SVPG · Marty CaganMar 11, 2019
Mar 11, 2019 · 4 min
Marty Cagan argues that the written narrative is his favorite coaching tool for turning product managers into exceptional ones. Unlike a spec, a narrative lays out the vision, the customer and business value, and the…
SVPG · Marty CaganFeb 8, 2016
Feb 8, 2016
Marty Cagan argues that the performance-management ideas he learned at Hewlett-Packard, Management by Objectives (later refined as OKRs), remain the foundation of how the best companies operate. The first principle is…
SVPG · Marty CaganMar 2, 2020
Mar 2, 2020 · 7 min
Marty Cagan argues that team objectives should empower product teams by assigning them a hard problem to solve rather than a feature to build, along with the strategic context needed to make good decisions. Handing over…
Substack · Shreyas Doshi♥ 43
Jan 28, 2026
Shreyas Doshi argues that when two highly competitive, ego-driven product managers must negotiate with each other, the outcome tends to be poor for everyone involved. The piece frames this as a recurring pattern in some…
Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 22
Sep 28, 2021 · 13 min
Subscriber post — summary onlyLenny Rachitsky offers a three-step process for a product person to say no to a manager while keeping their trust: listen and ask questions, form an independent point of view, then respond constructively using one of…
Product Talk · Teresa TorresJun 5, 2024
Jun 5, 2024 · 16 min
“Product trios are cross-functional product teams who are responsible for both deciding what to build and then building it. The goal is for a product trio to represent balanced perspectives while still remaining as small as possible to facilitate and expedite collaborative decision-making. In this article, we’ll”
Lenny’s Podcast144 min
Phyl Terry · Sep 12, 2024
Key learnings- Join or form a small Job Search Council of six to eight peers who meet regularly, since shared accountability turns job-search…
- Write a short 'Mnookin two-pager' listing what you want and don't want, then refine it with peers before taking it to the market.
- Run a listening tour with reverse exit interviews, broader network, and recruiters, asking 'If you were in my shoes, how would…
SVPG · Marty CaganMay 14, 2006
May 14, 2006 · 4 min
Cagan argues that product decisions often stall because teams debate options without agreeing on the underlying problem, target user, goals, and priorities. Product decisions are especially contentious since everyone…
Lenny’s Podcast109 min
Jeetu Patel · Feb 26, 2026
Key learnings- Distinguish a megatrend from a hype cycle: don't fight real megatrends like AI, and avoid vanity work chasing hype.
- Before investing, ask whether you have 'permission to play' and a route to mass distribution; otherwise dollars spent on product…
- Make bold bets clear and go all in once an experiment works, rather than hedging, while aligning individual success with the…
Lenny’s Podcast89 min
Michael Truell · May 1, 2025
Key learnings- Build the product you and your team actually use every day (dogfooding) so you never ship anything that isn't genuinely useful…
- When working with AI coding tools, chop tasks into small specify-generate-review loops rather than handing over one giant…
- Spend time on side projects deliberately pushing AI to its limits to build a calibrated gut feeling for what current models can…
Lenny’s Podcast95 min
Jessica Livingston · Jun 27, 2024
Key learnings- Watch how co-founders interact: whether they get along, finish each other's sentences, or let one partner dominate, since…
- Treat defensiveness under questioning as a red flag; strong founders respond with "here's what I figured out" and engage in a…
- Look for earnestness: founders who admit when they don't know an answer and who have a real personal connection to the problem…
Lenny’s Podcast26 min
Interview Q Compilation · Nov 29, 2023
Key learnings- Ask 'To what do you attribute your success?' and watch for self-awareness and curiosity rather than an answer like 'luck' (Eeke…
- Ask 'What's the hardest thing you've ever done?' to learn how a candidate defines difficulty, how they overcame it, and how much…
- Use the teleportation-device 'Eigenquestion' exercise: candidates may ask only two questions, then must plan, revealing how they…
Lenny’s Podcast98 min
Kenneth Berger · May 19, 2024
Key learnings- Treat your complaints as clues: every complaint implies a dream, so reverse it into the better future you actually want.
- Articulate your wants out loud, checking whether the dream is both inspiring and credible rather than embarrassing or unrealistic.
- Hold a high bar for yes: anything short of an enthusiastic 'hell yes' should be treated as a no and explored further.
SVPG · Marty CaganOct 31, 2005
Oct 31, 2005 · 7 min
Marty Cagan argues that company culture, defined by how a company treats its employees, customers, and partners, directly shapes how product teams work and what they build. He suggests a company's treatment of employees…
SVPG · Marty CaganDec 20, 2021
Dec 20, 2021 · 17 min
Marty Cagan argues that 'Product Ops' has become a vague label, with at least six distinct meanings in companies today, making a claim that a company 'has Product Ops' nearly meaningless. He reviews five models he finds…
Lenny’s Podcast100 min
Richard Rumelt · Jan 21, 2024
Key learnings- Treat strategy as a response to one or two real challenges, not a list of ambitions, priorities, or aspirations; Rumelt suggests…
- A solid strategy has three parts: a diagnosis of the situation, a guiding policy for dealing with it, and coherent actions that…
- Test your strategy for bad signs: goals dressed up as strategy, fluffy jargon, missing diagnosis, and actions that contradict one…
@lissijean · Melissa Perri on X♥ 9
Compliance can become an opportunity for innovation. This week on Product Thinking, @tomerlondon, CPO at @GustoHQ, shares how embedding lawyers in product teams ensures compliance is part of the process. 🎙️Listen now:
Lenny’s Newsletter♥ 629
Jul 7, 2026 · 23 min
Subscriber post — summary onlyLenny Rachitsky reports results from his second annual tech worker sentiment survey, finding the workforce splitting into those amplified by AI and those destabilized by it. Burnout has risen sharply, career optimism…
Lenny’s Podcast121 min
Molly Graham · Sep 27, 2026
Key learnings- Change is scary and hard, but leaning into it and letting go of old responsibilities is still the best way to grow, even as the…
- Name the emotions change brings, including grief for lost craft; leaders who normalize these feelings help people feel less alone…
- Treat AI like a lazy junior intern: give it context, review its output, and never ship its work unchecked, since accountability…
SVPG · Marty CaganDec 14, 2005
Dec 14, 2005 · 5 min
Marty Cagan argues that product management is demanding and that product managers inevitably face rough days, which matter more because their teams watch how they react. He offers a set of practical habits for breaking…
@shreyas · Shreyas Doshi on X♥ 229
Most mid-career product people who are doing reasonably well make 2 implicit assumptions that affect their quality of life: 1. the ceiling of key product skills is just an inch higher than where they are now (i.e. they’re basically already at the ceiling) 2. the point of any upskilling is to get a…
The Looking Glass · Julie Zhuo♥ 95
Sep 1, 2026
Subscriber post — summary onlyJulie Zhuo's paid essay argues that an AI transformation cannot be ordered into existence from the top down. It presents a ten-step guide to leading an AI shift in a way that preserves care for people and their sense of…
Lenny’s Podcast98 min
Annie Duke · May 2, 2024
Key learnings- Make implicit judgments explicit (e.g., a hiring rubric) before using intuition; Duke cites Kahneman's work lifting hiring hit…
- Gather opinions independently and asynchronously before meetings, then use the meeting only for discussion, focusing on where…
- Reserve meetings for discussion; discovery of views should happen beforehand and decisions should be made by an accountable…
SVPG · Marty CaganMay 31, 2005
May 31, 2005
Marty Cagan argues that product leaders should not be dismissed because of their youth, noting that outstanding product people exist across all ages. He points out that anyone 24 or older has grown up alongside the…