Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

By: Lenny Rachitsky
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  • Summary

  • Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

    www.lennysnewsletter.com
    Lenny Rachitsky
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Economics Leadership
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Episodes
  • Scripts for difficult conversations: Giving hard feedback, navigating defensiveness, the three questions you should end every meeting with, more | Alisa Cohn (executive coach)

    Scripts for difficult conversations: Giving hard feedback, navigating defensiveness, the three questions you should end every meeting with, more | Alisa Cohn (executive coach)
    Jan 5 2025
    Alisa Cohn is an executive coach who has worked with C-suite executives at startups like Venmo, Etsy, Wirecutter, and DraftKings, and Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, Dell, and IBM. Inc. Magazine named Alisa one of the top 100 leadership speakers, and she was named one of the Top 50 coaches in the world by Thinkers50 and the #1 startup coach for the past four years by Global Gurus. She is also the author of From Start-Up to Grown-Up, which won the 2022 Independent Press Award and the American Book Fest 2023 Best Book Award for Entrepreneurship, and is the creator and host of a podcast of the same name. In our conversation, we discuss:• The psychology behind why we avoid difficult conversations• Specific scripts for having five common difficult conversations• How to handle defensive reactions in the moment• The three questions you should end every meeting with• “The founder prenup” that every founding team should work through• Common leadership myths• Stories of failure from Alisa’s career—Brought to you by:• Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments• Rippling—Automate HR, IT, and finance so you can scale faster• Liveblocks—Ready-made collaborative features to drop into your product—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/scripts-for-difficult-conversations-alisa-cohn—Where to find Alisa Cohn:• X: https://x.com/AlisaCohn• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisacohn• Website: https://www.alisacohn.com• Podcast: https://www.alisacohn.com/podcast—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) Alisa’s background(04:48) Having difficult conversations(12:48) Scripts for performance feedback(20:20) How to respond when someone is defensive or upset(25:07) Scripts for handling promotion disappointments(31:00) Scripts for handling terminations(35:44) The importance of positive feedback(38:49) Understanding your job as a leader(44:55) Recognizing your own blind spots(49:38) Three vital questions to ask in every meeting(55:57) The founder prenup(01:08:24) Failure corner(01:13:00) Final thoughts and lightning round—Referenced:• Alisa’s free PDF downloads for Lenny’s listeners: https://www.alisacohn.com/Lenny/• Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice• Non-Violent Communication (NVC) Model: https://www.ucop.edu/ombuds/_files/nvc-model-requesting-change-remove.pdf• Sheryl Sandberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652• How embracing emotions will accelerate your career | Joe Hudson (executive coach, Art of Accomplishment): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/embracing-your-emotions-joe-hudson• Joe Gebbia on X: https://x.com/jgebbia• Noam Wasserman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noam-wasserman-462425• Core Values List: https://jamesclear.com/core-values• How Cofounders Can Prevent Their Relationship from Derailing: https://hbr.org/2022/04/how-cofounders-can-prevent-their-relationship-from-derailing• Inside Out 2 on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/inside-out-2/6MeZYf9JkFii• Ninja CREAMi: https://www.amazon.com/Ninja-NC299AMZ-Milkshakes-One-Touch-Container/dp/B09QV24FFZ• Joseph Campbell quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/136819-if-the-path-before-you-is-clear-you-re-probably-on—Recommended books:• From Start-Up to Grown-Up: Grow Your Leadership to Grow Your Business: https://www.amazon.com/Start-Up-Grown-Up-Grow-Leadership-Business/dp/1398601403• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375• Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Backwards-Insights-Stories-Secrets/dp/1250267595• Unpacking Amazon’s unique ways of working | Bill Carr (author of Working Backwards): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unpacking-amazons-unique-ways-of• Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination: https://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Triumph-American-Imagination/dp/0679757473—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
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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • Inside Gong: How teams work with design partners, their pod structure, autonomy, trust, and more | Eilon Reshef (co-founder and CPO)

