evolution of docs | Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers | Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/jason-fried-challenges-your-thinking-on-fundraising-goals-growth-and-more/#transcript—Where to find Jason Fried:• X: https://twitter.com/jasonfried• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-fried/• Email: jason@hey.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Jason’s background(03:49) The success of 37signals(06:46) When raising money makes sense(09:58) The power of small teams(13:55) Defining success and goals(17:08) Playing “infinite games” in life(20:11) Starting a business vs. staying in business(22:13) Lessons from 25 years in business(27:28) Venture scale vs. bootstrapping(30:30) Choosing the right path for your business(33:19) The “Shape Up” framework(37:59) The drawback of promises(39:56) Adopting a new way of working(41:36) The two-week cooldown(43:53) Trusting intuition and gut(46:41) Creating a gut-driven culture(49:44) What Jason looks for in new hires(56:19) Advice on making changes and adapting(01:00:06) What Jason has changed his mind about(01:02:33) Planning in 6-week stretches and figuring it out as you go(01:06:43) Being proud of the work you do(01:09:05) Jason’s thoughts on why work should not feel like war(01:11:31) Advice for starting a bootstrapped business(01:14:33) You must be at peace with the worst that can happen(01:15:42) The benefits of bootstrapping(01:19:11) The value of constraints in business(01:22:00) Jason’s philosophy: “Just keep making great s**t”(01:23:19) Once, 37signals’s new line of software products(01:26:33) The philosophy behind Once(01:35:47) Closing thoughts(01:37:23) Lightning round—Referenced:• 37 Signals: https://www.smartsheet.com/• Basecamp: https://basecamp.com/• Finite and Infinite Games: https://www.amazon.com/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713/• Ingram Micro: https://www.ingrammicro.com/• Once: https://once.com/• Basecamp’s Shape Up framework: https://basecamp.com/shapeup• Hill charts: https://basecamp.com/features/hill-charts• Jason Fried’s quote about long-term business planning: https://medium.com/@farkhan569/unless-you-are-a-fortune-teller-long-term-business-planning-is-a-fantasy-jason-fried-quote-a69e8778e9c4• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/brian-cheskys-new-playbook/• Matt Mullenweg on X: https://twitter.com/photomatt• Leo Polovets on X: https://twitter.com/lpolovets• HEY: https://www.hey.com/• Redefining success, money, and belonging | Paul Millerd (The Pathless Path): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/redefining-success-money-and-belonging-paul-millerd-the-pathless-path/• It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work: https://www.amazon.com/Doesnt-Have-Be-Crazy-Work/dp/0062874780• Squarespace: https://www.squarespace.com/• Stoic negative visualization: https://dailystoic.com/premortem/• Linear: https://linear.app/• Peter Rahal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-rahal-037bba43/• RXBAR: https://www.rxbar.com/en_US/home.html• Jason’s LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jason-fried_just-keep-making-great-s**t-keep-your-costs-activity-7130978623523614720-VBGX/?trk=public_profile• Several Short Sentences About Writing: https://www.amazon.com/Several-Short-Sentences-About-Writing/dp/0307279413• Hell Yeah or No: What’s Worth Doing: https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Yeah-No-whats-worth/dp/1988575117/• Home-Made: Contemporary Russian Folk Artifacts: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Made-Contemporary-Russian-Folk-Artifacts/dp/0955006139• Oppenheimer: https://www.oppenheimermovie.com/• Tom Petty’s “Crawling Back to You” on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1JenqZNMU6unIwVWmoP3J0• Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger: https://press.stripe.com/poor-charlies-almanack—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Matthew Dicks is a best-selling author, columnist, blogger, podcaster, playwright, and teacher. He wrote my all-time favorite book on storytelling, Storyworthy. He is an elementary school teacher by day and by night teaches storytelling and public speaking to individuals, corporations, universities, religious institutions, and school districts around the world. He’s taught storytelling at Yale, MIT, Harvard, and Purdue, along with Amazon, Salesforce, Slack, Lego, and others. In this conversation, Matthew shares insights and techniques for effective storytelling, including:• The benefits of good storytelling in business• The five-second moment and why it’s so important• Why you should start every story at the end• How to build a vault of stories that can be deployed in business situations• Tips on how to be funnier• His life-changing “Homework for Life” practice• Advice for dealing with nervousness in public speaking• The power of saying yes—Brought to you by OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster | Maui Nui Venison—The healthiest red meat on the planet delivered directly to your door | Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-tell-better-stories-matthew-dicks-storyworthy/—Where to find Matthew Dicks:• Website: https://matthewdicks.com/• X: https://twitter.com/MatthewDicks• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-dicks-84a95711/• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4K0fcEJkzJLso5h6CN00LQ• Storyworthy: https://www.storyworthymd.