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Adam Nash @adamnash February 22, 2016

BE A GREAT PRODUCT LEADER

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Optimus Prime

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“Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our

choosing”

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Full Circle: World-Class Product

Original meeting with Reid Hoffman turned in a four hour conversation on what world class product meant in a Web 2.0 world (circa 2007). Most people start or join new companies because they think “we can do it better this time”. They come to build a company. These are the top 5 lessons I’ve personally gained over the past two decades about product management for modern consumer software.

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What Do We Demand of Product Managers?

StrategyWhat game are we playing & how do we keep score? PrioritizationWhat are the steps from here to there, and what order do we do them in? Execution For this phase, what’s the list of what has to get done, and are we on track?

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Product: Results Matter

In the end, we judge product managers by whether they “win games” The role itself can give limited authority. Like a new coach, the team will let you define the plays initially. But in the end, you have to show the team wins. Product leaders don’t play the game, but they are judged by the record of their products. They cover any gaps. No excuses. Responsibility, often without authority

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Prioritization: Three Buckets

Metrics MoversThese pay the bills. In the end, software that doesn’t justify itself will lose the ability to fund itself. Customer RequestsIf you don’t listen to customers, they will lose faith in you and eventually hate you. DelightIf you don’t delight customers, you won’t inspire passion and loyalty in your users.

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Can’t I Have All Three?

It’s not impossible, but it’s extremely rare. Very often, metrics movers are not requested or delightful. Very often, customer requests will not move your metrics or delight people. Very often, delight features will not move your metrics, and by definition, are not requested. Great products, however, combine all three. In agile processes, releases intersperse all three regularly.

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Understanding Virality

One of the key insights of our growth strategy from 2008. Extensible to literally all engagement features. Key measure used by applications on social platforms. This is an extremely useful frame. Two questions: what features let members touch non members? How does a new customer today lead to a new customer tomorrow? At the heart of virality is an exponential based on branching factor and time. In an m^n equation, m is the branching factor, n is the cycles in a time period. Rabbits make lots of rabbits not because of big litters, but because they breed frequently. “n” matters more than “m”.

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Find the Heat

There are two sides to boosting engagement: lowering the friction of reaching out, and increasing the desire to engage. It’s easy to focus on the first and ignore the second, but social software depends on capturing the real nuances of human interaction. Heat is a placeholder term for emotions that drive action, both positive and negative. Emotion. Passion. Desire. Ask yourself the hard questions of what strong emotions drive the actions in your products. Example: Apply with LinkedIn

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Simple is Hard

For some reason, people are talking a lot about Steve Jobs these days. Inevitably this concept comes up. It’s true in design, it’s true in metrics, it’s true in prioritization, and it’s true in strategy. What’s the one thing you want the user to do? What’s the fundamental use case your feature addresses for users? Example: Mobile First design

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Einstein’s RazorMake things as simple as possible, but not simpler

Simplicity is not an absolute ideal.

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Final Thoughts

We can be our own harshest critics. In the mirror we see every flaw, every mistake, every imperfection. Behavior matters. Values matter. Be a Great Product Leader.

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Optimus Prime

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“Thank you, all of you. You honor us with your

bravery.”