    Inside Gong: How teams work with design partners, their pod structure, autonomy, trust, and more | Eilon Reshef (co-founder and CPO)
    Jan 2 2025
    Eilon Reshef is the co-founder and chief product officer at Gong, one of the most ubiquitous B2B products in the world. In our conversation, we discuss:• Gong’s unique approach to working with design partners• Their unique pod model• Why Eilon makes big decisions quickly• Lessons learned from being early in AI• The power of extreme focus• His “spiral method” for learning complex topics quickly• How to maintain quality while optimizing for speed—Brought to you by:• WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs• Think Fast Talk Smart—Tools and techniques to help you communicate more effectively• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-gong-eilon-reshef—Where to find Eilon Reshef:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eilonreshef—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) Eilon’s background(04:20) The pod model(06:33) Working with design partners(09:13) Finding and coordinating design partners(13:12) Balancing customer feedback and vision(15:10) Gong's 95% feature adoption(17:05) The importance of autonomy and trust(23:30) How to implement this unique way of working(27:15) Speed and decision-making(31:47) Early AI adoption and lessons learned(35:50) Building effective AI teams(38:16) The spiral method for learning(41:36) Narrowing down the initial customer profile(44:24) Failure corner(46:35) Lightning round—Referenced:• Gong: https://www.gong.io• Cisco: https://www.cisco.com/• How Gong builds product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-gong-builds-product• What is Montessori education?: https://amshq.org/About-Montessori/What-Is-Montessori• Isaac Asimov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov• Amit Bendov on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitbendov/• 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.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-scaling-spotify-the• Nvidia: https://www.nvidia.com• Figma: https://www.figma.com• The Spiral Method: https://www.gong.io/blog/using-the-spiral-method/• Webex: https://www.webex.com/• L’Oréal: https://www.lorealparisusa.com/• American Express: https://www.americanexpress.com/• Slow Horses on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/slow-horses/umc.cmc.2szz3fdt71tl1ulnbp8utgq5o• Dishwasher basket: https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-High-Capacity-Dishwasher-Basket/dp/B07ZPMYKKS/• What most people miss about marketing | Rory Sutherland (Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, author): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-most-people-miss-about-marketing• Occam’s razor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor• Hanlon’s razor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor• Sabich: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabich#Ingredients_and_description• Careers at Gong: https://www.gong.io/careers—Recommended books:• Marty Cagan’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Marty-Cagan/author/B00J21JTNM• “The Machine That Won the War”: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18402398-the-machine-that-won-the-war• Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers: https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstream/dp/0062292986• The Ideal Executive: https://www.amazon.com/Ideal-Executive-Ichak-Kalderon-Adizes/dp/0937120030/• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes Are High: https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Conversations-Tools-Talking-Stakes/dp/1260474186/—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
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    57 mins
  • Why great AI products are all about the data | Shaun Clowes (CPO Confluent, ex-Salesforce, Atlassian)

    Why great AI products are all about the data | Shaun Clowes (CPO Confluent, ex-Salesforce, Atlassian)
    Dec 29 2024
    Shaun Clowes is the chief product officer at Confluent and former CPO at Salesforce’s MuleSoft and at Metromile. He was also the first head of growth at Atlassian, where he led product for Jira Agile and built the first-ever B2B growth team. In our conversation, we discuss:• Why most PMs are bad, and how to fix this• Why great AI products are all about the data• Why he changed his mind about being data-driven• How to build your B2B growth team• How to choose your next career stop• Much more—Brought to you by:• Enterpret—Transform customer feedback into product growth• BuildBetter—AI for product teams• Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-great-ai-products-are-all-about-the-data-shaun-clowes—Where to find Shaun Clowes:• X: https://x.com/ShaunMClowes• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-clowes-80795014/• Website: https://shaunclowes.com/about-shaun• Reforge: https://www.reforge.com/profiles/shaun-clowes—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) Shaun’s background(05:08) The state of product management(09:33) Becoming a 10x product manager(13:23) Specific ways to leverage AI in product management(17:15) Feedback rivers(19:20) AI's impact on data management(24:35) The future of enterprise businesses with AI(35:41) Data-driven decision-making(45:50) Building effective growth teams(50:18) The evolution of product-led growth(56:16) Career insights and decision-making(01:07:45) Failure corner(01:12:32) Final thoughts and lightning round—Referenced:• Steve Blank’s website: https://steveblank.com/• Getting Out of the Building. 2 Minutes to See Why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbMgWr1YVfs• OpenAI: https://openai.com/• Claude: https://claude.ai/• Sachin Rekhi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinrekhi/• Video: Building Your Product Intuition with Feedback Rivers: https://www.sachinrekhi.com/video-building-your-product-intuition-with-feedback-rivers• Confluent: https://www.confluent.io• Workday: https://www.workday.com/• Lenny and Friends Summit: https://lennyssummit.com/• A conversation with OpenAI’s CPO Kevin Weil, Anthropic’s CPO Mike Krieger, and Sarah Guo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxkvVZua28k• Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/• Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/• Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira• Ashby: https://www.ashbyhq.com/• Occam’s razor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor• Breaking the rules of growth: Why Shopify bans KPIs, optimizes for churn, prioritizes intuition, and builds toward a 100-year vision | Archie Abrams (VP Product, Head of Growth at Shopify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/shopifys-growth-archie-abrams• Charlie Munger quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/11903426-show-me-the-incentive-and-i-ll-show-you-the-outcome• 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: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/elena-verna-on-why-every-company• The ultimate guide to product-led sales | Elena Verna: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-product-led• Metromile: https://www.metromile.com/• Tom Kennedy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-kennedy-37356b2b/• Building Wiz: the fastest-growing startup in history | Raaz Herzberg (CMO and VP Product Strategy): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-wiz-raaz-herzberg• Wiz: https://www.wiz.io• Colin Powell’s 40-70 rule: https://www.42courses.com/blog/home/2019/12/10/colin-powells-40-70-rule• Detroiters on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80165019• Glean: https://www.glean.com/• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509• Listen: Five Simple Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges: https://www.amazon.com/Listen-Simple-Everyday-Parenting-Challenges/dp/0997459301• Empress Falls Canyon and abseiling: https://bmac.com.au/blue-mountains-canyoning/empress-falls-canyon-and-abseiling—Recommended books:• 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• Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love: https://www.amazon.com/Inspired-Create-Products-Customers-Love/dp/0981690408—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 ...
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    1 hr and 22 mins

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