Read the original at Lenny’s Newsletter ↗lennysnewsletter.com · subscriber post
By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
An interview with Snowflake's Director of Product for its Developer Platform and Ecosystem, describing how the company plans, reviews, and organizes product work. It covers annual 'big boulder' planning, six-page plan and review documents, customer-workload team structures, a single-platform philosophy, and the company's hiring and hackathon culture.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Snowflake leadership sets 6 to 10 company-wide 'big boulders' each year, and product areas map their annual plans to them.
- Product reviews use a written six-page document circulated in advance, aiming to align on customer requirements rather than sell an idea.
- Teams are organized around customer workloads instead of individual features, and each product area embeds a dedicated data scientist.
- Prioritization centers on customer value, and the team treats deciding what not to build as the harder discipline.
- Hiring favors 'drivers' with ownership over 'passengers,' and candidates often present a past product they delivered.
“We want to avoid being "an inch deep and a mile wide," as Frank loves to caution.”Jeff Hollan · Lenny’s Newsletter
“We strive to keep a high bar and are tenacious about finding "drivers" instead of "passengers,”Jeff Hollan · Lenny’s Newsletter
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.