First Principles Thinking and Critical Thinking | 1min snip from Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth

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Building high-performing teams | Melissa Tan (Webflow, Dropbox, Canva)

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

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First Principles Thinking and Critical Thinking

First principles thinking involves creating a unique framework based on context, asking the right questions to form a mental model, continually evolving the model, and being curious if the approach is effective. It is about solving problems by questioning and adapting strategies when new information arises. First principles thinking is akin to critical thinking, which encourages questioning, revisiting work, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement for achieving the best outcomes.

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Melissa Tan is an advisor, investor, and growth expert. She’s worked with fast-growing startups like Dropbox, Canva, Grammarly, and Miro, and for the past 2.5 years has been the Head of Growth at Webflow. There, she led the company's self-service business across Product, Marketing, and Growth, in addition to leading the charge on pricing and packaging. Prior to Webflow, she was Head of Growth for Dropbox’s B2B product, where she played a pivotal role in propelling their growth. In today’s episode, we discuss:

• Attributes of high-performing teams

• Tips for developing talent and seeking a mentor

• How to create a strong culture of ownership

• Frameworks for hiring PM and growth talent

• Common pitfalls companies face when implementing growth strategies

• Lessons from scaling Dropbox

• The DACI framework for increasing team velocity

• How to actually embrace first-principles thinking

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-high-performing-teams-melissa

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Where to find Melissa Tan: