Read the original at Lenny’s Newsletter ↗lennysnewsletter.com · subscriber post
By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
An in-depth look at how Notion builds product, drawn from an interview with its Chief Product and Technology Officer. It covers planning cadences, a four-stage product review process, the small size of the PM team, a unified product and technology org, team layering, and the company's approach to hiring and balancing flexibility with simplicity.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Notion plans roughly per half-year, with company-level OKRs and detailed quarter plans, while leaving most team-level cadence choices to individual groups.
- A four-checkpoint review process (problem statement, directions, full solution, ship candidate) keeps feedback timely, with synchronous discussion for exploring options.
- Notion waited a long time to hire PMs, and the interconnected nature of its products makes central product coordination more important.
- Hiring favors joint EM and PM ownership of outcomes, plus craft and attention to detail, over rigidly defined roles.
- Balancing power-user flexibility with simple, opinionated use cases through reusable building blocks is central to Notion's product approach.
“We want EMs and PMs to have joint responsibility for everything.”Michael Manapat · Lenny’s Newsletter
“One goal for Notion is to meet users where they are.”Michael Manapat · Lenny’s Newsletter
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.