Lenny’s Podcast99 min
Gergely · Nov 17, 2022
Key learnings- Build real depth in a specific field before writing about it, since credibility from hands-on experience is hard to fake and…
- Set controllable goals, such as publishing on a fixed cadence, rather than outcome goals like subscriber counts you cannot…
- Create external deadlines and accountability, such as promises to paying readers or a publisher, to overcome the procrastination…
produxlabs.com · Melissa PerriDec 17, 2019
Dec 17, 2019 · 4 min
“Last week we covered two options for building your roadmap. Now that it’s compiled, it’s time to share it out. A roadmap is a marketing tool for your plans for the coming quarter and year, so investing time in ensuring your intents are crystal clear…”
Lenny’s Podcast99 min
Megan Cook · Feb 4, 2024
Key learnings- Pair product managers in small peer feedback groups every couple of weeks so people can share rough drafts and get feedback in a…
- Treat psychological safety as a precondition for bolder ideas; Megan argues the opposite of play is fear, not work.
- Schedule a recurring block for working through conflict early, so disagreements are addressed before they grow.
SVPG · Marty CaganMay 30, 2013
May 30, 2013
Marty Cagan argues that product managers face a constant flood of requests from well-meaning colleagues, and that a product manager who simply funnels all of them into the roadmap will slowly kill the product. He…
produxlabs.com · Melissa PerriAug 3, 2020
Aug 3, 2020 · 4 min
Melissa Perri argues that the sudden shift to distributed work during COVID left many teams disconnected, and that the core problem is missing the informal stories and interactions that build trust and candor. She…
Lenny’s Podcast102 min
Emily Kramer · Sep 11, 2022
Key learnings- Think of marketing as fuel (the content, positioning and assets that add value) and engine (distribution, tracking and ops), then…
- Prioritize hiring for the business model, such as top-down sales versus product-led growth, over matching industry or audience…
- Your first marketer should ideally be a 'pie-shaped' generalist with deep expertise in one area, usually product marketing, plus…
Lenny’s Podcast98 min
Jason Shah · Sep 18, 2022
Key learnings- Reframe pushback as shifting direction toward shared goals: first identify what the other person actually cares about, then align…
- Use Amazon's working-backwards PR/FAQ: write the press release, customer quote, and leadership quote before building, forcing…
- Cut vague adjectives like 'great' and replace them with concrete numbers and specifics, since fewer, heavier words force sharper…
Lenny’s Newsletter · Free post♥ 92
Nov 30, 2021 · 32 min
David Spinks argues that community is a structure for creating value by helping people help each other, which can scale a product's impact with a small team. Before investing, founders should align community to a…
Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 74
May 4, 2021 · 12 min
Subscriber post — summary onlyLenny Rachitsky answers a reader's question about what makes product managers great by sharing 14 habits he has observed and refined over years. The core argument is that effective PMs build habits around clear…
Lenny’s Podcast106 min
Arielle Jackson · Aug 18, 2022
Key learnings- Start with product positioning before anything else, since positioning drives most downstream marketing decisions; Arielle says…
- Run a structured naming process: write a naming brief, brainstorm hundreds of rough ideas, then screen candidates against…
- Prefer suggestive or evocative names that hint at what the company does, but accept that empty-vessel names like Eero can work if…
Lenny’s Podcast70 min
Upasna Gautam · Feb 23, 2023
Key learnings- Build buffer time into plans for newsroom work, since breaking news routinely pulls journalists away from scheduled research and…
- Use recurring touchpoints such as weekly demo days, multi-session working sessions, and office hours to gather continuous…
- Script breaking-news dress rehearsals to stress-test the platform under realistic time pressure before a real event hits.
SVPG · Marty CaganOct 2, 2012
Oct 2, 2012
Marty Cagan describes "Product Manager Charm School," a foundational training program for new product managers covering communication skills and external interaction. Originating at HP and expanded at Netscape, it…
Product Talk · Teresa TorresOct 28, 2015
Oct 28, 2015
Teresa Torres argues that product managers often wish their leadership, engineers, designers, and sales teams would behave differently, when the more productive move is to change their own behavior first. For each…
SVPG · Marty CaganSep 14, 2021
Sep 14, 2021 · 7 min
Cagan and Moore argue that moving to an empowered product-team model is a major cultural shift that must start with senior leaders, who still have legitimate needs to run the business. Their answer is not to simply step…
Lenny’s Podcast87 min
Fareed Mosavat · Oct 23, 2022
Key learnings- Get better at product management by doing real work at real companies with real customers; courses, mentorship and reading only…
- Run an execute-generalize-communicate loop: ship work, extract transferable lessons such as when friction helps activation, then…
- Build sponsorship by doing excellent work and communicating it, so leaders who can open bigger opportunities notice you.
SVPG · Marty CaganJan 3, 2007
Jan 3, 2007 · 8 min
Marty Cagan argues that large companies are structurally risk averse and rely on shared, matrixed resources, which makes getting a product designed, built, and launched difficult. Rather than fighting the culture, he…
Product Talk · Teresa TorresMar 11, 2025
Mar 11, 2025
This podcast episode tackles a common trap for internal product teams: gathering requirements through stakeholder meetings instead of observing how real users actually behave. The hosts argue that when colleagues are…
Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 402
Sep 19, 2023 · 22 min
Subscriber post — summary onlyA guest post by former Amazon executive Ethan Evans introducing the Magic Loop, a five-step cycle for growing your career by doing your current job well, offering help to your manager, and asking for work tied to your…
Product Talk · Teresa TorresMay 13, 2025
May 13, 2025
This podcast episode, hosted by Teresa Torres with guest Petra Wille, argues that saying no is a core product management skill rather than an optional extra. The conversation accepts that there is always more work than…
SVPG · Marty CaganNov 21, 2024
Nov 21, 2024 · 10 min
Marty Cagan argues that successful product-model transformations deliberately confront political realities rather than avoiding them, since changing how an organization decides and builds is fundamentally a people…
Lenny’s Podcast91 min
Judd Antin · Jan 4, 2024
Key learnings- Much research sits in a 'middle range' of questions that are interesting but rarely drive business decisions; push for macro…
- Integrate researchers from the beginning of product processes rather than calling them in at the end as a service function; their…
- Watch for 'user-centered performance': late-stage requests to validate assumptions or check boxes that signal customer obsession…
Product Talk · Teresa TorresMay 17, 2023
May 17, 2023
Teresa Torres observes that many individual contributors who love continuous discovery struggle to get their teammates, stakeholders, and leaders on board, because few people have time to read a book or blog post. To…
Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 198
Jan 26, 2021 · 18 min
Subscriber post — summary onlyApril Dunford gives a practical guide to product positioning, using a story about a mispositioned database product to show how context shapes customer assumptions. She argues positioning should be built by starting from…
Product Talk · Teresa TorresSep 11, 2019
Sep 11, 2019 · 14 min
Teresa Torres profiles Rachel Allen, a product leader who builds new business lines inside large companies such as Allstate's Arity and HERE Maps. Rachel argues that corporate size is an advantage: existing assets…