Read the original at Lenny’s Newsletter ↗lennysnewsletter.com · subscriber post
By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
The post compares general management (GM), functional, and hybrid org models, explaining how company stage, how close a North Star metric sits to revenue, and how critical the end-to-end customer journey is shape the choice. It also covers downstream effects on redundancy, decision-making, and talent retention, drawing on examples from companies such as Block, Shopify, Coinbase, Meta, and DoorDash.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Early-stage companies usually run functional models because the founder effectively acts as the general manager.
- GM structures tend to fit once a company has multiple proven product groups, predictable outcomes, and significant scale.
- The closer a product's North Star metric is to revenue, the more naturally it suits a GM-led organization.
- Functional models support cohesive customer journeys, while GM models support speed and independent business units.
- Hybrid structures can balance GM agility with functional cohesion, but the choice still reflects tradeoffs in talent retention and career paths.
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.