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Brian Balfour: 10 lessons on career, growth, and life

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

notes

NOTE

Growth is a System: Leveraging System Thinking in Growth Strategies

Growth is a system that encompasses acquisition, retention, and monetization. Altering one aspect affects the others. Problems in one area may have solutions in a different part of the system. Teams often focus on specific levers within a part of the system to address issues without realizing that the solution may lie elsewhere in the system. System thinking differentiates average growth workers from great ones, particularly in marketplace and network products where system dynamics are intensified.

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Transcript

Episode notes

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Brian Balfour is the founder and CEO of Reforge. Prior to Reforge, he was the VP of Growth at HubSpot and co-founded three other startups. In today’s episode, Brian shares 10 lessons from his career, growth, and life:

• Lesson 1: Inspect the work, not the person.

• Lesson 2: Tell me what it takes to win; then tell me the cost.

• Lesson 3: Problems never end (and that’s okay).

• Lesson 4: The year is made in the first six months.

• Lesson 5: Growth is a system between acquisition, retention, and monetization. Change one and you affect them all.

• Lesson 6: Do the opposite.

• Lesson 7: Use cases, not personas.

• Lesson 8: Solving for everyone is solving for no one.

• Lesson 9: Find sparring partners, not mentors or coaches.

• Lesson 10: 2x+ the activation energy for things that need to change.

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/brian-balfour-10-lessons-on-career-growth-and-life/