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Matthew’s background(04:27) The five-second moment(10:29) Knowing the ending(14:28) The importance of including a transformation(15:59) The dinner test(18:19) You can’t tell someone else’s story(20:24) Vacation stories(23:14) Adding stakes to the story(25:12) The power of surprise(29:20) The benefits of storytelling in business(32:20) An example of adding stakes(34:02) Storytelling in the workplace(44:29) Using personal inventory to make stories relatable(48:46) Four ways to keep people listening(50:52) Using humor in business storytelling(53:09) Advice for adding humor(58:43) An example of how storytelling helped a biotech company sell product(1:02:06) Advice for people who don’t want to become storytellers(1:06:35) The power of “Homework for Life”(01:15:26) Practical tips for starting Homework for Life(01:19:28) Dealing with nervousness in public speaking(01:24:42) Preparing for a talk or presentation(01:25:24) The power of saying yes(01:30:55) Lightning round—Referenced:• How ‘Star Wars’ answers our biggest religious questions: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/21/how-star-wars-answers-our-biggest-religious-questions/• When Harry Met Sally on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/When-Harry-Sally-Billy-Crystal/dp/B001Q556QG• Persuasive communication and managing up | Wes Kao (Maven, Seth Godin, Section4): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/persuasive-communication-and-managing-up-wes-kao-maven-seth-godin-section4/• Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Tenets of Storytelling: https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/04/03/kurt-vonnegut-on-writing-stories/• Vertigo on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Vertigo-James-Stewart/dp/B000I9YLXU• Ocean’s Eleven on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Oceans-Eleven-George-Clooney/dp/B001EBV0JE• David Mamet | JCCSF: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZOT1jCHfhI• Pulp Fiction on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Pulp-Fiction-John-Travolta/dp/B005T3AX6E• Charity Thief: Boston Moth StorySLAM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjrlGhAB4a4• Boris Levin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boris-levin-ab95404/• Masha Reutovski on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/masha-reutovski/• Top Three Steve Jobs Speeches: https://www.pcworld.com/article/482269/top_three_steve_jobs_speeches.html• The Javits Center: https://www.javitscenter.com/• Stranger Things on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80057281• 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/64LU4c1nfjz1t4VnGhagcg• Classic Sesame Street—one of these things is not like the other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCxrkl2igGY• Homework for Life: https://matthewdicks.com/homework-for-life/• Homework for Life | Matthew Dicks | TEDxBerkshires: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7p329Z8MD0• Seth Meyers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Meyers• David Sedaris on MasterClass: https://www.masterclass.com/classes/david-sedaris-teaches-storytelling-and-humor• Happy-Go-Lucky: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Go-Lucky-David-Sedaris/dp/0316392456• A life of yes: Matthew Dicks at TEDxSomerville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3TaQFcaMk4• New York Comedy Festival: https://nycomedyfestival.com/• In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex: https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Sea-Tragedy-Whaleship-Essex/dp/0141001828• The Tale of Despereaux: https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Despereaux-Being-Princess-Thread/dp/0763680893• I’ll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife and Motherhood: https://www.amazon.com/Ill-Show-Myself-Out-Motherhood/dp/0062981595• You’ll Grow Out of It: https://www.amazon.com/Youll-Grow-Out-Jessi-Klein/dp/1455531200• David Sedaris books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/David-Sedaris/author/B000AQ3YUW• Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere: https://www.amazon.com/Sure-Ill-Join-Your-Cult/dp/1982168560• The Last of Us on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-last-of-us• Barbie: https://www.barbie-themovie.com/• Krinner tree genie on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Krinner-Genie-Christmas-Stand-Small-Green/dp/B081D78FTP• Power Pod: https://powerpodshop.com/• Nostalgia hotdog toaster: https://www.amazon.com/Nostalgia-HDT600RETRORED-Pop-Up-Toaster-Retro/dp/B005Q8X6IO—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

In this special compilation episode, we delve into failure—an overlooked source of wisdom. From freezing onstage in front of thousands of people, to coworkers staging an intervention, to huge product investments that went to zero, we’ve pulled our favorite stories of failure from 100+ podcast episodes. I hope these stories serve as a gentle nudge to view failure not as a setback but as a crucial detour toward growth.—Brought to you by Sendbird—The (all-in-one) communications API platform for mobile apps | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/failure/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, you’ll hear from:(00:00) Lenny: Why I’m focusing on failure(03:25) Katie Dill: The single meeting that changed how Katie leads forever(08:03) Paul Adams: Freezing onstage in front of thousands of people(18:38) Tom Conrad: Lessons from Pets.com and Quibi—two of the most famous product disasters of all time(33:19) Sri Batchu: When you fail, make sure you fail conclusively(39:00) Jiaona Zhang (JZ): One of the biggest product misses at Airbnb(44:32) Gina Gotthilf: Everyone has an “A side” and a “B side,” and we should all share our B sides more(57:57) Maggie Crowley: Her favorite interview question about failure, and lessons from a personal failure(1:00:33) Thanks for listening—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Kim Scott is the author of Radical Candor, currently the #1 most recommended book on this podcast. The book has sold over 1 million copies and has been translated into 23 languages. Before writing, Kim was a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and other tech companies. She was also a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense, YouTube, and DoubleClick teams at Google. This spring she’ll be launching Radical Respect, which she considers to be a prequel to Radical Candor. In today’s conversation, we go deep on Kim’s popular framework, including:• What separates radical candor and obnoxious aggression• Tactical advice on delivering constructive feedback• How well-meaning empathy can become ruinous• Strategies for effectively soliciting and responding to feedback• The importance of having regular career conversations• The false dichotomy of a good leader versus a kind person• A sneak peek into Radical Respect—Brought to you by Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice-with-author-kim-scott/#transcript—Where to find Kim Scott:• X: https://twitter.com/kimballscott• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimm4/• Website: https://www.radicalcandor.com/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Kim’s background(03:13) A brief overview of Radical Candor(06:46) How people fail with ruinous empathy, manipulative insincerity, and obnoxious aggression(08:37) The impact of radical candor on Kim’s life(14:16) How to communicate feedback effectively(20:34) A story illustrating the problem with ruinous empathy and manipulative insincerity(27:50) How to get over the need to be liked(31:31) How to have career conversations with your direct reports(29:40) Reflections on how Kim handled an underperforming employee(33:31) Best practices for soliciting feedback as a leader(35:53) How to respond to feedback(39:22) How often to ask for feedback(41:48) Whether or not to accept “no feedback” as an answer(50:48) Investing time in feedback(54:04) How to ask for feedback as an employee(57:42) Why obnoxious aggression is not the best way to deliver feedback(1:01:23) A notable example of problematic management (1:03:43) Why context matters when diagnosing obnoxious aggression (1:07:39) Empathy is a good thing, but empathy can paralyze(1:10:47) Reflections on the limitations of radical candor in a society riddled with biases (1:14:41) Kim’s new book, Radical Respect(1:15:51) Tactical advice to get better at radical candor(1:16:46) Lightning round—Referenced:• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509• Radical Respect: How to Work Together Better: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Respect-Work-Together-Better/dp/1250623766/• The Office (American version) on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/the-office• Radical Candor diagram: https://www.radicalcandor.com/our-approach/• A behavioral scientist explains why we should reacquaint ourselves with the telephone: https://news.uchicago.edu/story/nicholas-epley-explains-why-phone-calls-can-connect-us-better-zoom• How to get promoted: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-get-promoted• When They Win, You Win: Being a Great Manager Is Simpler Than You Think: https://www.amazon.com/When-They-Win-You-Manager/dp/1250279666• Peter Kazanjy on X: https://twitter.com/Kazanjy• Christa Quarles on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christaquarles/• Jason Rosoff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-r-rosoff/• Andrew Grove: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Grove• Columbo on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Columbo-Season-1/dp/B008SA89HA• Squid Game on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81040344• Leveraging mentors to uplevel your career | Jules Walter (YouTube, Slack): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leveraging-mentors-to-uplevel-your-career-jules-walter-youtube-slack/• Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger: https://www.amazon.com/Poor-Charlies-Almanack-Essential-Charles/dp/1953953239• Bridgewater: https://www.bridgewater.com/• The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend: https://www.amazon.com/Fund-Bridgewater-Associates-Unraveling-Street/dp/1250276934/• Tim Cook on X: https://twitter.com/tim_cook• Elon Musk: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1982181281• Building high-performing teams | Melissa Tan (Webflow, Dropbox, Canva): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/building-high-performing-teams-melissa-tan-webflow-dropbox-canva/• Middlemarch: https://www.amazon.com/Middlemarch-Penguin-Classics-George-Eliot/dp/0141439548• The Bluest Eye: https://www.amazon.com/Bluest-Eye-Vintage-International/dp/0307278441• Song of Solomon: https://www.amazon.com/Song-Solomon-Toni-Morrison/dp/140003342X• Orlando: https://www.amazon.com/Orlando-Biography-Virginia-Woolf/dp/015670160X• The Color Purple: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Purple-Novel-Alice-Walker/dp/0143135694• The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business; The Manticore; World of Wonders: https://www.amazon.com/Deptford-Trilogy-Business-Manticore-Wonders/dp/0140147551• Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/70140391• My year of saying yes to everything: https://www.ted.com/talks/shonda_rhimes_my_year_of_saying_yes_to_everything• Attitude: https://attitudeliving.com/collections/adult-hair-care• Dostoevsky books: https://www.amazon.com/Fyodor-Dostoevsky-Books/s?k=Fyodor+Dostoevsky—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Anuj Rathi is the Chief Product and Marketing Officer at Jupiter Money, where he leads product management, marketing, design, growth, and analytics. Before Jupiter Money, Anuj served as the Senior Vice President of Revenue and Growth at Swiggy, VP of Product at SnapDeal, a Senior PM at Walmart Labs and the first-ever PM at Flipkart. He’s also one of the most beloved and respected product leaders in India. In this episode, we discuss:• How product management is different in India• How to rethink your approach to new users• How Anuj operationalizes the “working backwards” framework• Why Anuj thinks PMs should be more full-stack than they are• How to use Anuj’s “4BB” framework to get better at product strategy and prioritization• Advice on developing innovative roadmap ideas• The three essential skills of a successful PM• Three reasons why leadership fails• Why OKRs don’t work in marketplaces—Brought to you by Sanity—The most customizable content layer to power your growth engine | Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security | Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies—Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-full-stack-pm-anuj-rathi-swiggy-jupiter-money-flipkart/—Where to find Anuj Rathi:• X: https://twitter.com/anujrathi• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anujrathi1—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Anuj’s background(04:28) How product differs in India (08:34) When modern product thinking started to gain traction in India(14:01) How Anuj thinks about new-user experiences(15:07) Scott Belsky’s “lazy, vain, and selfish” framework (19:59) Why PMs must understand category consumers(22:30) Anuj’s philosophy on the PM job(23:59) How Anuj applies the working-backwards framework(28:36) The importance of FAQs(30:10) The full-stack PM mindset(33:06) Anuj’s “show don’t tell” framework(36:19) How to use the show-don’t-tell framework(39:14) The impact of using this framework(41:27) Anuj’s “4BB framework” for product strategy(48:59) Contrarian corner(50:49) Anuj’s “framework of 3” for great PMs(52:34) How to develop grit and influence(54:00) Three reasons why leaders fail (56:21) AI corner(57:51) Lessons from building a successful marketplace(1:02:19) How to balance and maintain stability on all sides of a marketplace(1:07:48) Lightning round—Referenced:• MakeMyTrip: https://www.makemytrip.com/• Shaadi.com: https://www.shaadi.com/• Bharat Matrimony: https://www.bharatmatrimony.com/• Flipkart: https://www.flipkart.com/• Ola: https://www.olacabs.com/mobile• Swiggy: https://www.swiggy.com/• Jio: https://www.jio.com/• UPI: http://cashlessindia.gov.in/upi.html• The First 15 Seconds by Scott Belsky: https://medium.com/positiveslope/the-first-15-seconds-9590d7dabc• Jupiter: https://jupiter.money/• How to get better at influence: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-get-better-at-influence#• Working Backwards: https://www.workingbackwards.com/• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484• In Search of Greatness on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Search-Greatness-Wayne-Gretzky/dp/B07P5X99P5• Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow: https://www.amazon.com/Team-Topologies-Organizing-Business-Technology/dp/1942788819• Conway’s Law: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/what-is-conways-law-acmi• Lessons from scaling Spotify: The science of product, taking risky bets, and how AI is already impacting the future of music | Gustav Söderström (Co-President, CPO, and CTO at Spotify): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-scaling-spotify-the-science-of-product-taking-risky-bets-and-how-ai-is-already-impac/• Taobao: https://world.taobao.com/• Alibaba: https://offer.alibaba.com/• Working Backwards: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-PB/dp/1529033845• How Brands Grow: What Marketers Don't Know: https://www.amazon.com/How-Brands-Grow-What-Marketers/dp/0195573560• The Luxury Strategy: Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands: https://www.amazon.com/Luxury-Strategy-Break-Marketing-Brands/dp/0749464917• The Office on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/the-office• Rise: https://www.risescience.com/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Ebi Atawodi is Director of Product Management for the Creator Experience at YouTube, former Head of Product at Uber, and a former Director of Product (Payments and EMEA) at Netflix. Known for crafting a strong, unified vision, Ebi empowers her teams to achieve outsized outcomes. In today’s episode, we go deep into vision and strategy, including:• The four key elements of a good vision statement• Three ways to determine your mission• The four pillars of great product management• How writing helps you gain clarity• How culture influences product• Tips on how to structure a strategy session• Advice on building team culture and improving work relationships• What’s coming soon at YouTube—Brought to you by Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers | Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams | Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/crafting-a-compelling-product-vision-ebi-atawodi-youtube-netflix-uber/—Where to find Ebi Atawodi:• X: https://twitter.com/ebiatawodi• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebiatawodi• YouTube mixes: https://www.youtube.com/@EbiAtawodi/videos—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Ebi’s background(04:31) Four key elements of a product vision(08:14) Examples of lofty but attainable visions(11:43) Vision vs. mission (13:23) Examples of visions and missions from notable companies(15:00) A simple framework for outlining a vision (20:51) Other methods for outlining a vision (23:29) The impact of writing clear headlines(26:41) Using mockups to frame your vision(28:24) A step-by-step approach to developing a vision(32:58) Ebi’s “10 Things” document(37:47) A quick summary of Ebi’s tips(40:56) How to use the “10 Things” doc in a strategy session(43:11) The three concentric circles of evangelizing (47:48) The cadence of developing a vision and bringing it to life(49:26) Visions vs. micro visions(52:58) First steps in developing a vision(55:12) Infrastructure is the product(56:39) Clarity and conviction, the main jobs of PMs(59:58) Ebi’s narrative doc(1:04:59) Conviction, its role in the job, and how to build it(1:08:20) How to build company culture(1:17:06) The monolithic culture at Uber(1:19:09) The culture Ebi embeds in her teams(1:23:58) How to evaluate your relationship with your engineering manager (1:26:02) What’s new at YouTube(1:29:22) Ebi’s closing thoughts(1:30:45) Lightning round—Referenced:• Andre Albuquerque on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-albuquerque• TED’s mission: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization• Stripe’s operating principles: https://stripe.com/jobs/culture• Microsoft’s vision and mission: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about• Tesla’s mission statement: https://www.tesla.com/blog/mission-tesla• Lyft’s mission on Comparably: https://www.comparably.com/companies/lyft/mission• Ebi’s playbooks and templates: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tU3jpbq_xHcF4x1bdANCVBsO6rbQ8h1HqvdQfwGW4MA/edit• Working Backwards Press Release Template and Example: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/working-backwards-press-release-template-example-ian-mcallister/• Patrick Collison on X: https://twitter.com/patrickc• Seinfeld meme: https://seinfeldmemes.com/you-know-how-to-take-the-reservation/• Travis Kalanick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traviskalanick/• Wimdu: https://www.wimdu.com/• Leaving big tech to build the #1 technology newsletter | Gergely Orosz (The Pragmatic Engineer): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leaving-big-tech-to-build-the-1-technology-newsletter-gergely-orosz-the-pragmatic-engineer/• The 48 Laws of Power: https://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene/dp/0140280197• The God of Small Things: https://www.amazon.com/God-Small-Things-Novel/dp/0812979656/• Outliers: The Story of Success: https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930• All About Love: https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Love-New-Visions/dp/0060959479• The Bear on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f• Scavengers Reign on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/scavengers-reign/50c8ce6d-088c-42d9-9147-d1b19b1289d4• Sleep Cycle: https://www.sleepcycle.com/• Nanit: https://www.nanit.com/• “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus• Burning Man: https://burningman.org/—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Inbal Shani is the chief product officer at GitHub, where she leads core product management, along with product strategy, marketing, open source, and communities, including the development of GitHub Copilot. Prior to joining GitHub, she led engineering and product teams at Amazon and Microsoft. In today’s conversation, we discuss:• What Inbal believes is overhyped and underhyped in the rapidly changing field of AI• How AI-driven code generation is changing software development• Her take on whether AI will replace developers• How software development looks in 3 to 5 years• How product teams operate at GitHub• GitHub’s Next team, and other ways the company fosters a culture of innovation• The success metrics and philosophy behind GitHub’s Copilot—Brought to you by Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams | Sanity—The most customizable content layer to power your growth engine | HelpBar by Chameleon—The free in-app universal search solution built for SaaS—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-future-of-ai-in-software-development-inbal-shani-cpo-of-github/#transcript—Where to find Inbal Shani:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inbalshani/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Inbal’s background(04:17) Why generative AI is not going to replace developers in the near future (05:54) Why AI-driven testing is underhyped(07:48) What the next 3 to 5 years will look like(10:13) Stats around the use of GitHub Copilot (12:07) How Copilot enables engineers to work more efficiently(13:38) Common mistakes when adopting AI into your workflows(16:42) How GitHub operationalizes “dogfooding”(18:46) The philosophy behind Copilot(20:24) Copilot’s success metrics(24:54) How Copilot encourages collaboration(26:37) What we lose when AI writes code for us(29:35) A retrospective on the generative AI space(30:47) Inbal’s thoughts on the future of AI(32:35) How to make space for innovative product ideas(34:37) How GitHub stays on the cutting edge of innovation(36:44) The GitHub Next team(39:20) Advice for early product managers(42:17) Inbal’s “biggest learning” from her career(45:34) Inbal’s closing thoughts(46:19) Lightning round—Referenced:• How to measure and improve developer productivity | Nicole Forsgren (Microsoft Research, GitHub, Google): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-measure-and-improve-developer-productivity-nicole-forsgren-microsoft-research-github-goo/• DORA: https://dora.dev/• The role of AI in product development | Ryan J. Salva (VP of Product at GitHub, Copilot): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-role-of-ai-in-new-product-development-ryan-j-salva-vp-of-product-at-github-copilot/• GitHub Universe 2023 day 2 keynote: The productivity platform for all developers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_o9kFPVeiw• Satya Nadella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella/• TomTom: https://www.tomtom.com/• Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success: https://www.amazon.com/Failing-Forward-Turning-Mistakes-Stepping/dp/0785288570/• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996• Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great: https://www.amazon.com/Turning-Flywheel-Monograph-Accompany-Great/dp/0062933795• Dare to Lead Like a Girl: How to Survive and Thrive in the Corporate Jungle: https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Lead-Like-Girl-Corporate/dp/1538163527• All the Light We Cannot See on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81083008• The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Time-Season-1/dp/B09F59CZ7R—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

This is a special episode of the podcast where I’ve curated my favorite interview questions that guests have shared, among over 100 podcast guests. Whether you’re a hiring manager, currently interviewing, or simply intrigued by the creative and perceptive questions that top product leaders rely on to find top talent, these questions offer unique insights into the strategies and philosophies that shape successful interviews.—Brought to you by Sendbird—The (all-in-one) communications API platform for mobile apps | Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments—Find the transcript at: ⁠https://www.lennyspodcast.com/my-favorite-interview-questions-from-100-guests/#transcript⁠—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, you’ll hear from:(00:00) Lenny(03:21) Eeke De Miliano(03:57) Geoff Charles(04:31) Shishir Mehrotra(08:44) Yuhki Yamashita(09:56) Katie Dill(10:36) Karri Saarinen(11:02) Camille Hearst(11:28) Jiaona Zhang(12:43) Noah Weiss(13:10) Ben Williams(14:41) Meltem Kuran Berkowitz(15:29) Paige Costello(16:13) Nikhyl Singhal(17:51) Ayo Omojola(18:20) Scott Belsky(19:17) Lauryn Isford(19:46) Paul Adams—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Tom Conrad is the CEO of Zero and on the board of Sonos. He began his career in engineering at Apple, where he helped build key features that remain in iOS today. Tom was previously the VP of Product at Snap and the chief technology officer of Pandora. He also held leadership positions at notable tech flops Pets.com and Quibi, giving him a unique perspective not only on what it takes to build a successful company but also on lessons from failure. In today’s conversation, we discuss:• Lessons learned from the infamous failures of Pets.com and Quibi• Lessons learned from the successes of Apple, Pandora, and Snap• Advice on choosing where to work• Understanding the math formula of a business• How to avoid burnout• Why Tom says not everyone needs to be a founder• What he’s building now—Brought to you by Coda—Meet the evolution of docs | Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams | HelpBar by Chameleon—the free in-app universal search solution built for SaaS—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/billion-dollar-failures-and-billion-dollar-success-tom-conrad-quibi-pandora-petscom-snap-ze/#transcript—Where to find Tom Conrad:• X: https://twitter.com/tconrad• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomconrad/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Tom’s background(04:40) Landing a gig at Apple(07:41) Pioneering the blinking folder design on iOS(11:04) Advice on choosing where to work(12:43) The importance of trusting your gut when it comes to people(14:05) Lessons from failed ventures(17:32) Why and how Pets.com shut down (18:30) How Tom’s experience at Quibi renewed his passion for building(28:48) Takeaways from Quibi and why it ultimately failed(31:42) Failing is okay(35:04) Tom’s career at Apple(39:11) Lessons from You Don’t Know Jack(40:24) Lessons from building Pandora(48:24) Looking back at Pandora and what could have been done differently(55:17) How Tom became VP of Product at Snapchat(1:01:31) Tom’s philosophy on being involved as CEO(1:05:51) Tom’s current role as CEO of Zero, and what he’s learned along the way(1:10:37) How Zero builds product(1:18:33) Advice on work-life balance (1:27:22) Contrarian corner: why not everyone needs to be a founder(1:30:08) Lightning round—Referenced:• Ron Lichty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlichty/• What happened to Pets.com?: https://fourweekmba.com/pets-com-failure/• 11 reasons why Quibi crashed and burned in less than a year: https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/22/21528404/quibi-shut-down-cost-subscribers-content-tv-movies-katzenberg-whitman-tiktok-netflix• Meg Whitman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meg_Whitman• Jeffrey Katzenberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-katzenberg-4b3b47123/• John Sculley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsculley/• Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/• How Pandora Soothed the Savage Beast: https://www.fastcompany.com/3001052/how-pandora-soothed-savage-beast• Joe Kennedy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-kennedy-329417/• Why Did Yahoo Pay $160 Million for Musicmatch?: https://www.wired.com/2007/07/why-did-yahoo-p/• TikTok Is the New TV: https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-new-show-tv-takeover/• Evan Spiegel on X: https://twitter.com/evanspiegel• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/brian-cheskys-new-playbook/• What sets great teams apart | Lane Shackleton (CPO of Coda): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/what-sets-great-teams-apart-lane-shackleton-cpo-of-coda/• Flashtags: https://lane.substack.com/p/flashtags• Patrick Spence on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickspence/• The Philosophy of Ikigai: 3 Examples About Finding Purpose: https://positivepsychology.com/ikigai• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life: https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive/dp/0062457713• High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People: https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil/dp/1732265100• Hyperion: https://www.amazon.com/Hyperion-Cantos-Dan-Simmons/dp/0553283685• A Fire Upon the Deep: https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Upon-Deep-Zones-Thought/dp/0812515285/• Mrs. Davis on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/mrs-davis• Watchmen on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/watchmen• Lost on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/lost-466b3994-b574-44f1-88bc-63707507a6cb• Eartune replacement tips: https://eartune.com/products/eartune-fidelity-ufa• Charles Eames’s quote: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/charles_eames_169188• Compuserve: https://www.compuserve.com/• Steve Wilhite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wilhite—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe