Knowledge shared by our community

Aligning Your Product Strategy With Your Company’s Overall Strategy

When working on product without the context of the organization, it can be difficult to prioritize and come up with a product strategy. One approach is to review what you're working on and what metrics you're striving for, and try to understand the bigger picture. Deliberate thinking allows you to understand how you're contributing to the company strategy, and to listen intently to what your team communicates as being important outside of your current scope. This helps determine where your work should be going in terms of unexplored areas of interest.

How to Delegate Effectively

When hiring a new employee, delegation is a key factor in their success. It is important to provide the right amount of context and to slowly build up their responsibilities. Shared ownership should be avoided, as it can lead to conflict. It is also important to remember that new hires may not have the same motivations as the founding team, and should be given the right support and context to succeed.

What Makes the Perfect One-on-One?

This article discusses how to effectively manage a small team by having frequent one-on-ones, creating transparency, and delegating resources. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding each team member's motivations, providing a safe space for them to express their feelings, and helping them to manage their time and resources in order to reach their career goals.

Designing a Leveling Rubric for a Small Company

This article discusses the challenge of developing a leveling rubric for a small company. The author spoke to peers outside of the company to gain insight on how to set up expectations with engineers. After drafting out the rubric, there was pushback from stakeholders. With the help of HR, the rubric was implemented and surveyed employees reported that they felt everything was much more fair. The author learned that having clear expectations made engineers more self-aware and that in a new start-up, the margin for error is very low.

How to Uplift a Competent Employee Troubled by Interpersonal Problems

A senior engineer on the team lacked interpersonal skills, so the manager took it upon themselves to observe and experience the problems first-hand. The manager then implemented a few tactics to help the engineer improve, such as introducing them to a toastmasters club, enrolling them in an external training class, shadowing the manager during meetings, and finding a mentor. Through these implementations, the engineer was able to improve and continues to do so. The manager learned that interpersonal skills can be developed, and that it is important to do one's homework before jumping to conclusions about poor performance.

Finding the Right Moment of Opportunity to Advance Yourself

After working as an individual contributor for many years, the author decided to pursue a career in management. They took the initiative to manage a junior team in their office for a three month period, and received positive feedback. Through this experience, they learned the importance of taking ownership of their career, being a solution provider, staying informed, and having conversations with their managers.

Testing, Learning, and Improving: Building a Successful System Progressively

A collective of six teams distributed across the world and several time zones needed to bridge knowledge gaps. To address this roadblock, the Spotify squad model was adapted to match the company's needs. This involved creating dynamic squads around customer-focused problem statements. After gaining buy-in from leadership and the engineering team, the new system was tested and improved upon. After three quarters, the problem was solved and the team leader gained a newfound sense of confidence in their ability to lead. The experience also taught the value of a test-and-learn approach to problem solving and improved communication skills.

Standing up for an Employee in Trouble

A conflict arose between two teams when one team wanted to contribute code to an application owned by the other team. One of the junior engineers made some optimization suggestions which were not taken well by the other team, leading to bullying. The manager of the first team intervened by getting the full story and speaking to the manager of the other team. The engineers apologized for their inappropriate language and the incident was used as an example of how not to behave. The manager learned the importance of conflict resolution and protecting their team.

Making the Most of User Data in Early-Stage Products

When tracking data in early-stage products, two main challenges are knowing what to measure and how to measure it, and being careful not to be blindsided by data. Product leaders should have a profound understanding of how a product will be used and set metrics accordingly, while also complementing data with qualitative metrics. Data can tell any story depending on how it is interpreted, so it should be coupled with a holistic understanding of a product and its users. People should approach data with a fresh mind and let it speak for itself, without letting presupposed narratives influence the interpretation.

Mentorship Troubles: Finding the Right Fit

Finding the right mentor is an important part of mentorship, and it can be difficult to find the right fit. Self-reflection and prioritization of problems can help narrow down the search. Additionally, there are various avenues to connect with potential mentors, such as formalized mentorship rings, Facebook groups, and experienced leaders in other departments. Ultimately, understanding the avenues of how and when to connect should precede who to connect with.

Switching Career From Engineering to Product Management

This article is about the journey of transitioning from a software engineering role to a product management role. The author studied online resources and took courses to better understand the role of a product manager, and talked to a number of product managers to gain a better understanding of the company context. They then had an open conversation with their manager about their career plan and gradually shifted their work ratio from 80/20 in favor of software engineering to 50/50. The author learned that there are many paths to product management and that companies often look for prior PM experience, which can include passion projects and side hustles. They also suggest applying for an associate PM role as many companies run programs welcoming people switching careers or coming from non-traditional backgrounds.

Balancing Expectations of Multiple Stakeholders

This organization's goal is to enable engineering teams to build and ship products faster and safer. The challenge is managing the expectations of multiple stakeholders to come up with solutions that benefit many teams. Actions taken include engaging with stakeholders, understanding their expectations, analyzing data, and finding a core solution that has the highest reach and biggest impact. Lessons learned include balancing expectations, being collaborative, and being honest.

The Limits to Improvement

In my previous job, I led the air products team and noticed that a section of our users couldn't book a direct flight. We conducted user research and found that many users had to make multiple bookings to reach their destination, taking a lot of time. We built an algorithm to determine the money value of time and an API to show users direct flights and other opportunities with connecting flights. We encountered a number of challenges, and when we launched the product in the pilot phase, we received complaints. We eventually expanded the product to international flights, but it didn't gain much traction. We learned that we could have done better user testing and failed to explain our value proposition clearly.

Establishing the Goals for an Acquired Organization

A year ago, the author joined the office of a startup bought by their current company with the intent to expand their product across the US and globally. Through conversations with stakeholders and user research, the author proposed a flywheel structure and identified critical narratives and key metrics to measure performance. They also identified four future value streams and personas, and set goals for each vertical with key metrics. The team grew from two to ten members, and the business increased 8x in the next year according to the current plan. The author learned to build trust, think about users when building the team, not rush to hire people, and go deep to add value.

Understanding a Product Domain

A product leader was approached by the CPO to lead a platform consisting of consumer payments, data products, data science, analytics, and business intelligence. Despite having no knowledge of payments, the product leader took on the challenge and upgraded their knowledge in a short period of time. They identified three areas of work and deep dived into each one, learning the ins and outs of the domain. Through their hard work and dedication, they were able to become competent in the new domain and lead the team with confidence. The product leader learned that to create an impact, they need to be passionate and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Managing an IC Who Is Getting Ahead of the Project Timeline

A Lead Engineer was very enthusiastic about a new feature within the company's suite of offerings, but the manager was concerned about moving too quickly and potentially harming the brand. To manage the situation, the manager suggested talking to users to gain insight before moving forward. The manager also redirected the Engineer's energy to generic features that would be part of the feature no matter what direction it took. The key lesson learned was to manage expectations around timelines and to connect the Engineer to the customer's needs.

Using Pre-Mortems to Set the Stage for a Successful Product Launch

This article discusses the importance of creating a great user experience in order to incentivize drivers to return. It suggests pre-mortems as a way to anticipate potential challenges and to build team unity. Pre-mortems involve the entire team coming together to consider worst-case scenarios and to identify common denominators. The goal is to make the process fun and to hold people accountable while still making the goal tangible.

Challenging the Status Quo

Women in the professional world often face pressure to be "nice" and filter their thoughts through what others expect of them, leading to a lack of authenticity and undervaluing of their talents. Through the guidance of mentors, the author has learned to be her authentic self and to provide feedback and mentorship to other women in the industry. She has also learned the importance of pushing back and developing her own perspective in order to be successful.

Branching Out Your Skillset as a Junior

This advice encourages juniors to focus on learning continuously instead of following a specific career ladder. It suggests that by changing their perspectives and taking on new opportunities, they can unlock a lot of different things in their path. It also encourages collaboration and communication with peers and mentors to help them reach their goals. Ultimately, it is a personal decision to decide what to learn and how to go about it.

Healing Broken Trust in Your Team

This article discusses the common disconnect between management and frontline engineers in startups. It outlines the actions taken by the author to address the situation, such as redefining team values, clarifying roles, and asking tough questions to stakeholders. The author also shares lessons learned, such as the importance of setting up team values, understanding the 'why' of the team's actions, and clarifying roles.

Aligning Your Product Strategy With Your Company’s Overall Strategy

When working on product without the context of the organization, it can be difficult to prioritize and come up with a product strategy. One approach is to review what you're working on and what metrics you're striving for, and try to understand the bigger picture. Deliberate thinking allows you to understand how you're contributing to the company strategy, and to listen intently to what your team communicates as being important outside of your current scope. This helps determine where your work should be going in terms of unexplored areas of interest.

How to Delegate Effectively

When hiring a new employee, delegation is a key factor in their success. It is important to provide the right amount of context and to slowly build up their responsibilities. Shared ownership should be avoided, as it can lead to conflict. It is also important to remember that new hires may not have the same motivations as the founding team, and should be given the right support and context to succeed.

What Makes the Perfect One-on-One?

This article discusses how to effectively manage a small team by having frequent one-on-ones, creating transparency, and delegating resources. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding each team member's motivations, providing a safe space for them to express their feelings, and helping them to manage their time and resources in order to reach their career goals.

Designing a Leveling Rubric for a Small Company

This article discusses the challenge of developing a leveling rubric for a small company. The author spoke to peers outside of the company to gain insight on how to set up expectations with engineers. After drafting out the rubric, there was pushback from stakeholders. With the help of HR, the rubric was implemented and surveyed employees reported that they felt everything was much more fair. The author learned that having clear expectations made engineers more self-aware and that in a new start-up, the margin for error is very low.

How to Uplift a Competent Employee Troubled by Interpersonal Problems

A senior engineer on the team lacked interpersonal skills, so the manager took it upon themselves to observe and experience the problems first-hand. The manager then implemented a few tactics to help the engineer improve, such as introducing them to a toastmasters club, enrolling them in an external training class, shadowing the manager during meetings, and finding a mentor. Through these implementations, the engineer was able to improve and continues to do so. The manager learned that interpersonal skills can be developed, and that it is important to do one's homework before jumping to conclusions about poor performance.

Finding the Right Moment of Opportunity to Advance Yourself

After working as an individual contributor for many years, the author decided to pursue a career in management. They took the initiative to manage a junior team in their office for a three month period, and received positive feedback. Through this experience, they learned the importance of taking ownership of their career, being a solution provider, staying informed, and having conversations with their managers.

Testing, Learning, and Improving: Building a Successful System Progressively

A collective of six teams distributed across the world and several time zones needed to bridge knowledge gaps. To address this roadblock, the Spotify squad model was adapted to match the company's needs. This involved creating dynamic squads around customer-focused problem statements. After gaining buy-in from leadership and the engineering team, the new system was tested and improved upon. After three quarters, the problem was solved and the team leader gained a newfound sense of confidence in their ability to lead. The experience also taught the value of a test-and-learn approach to problem solving and improved communication skills.

Standing up for an Employee in Trouble

A conflict arose between two teams when one team wanted to contribute code to an application owned by the other team. One of the junior engineers made some optimization suggestions which were not taken well by the other team, leading to bullying. The manager of the first team intervened by getting the full story and speaking to the manager of the other team. The engineers apologized for their inappropriate language and the incident was used as an example of how not to behave. The manager learned the importance of conflict resolution and protecting their team.

Making the Most of User Data in Early-Stage Products

When tracking data in early-stage products, two main challenges are knowing what to measure and how to measure it, and being careful not to be blindsided by data. Product leaders should have a profound understanding of how a product will be used and set metrics accordingly, while also complementing data with qualitative metrics. Data can tell any story depending on how it is interpreted, so it should be coupled with a holistic understanding of a product and its users. People should approach data with a fresh mind and let it speak for itself, without letting presupposed narratives influence the interpretation.

Mentorship Troubles: Finding the Right Fit

Finding the right mentor is an important part of mentorship, and it can be difficult to find the right fit. Self-reflection and prioritization of problems can help narrow down the search. Additionally, there are various avenues to connect with potential mentors, such as formalized mentorship rings, Facebook groups, and experienced leaders in other departments. Ultimately, understanding the avenues of how and when to connect should precede who to connect with.

Switching Career From Engineering to Product Management

This article is about the journey of transitioning from a software engineering role to a product management role. The author studied online resources and took courses to better understand the role of a product manager, and talked to a number of product managers to gain a better understanding of the company context. They then had an open conversation with their manager about their career plan and gradually shifted their work ratio from 80/20 in favor of software engineering to 50/50. The author learned that there are many paths to product management and that companies often look for prior PM experience, which can include passion projects and side hustles. They also suggest applying for an associate PM role as many companies run programs welcoming people switching careers or coming from non-traditional backgrounds.

Balancing Expectations of Multiple Stakeholders

This organization's goal is to enable engineering teams to build and ship products faster and safer. The challenge is managing the expectations of multiple stakeholders to come up with solutions that benefit many teams. Actions taken include engaging with stakeholders, understanding their expectations, analyzing data, and finding a core solution that has the highest reach and biggest impact. Lessons learned include balancing expectations, being collaborative, and being honest.

The Limits to Improvement

In my previous job, I led the air products team and noticed that a section of our users couldn't book a direct flight. We conducted user research and found that many users had to make multiple bookings to reach their destination, taking a lot of time. We built an algorithm to determine the money value of time and an API to show users direct flights and other opportunities with connecting flights. We encountered a number of challenges, and when we launched the product in the pilot phase, we received complaints. We eventually expanded the product to international flights, but it didn't gain much traction. We learned that we could have done better user testing and failed to explain our value proposition clearly.

Establishing the Goals for an Acquired Organization

A year ago, the author joined the office of a startup bought by their current company with the intent to expand their product across the US and globally. Through conversations with stakeholders and user research, the author proposed a flywheel structure and identified critical narratives and key metrics to measure performance. They also identified four future value streams and personas, and set goals for each vertical with key metrics. The team grew from two to ten members, and the business increased 8x in the next year according to the current plan. The author learned to build trust, think about users when building the team, not rush to hire people, and go deep to add value.

Understanding a Product Domain

A product leader was approached by the CPO to lead a platform consisting of consumer payments, data products, data science, analytics, and business intelligence. Despite having no knowledge of payments, the product leader took on the challenge and upgraded their knowledge in a short period of time. They identified three areas of work and deep dived into each one, learning the ins and outs of the domain. Through their hard work and dedication, they were able to become competent in the new domain and lead the team with confidence. The product leader learned that to create an impact, they need to be passionate and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Managing an IC Who Is Getting Ahead of the Project Timeline

A Lead Engineer was very enthusiastic about a new feature within the company's suite of offerings, but the manager was concerned about moving too quickly and potentially harming the brand. To manage the situation, the manager suggested talking to users to gain insight before moving forward. The manager also redirected the Engineer's energy to generic features that would be part of the feature no matter what direction it took. The key lesson learned was to manage expectations around timelines and to connect the Engineer to the customer's needs.

Using Pre-Mortems to Set the Stage for a Successful Product Launch

This article discusses the importance of creating a great user experience in order to incentivize drivers to return. It suggests pre-mortems as a way to anticipate potential challenges and to build team unity. Pre-mortems involve the entire team coming together to consider worst-case scenarios and to identify common denominators. The goal is to make the process fun and to hold people accountable while still making the goal tangible.

Challenging the Status Quo

Women in the professional world often face pressure to be "nice" and filter their thoughts through what others expect of them, leading to a lack of authenticity and undervaluing of their talents. Through the guidance of mentors, the author has learned to be her authentic self and to provide feedback and mentorship to other women in the industry. She has also learned the importance of pushing back and developing her own perspective in order to be successful.

Branching Out Your Skillset as a Junior

This advice encourages juniors to focus on learning continuously instead of following a specific career ladder. It suggests that by changing their perspectives and taking on new opportunities, they can unlock a lot of different things in their path. It also encourages collaboration and communication with peers and mentors to help them reach their goals. Ultimately, it is a personal decision to decide what to learn and how to go about it.

Healing Broken Trust in Your Team

This article discusses the common disconnect between management and frontline engineers in startups. It outlines the actions taken by the author to address the situation, such as redefining team values, clarifying roles, and asking tough questions to stakeholders. The author also shares lessons learned, such as the importance of setting up team values, understanding the 'why' of the team's actions, and clarifying roles.

Aligning Your Product Strategy With Your Company’s Overall Strategy

When working on product without the context of the organization, it can be difficult to prioritize and come up with a product strategy. One approach is to review what you're working on and what metrics you're striving for, and try to understand the bigger picture. Deliberate thinking allows you to understand how you're contributing to the company strategy, and to listen intently to what your team communicates as being important outside of your current scope. This helps determine where your work should be going in terms of unexplored areas of interest.

How to Delegate Effectively

When hiring a new employee, delegation is a key factor in their success. It is important to provide the right amount of context and to slowly build up their responsibilities. Shared ownership should be avoided, as it can lead to conflict. It is also important to remember that new hires may not have the same motivations as the founding team, and should be given the right support and context to succeed.

What Makes the Perfect One-on-One?

This article discusses how to effectively manage a small team by having frequent one-on-ones, creating transparency, and delegating resources. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding each team member's motivations, providing a safe space for them to express their feelings, and helping them to manage their time and resources in order to reach their career goals.

Designing a Leveling Rubric for a Small Company

This article discusses the challenge of developing a leveling rubric for a small company. The author spoke to peers outside of the company to gain insight on how to set up expectations with engineers. After drafting out the rubric, there was pushback from stakeholders. With the help of HR, the rubric was implemented and surveyed employees reported that they felt everything was much more fair. The author learned that having clear expectations made engineers more self-aware and that in a new start-up, the margin for error is very low.

How to Uplift a Competent Employee Troubled by Interpersonal Problems

A senior engineer on the team lacked interpersonal skills, so the manager took it upon themselves to observe and experience the problems first-hand. The manager then implemented a few tactics to help the engineer improve, such as introducing them to a toastmasters club, enrolling them in an external training class, shadowing the manager during meetings, and finding a mentor. Through these implementations, the engineer was able to improve and continues to do so. The manager learned that interpersonal skills can be developed, and that it is important to do one's homework before jumping to conclusions about poor performance.

Finding the Right Moment of Opportunity to Advance Yourself

After working as an individual contributor for many years, the author decided to pursue a career in management. They took the initiative to manage a junior team in their office for a three month period, and received positive feedback. Through this experience, they learned the importance of taking ownership of their career, being a solution provider, staying informed, and having conversations with their managers.

Testing, Learning, and Improving: Building a Successful System Progressively

A collective of six teams distributed across the world and several time zones needed to bridge knowledge gaps. To address this roadblock, the Spotify squad model was adapted to match the company's needs. This involved creating dynamic squads around customer-focused problem statements. After gaining buy-in from leadership and the engineering team, the new system was tested and improved upon. After three quarters, the problem was solved and the team leader gained a newfound sense of confidence in their ability to lead. The experience also taught the value of a test-and-learn approach to problem solving and improved communication skills.

Standing up for an Employee in Trouble

A conflict arose between two teams when one team wanted to contribute code to an application owned by the other team. One of the junior engineers made some optimization suggestions which were not taken well by the other team, leading to bullying. The manager of the first team intervened by getting the full story and speaking to the manager of the other team. The engineers apologized for their inappropriate language and the incident was used as an example of how not to behave. The manager learned the importance of conflict resolution and protecting their team.

Making the Most of User Data in Early-Stage Products

When tracking data in early-stage products, two main challenges are knowing what to measure and how to measure it, and being careful not to be blindsided by data. Product leaders should have a profound understanding of how a product will be used and set metrics accordingly, while also complementing data with qualitative metrics. Data can tell any story depending on how it is interpreted, so it should be coupled with a holistic understanding of a product and its users. People should approach data with a fresh mind and let it speak for itself, without letting presupposed narratives influence the interpretation.

Mentorship Troubles: Finding the Right Fit

Finding the right mentor is an important part of mentorship, and it can be difficult to find the right fit. Self-reflection and prioritization of problems can help narrow down the search. Additionally, there are various avenues to connect with potential mentors, such as formalized mentorship rings, Facebook groups, and experienced leaders in other departments. Ultimately, understanding the avenues of how and when to connect should precede who to connect with.

Switching Career From Engineering to Product Management

This article is about the journey of transitioning from a software engineering role to a product management role. The author studied online resources and took courses to better understand the role of a product manager, and talked to a number of product managers to gain a better understanding of the company context. They then had an open conversation with their manager about their career plan and gradually shifted their work ratio from 80/20 in favor of software engineering to 50/50. The author learned that there are many paths to product management and that companies often look for prior PM experience, which can include passion projects and side hustles. They also suggest applying for an associate PM role as many companies run programs welcoming people switching careers or coming from non-traditional backgrounds.

Balancing Expectations of Multiple Stakeholders

This organization's goal is to enable engineering teams to build and ship products faster and safer. The challenge is managing the expectations of multiple stakeholders to come up with solutions that benefit many teams. Actions taken include engaging with stakeholders, understanding their expectations, analyzing data, and finding a core solution that has the highest reach and biggest impact. Lessons learned include balancing expectations, being collaborative, and being honest.

The Limits to Improvement

In my previous job, I led the air products team and noticed that a section of our users couldn't book a direct flight. We conducted user research and found that many users had to make multiple bookings to reach their destination, taking a lot of time. We built an algorithm to determine the money value of time and an API to show users direct flights and other opportunities with connecting flights. We encountered a number of challenges, and when we launched the product in the pilot phase, we received complaints. We eventually expanded the product to international flights, but it didn't gain much traction. We learned that we could have done better user testing and failed to explain our value proposition clearly.

Establishing the Goals for an Acquired Organization

A year ago, the author joined the office of a startup bought by their current company with the intent to expand their product across the US and globally. Through conversations with stakeholders and user research, the author proposed a flywheel structure and identified critical narratives and key metrics to measure performance. They also identified four future value streams and personas, and set goals for each vertical with key metrics. The team grew from two to ten members, and the business increased 8x in the next year according to the current plan. The author learned to build trust, think about users when building the team, not rush to hire people, and go deep to add value.

Understanding a Product Domain

A product leader was approached by the CPO to lead a platform consisting of consumer payments, data products, data science, analytics, and business intelligence. Despite having no knowledge of payments, the product leader took on the challenge and upgraded their knowledge in a short period of time. They identified three areas of work and deep dived into each one, learning the ins and outs of the domain. Through their hard work and dedication, they were able to become competent in the new domain and lead the team with confidence. The product leader learned that to create an impact, they need to be passionate and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Managing an IC Who Is Getting Ahead of the Project Timeline

A Lead Engineer was very enthusiastic about a new feature within the company's suite of offerings, but the manager was concerned about moving too quickly and potentially harming the brand. To manage the situation, the manager suggested talking to users to gain insight before moving forward. The manager also redirected the Engineer's energy to generic features that would be part of the feature no matter what direction it took. The key lesson learned was to manage expectations around timelines and to connect the Engineer to the customer's needs.

Using Pre-Mortems to Set the Stage for a Successful Product Launch

This article discusses the importance of creating a great user experience in order to incentivize drivers to return. It suggests pre-mortems as a way to anticipate potential challenges and to build team unity. Pre-mortems involve the entire team coming together to consider worst-case scenarios and to identify common denominators. The goal is to make the process fun and to hold people accountable while still making the goal tangible.

Challenging the Status Quo

Women in the professional world often face pressure to be "nice" and filter their thoughts through what others expect of them, leading to a lack of authenticity and undervaluing of their talents. Through the guidance of mentors, the author has learned to be her authentic self and to provide feedback and mentorship to other women in the industry. She has also learned the importance of pushing back and developing her own perspective in order to be successful.

Branching Out Your Skillset as a Junior

This advice encourages juniors to focus on learning continuously instead of following a specific career ladder. It suggests that by changing their perspectives and taking on new opportunities, they can unlock a lot of different things in their path. It also encourages collaboration and communication with peers and mentors to help them reach their goals. Ultimately, it is a personal decision to decide what to learn and how to go about it.

Healing Broken Trust in Your Team

This article discusses the common disconnect between management and frontline engineers in startups. It outlines the actions taken by the author to address the situation, such as redefining team values, clarifying roles, and asking tough questions to stakeholders. The author also shares lessons learned, such as the importance of setting up team values, understanding the 'why' of the team's actions, and clarifying roles.

Aligning Your Product Strategy With Your Company’s Overall Strategy

When working on product without the context of the organization, it can be difficult to prioritize and come up with a product strategy. One approach is to review what you're working on and what metrics you're striving for, and try to understand the bigger picture. Deliberate thinking allows you to understand how you're contributing to the company strategy, and to listen intently to what your team communicates as being important outside of your current scope. This helps determine where your work should be going in terms of unexplored areas of interest.

How to Delegate Effectively

When hiring a new employee, delegation is a key factor in their success. It is important to provide the right amount of context and to slowly build up their responsibilities. Shared ownership should be avoided, as it can lead to conflict. It is also important to remember that new hires may not have the same motivations as the founding team, and should be given the right support and context to succeed.

What Makes the Perfect One-on-One?

This article discusses how to effectively manage a small team by having frequent one-on-ones, creating transparency, and delegating resources. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding each team member's motivations, providing a safe space for them to express their feelings, and helping them to manage their time and resources in order to reach their career goals.

Designing a Leveling Rubric for a Small Company

This article discusses the challenge of developing a leveling rubric for a small company. The author spoke to peers outside of the company to gain insight on how to set up expectations with engineers. After drafting out the rubric, there was pushback from stakeholders. With the help of HR, the rubric was implemented and surveyed employees reported that they felt everything was much more fair. The author learned that having clear expectations made engineers more self-aware and that in a new start-up, the margin for error is very low.

How to Uplift a Competent Employee Troubled by Interpersonal Problems

A senior engineer on the team lacked interpersonal skills, so the manager took it upon themselves to observe and experience the problems first-hand. The manager then implemented a few tactics to help the engineer improve, such as introducing them to a toastmasters club, enrolling them in an external training class, shadowing the manager during meetings, and finding a mentor. Through these implementations, the engineer was able to improve and continues to do so. The manager learned that interpersonal skills can be developed, and that it is important to do one's homework before jumping to conclusions about poor performance.

Finding the Right Moment of Opportunity to Advance Yourself

After working as an individual contributor for many years, the author decided to pursue a career in management. They took the initiative to manage a junior team in their office for a three month period, and received positive feedback. Through this experience, they learned the importance of taking ownership of their career, being a solution provider, staying informed, and having conversations with their managers.

Testing, Learning, and Improving: Building a Successful System Progressively

A collective of six teams distributed across the world and several time zones needed to bridge knowledge gaps. To address this roadblock, the Spotify squad model was adapted to match the company's needs. This involved creating dynamic squads around customer-focused problem statements. After gaining buy-in from leadership and the engineering team, the new system was tested and improved upon. After three quarters, the problem was solved and the team leader gained a newfound sense of confidence in their ability to lead. The experience also taught the value of a test-and-learn approach to problem solving and improved communication skills.

Standing up for an Employee in Trouble

A conflict arose between two teams when one team wanted to contribute code to an application owned by the other team. One of the junior engineers made some optimization suggestions which were not taken well by the other team, leading to bullying. The manager of the first team intervened by getting the full story and speaking to the manager of the other team. The engineers apologized for their inappropriate language and the incident was used as an example of how not to behave. The manager learned the importance of conflict resolution and protecting their team.

Making the Most of User Data in Early-Stage Products

When tracking data in early-stage products, two main challenges are knowing what to measure and how to measure it, and being careful not to be blindsided by data. Product leaders should have a profound understanding of how a product will be used and set metrics accordingly, while also complementing data with qualitative metrics. Data can tell any story depending on how it is interpreted, so it should be coupled with a holistic understanding of a product and its users. People should approach data with a fresh mind and let it speak for itself, without letting presupposed narratives influence the interpretation.

Mentorship Troubles: Finding the Right Fit

Finding the right mentor is an important part of mentorship, and it can be difficult to find the right fit. Self-reflection and prioritization of problems can help narrow down the search. Additionally, there are various avenues to connect with potential mentors, such as formalized mentorship rings, Facebook groups, and experienced leaders in other departments. Ultimately, understanding the avenues of how and when to connect should precede who to connect with.

Switching Career From Engineering to Product Management

This article is about the journey of transitioning from a software engineering role to a product management role. The author studied online resources and took courses to better understand the role of a product manager, and talked to a number of product managers to gain a better understanding of the company context. They then had an open conversation with their manager about their career plan and gradually shifted their work ratio from 80/20 in favor of software engineering to 50/50. The author learned that there are many paths to product management and that companies often look for prior PM experience, which can include passion projects and side hustles. They also suggest applying for an associate PM role as many companies run programs welcoming people switching careers or coming from non-traditional backgrounds.

Balancing Expectations of Multiple Stakeholders

This organization's goal is to enable engineering teams to build and ship products faster and safer. The challenge is managing the expectations of multiple stakeholders to come up with solutions that benefit many teams. Actions taken include engaging with stakeholders, understanding their expectations, analyzing data, and finding a core solution that has the highest reach and biggest impact. Lessons learned include balancing expectations, being collaborative, and being honest.

The Limits to Improvement

In my previous job, I led the air products team and noticed that a section of our users couldn't book a direct flight. We conducted user research and found that many users had to make multiple bookings to reach their destination, taking a lot of time. We built an algorithm to determine the money value of time and an API to show users direct flights and other opportunities with connecting flights. We encountered a number of challenges, and when we launched the product in the pilot phase, we received complaints. We eventually expanded the product to international flights, but it didn't gain much traction. We learned that we could have done better user testing and failed to explain our value proposition clearly.

Establishing the Goals for an Acquired Organization

A year ago, the author joined the office of a startup bought by their current company with the intent to expand their product across the US and globally. Through conversations with stakeholders and user research, the author proposed a flywheel structure and identified critical narratives and key metrics to measure performance. They also identified four future value streams and personas, and set goals for each vertical with key metrics. The team grew from two to ten members, and the business increased 8x in the next year according to the current plan. The author learned to build trust, think about users when building the team, not rush to hire people, and go deep to add value.

Understanding a Product Domain

A product leader was approached by the CPO to lead a platform consisting of consumer payments, data products, data science, analytics, and business intelligence. Despite having no knowledge of payments, the product leader took on the challenge and upgraded their knowledge in a short period of time. They identified three areas of work and deep dived into each one, learning the ins and outs of the domain. Through their hard work and dedication, they were able to become competent in the new domain and lead the team with confidence. The product leader learned that to create an impact, they need to be passionate and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Managing an IC Who Is Getting Ahead of the Project Timeline

A Lead Engineer was very enthusiastic about a new feature within the company's suite of offerings, but the manager was concerned about moving too quickly and potentially harming the brand. To manage the situation, the manager suggested talking to users to gain insight before moving forward. The manager also redirected the Engineer's energy to generic features that would be part of the feature no matter what direction it took. The key lesson learned was to manage expectations around timelines and to connect the Engineer to the customer's needs.

Using Pre-Mortems to Set the Stage for a Successful Product Launch

This article discusses the importance of creating a great user experience in order to incentivize drivers to return. It suggests pre-mortems as a way to anticipate potential challenges and to build team unity. Pre-mortems involve the entire team coming together to consider worst-case scenarios and to identify common denominators. The goal is to make the process fun and to hold people accountable while still making the goal tangible.

Challenging the Status Quo

Women in the professional world often face pressure to be "nice" and filter their thoughts through what others expect of them, leading to a lack of authenticity and undervaluing of their talents. Through the guidance of mentors, the author has learned to be her authentic self and to provide feedback and mentorship to other women in the industry. She has also learned the importance of pushing back and developing her own perspective in order to be successful.

Branching Out Your Skillset as a Junior

This advice encourages juniors to focus on learning continuously instead of following a specific career ladder. It suggests that by changing their perspectives and taking on new opportunities, they can unlock a lot of different things in their path. It also encourages collaboration and communication with peers and mentors to help them reach their goals. Ultimately, it is a personal decision to decide what to learn and how to go about it.

Healing Broken Trust in Your Team

This article discusses the common disconnect between management and frontline engineers in startups. It outlines the actions taken by the author to address the situation, such as redefining team values, clarifying roles, and asking tough questions to stakeholders. The author also shares lessons learned, such as the importance of setting up team values, understanding the 'why' of the team's actions, and clarifying roles.

Aligning Your Product Strategy With Your Company’s Overall Strategy

When working on product without the context of the organization, it can be difficult to prioritize and come up with a product strategy. One approach is to review what you're working on and what metrics you're striving for, and try to understand the bigger picture. Deliberate thinking allows you to understand how you're contributing to the company strategy, and to listen intently to what your team communicates as being important outside of your current scope. This helps determine where your work should be going in terms of unexplored areas of interest.

How to Delegate Effectively

When hiring a new employee, delegation is a key factor in their success. It is important to provide the right amount of context and to slowly build up their responsibilities. Shared ownership should be avoided, as it can lead to conflict. It is also important to remember that new hires may not have the same motivations as the founding team, and should be given the right support and context to succeed.

What Makes the Perfect One-on-One?

This article discusses how to effectively manage a small team by having frequent one-on-ones, creating transparency, and delegating resources. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding each team member's motivations, providing a safe space for them to express their feelings, and helping them to manage their time and resources in order to reach their career goals.

Designing a Leveling Rubric for a Small Company

This article discusses the challenge of developing a leveling rubric for a small company. The author spoke to peers outside of the company to gain insight on how to set up expectations with engineers. After drafting out the rubric, there was pushback from stakeholders. With the help of HR, the rubric was implemented and surveyed employees reported that they felt everything was much more fair. The author learned that having clear expectations made engineers more self-aware and that in a new start-up, the margin for error is very low.

How to Uplift a Competent Employee Troubled by Interpersonal Problems

A senior engineer on the team lacked interpersonal skills, so the manager took it upon themselves to observe and experience the problems first-hand. The manager then implemented a few tactics to help the engineer improve, such as introducing them to a toastmasters club, enrolling them in an external training class, shadowing the manager during meetings, and finding a mentor. Through these implementations, the engineer was able to improve and continues to do so. The manager learned that interpersonal skills can be developed, and that it is important to do one's homework before jumping to conclusions about poor performance.

Finding the Right Moment of Opportunity to Advance Yourself

After working as an individual contributor for many years, the author decided to pursue a career in management. They took the initiative to manage a junior team in their office for a three month period, and received positive feedback. Through this experience, they learned the importance of taking ownership of their career, being a solution provider, staying informed, and having conversations with their managers.

Testing, Learning, and Improving: Building a Successful System Progressively

A collective of six teams distributed across the world and several time zones needed to bridge knowledge gaps. To address this roadblock, the Spotify squad model was adapted to match the company's needs. This involved creating dynamic squads around customer-focused problem statements. After gaining buy-in from leadership and the engineering team, the new system was tested and improved upon. After three quarters, the problem was solved and the team leader gained a newfound sense of confidence in their ability to lead. The experience also taught the value of a test-and-learn approach to problem solving and improved communication skills.

Standing up for an Employee in Trouble

A conflict arose between two teams when one team wanted to contribute code to an application owned by the other team. One of the junior engineers made some optimization suggestions which were not taken well by the other team, leading to bullying. The manager of the first team intervened by getting the full story and speaking to the manager of the other team. The engineers apologized for their inappropriate language and the incident was used as an example of how not to behave. The manager learned the importance of conflict resolution and protecting their team.

Making the Most of User Data in Early-Stage Products

When tracking data in early-stage products, two main challenges are knowing what to measure and how to measure it, and being careful not to be blindsided by data. Product leaders should have a profound understanding of how a product will be used and set metrics accordingly, while also complementing data with qualitative metrics. Data can tell any story depending on how it is interpreted, so it should be coupled with a holistic understanding of a product and its users. People should approach data with a fresh mind and let it speak for itself, without letting presupposed narratives influence the interpretation.

Mentorship Troubles: Finding the Right Fit

Finding the right mentor is an important part of mentorship, and it can be difficult to find the right fit. Self-reflection and prioritization of problems can help narrow down the search. Additionally, there are various avenues to connect with potential mentors, such as formalized mentorship rings, Facebook groups, and experienced leaders in other departments. Ultimately, understanding the avenues of how and when to connect should precede who to connect with.

Switching Career From Engineering to Product Management

This article is about the journey of transitioning from a software engineering role to a product management role. The author studied online resources and took courses to better understand the role of a product manager, and talked to a number of product managers to gain a better understanding of the company context. They then had an open conversation with their manager about their career plan and gradually shifted their work ratio from 80/20 in favor of software engineering to 50/50. The author learned that there are many paths to product management and that companies often look for prior PM experience, which can include passion projects and side hustles. They also suggest applying for an associate PM role as many companies run programs welcoming people switching careers or coming from non-traditional backgrounds.

Balancing Expectations of Multiple Stakeholders

This organization's goal is to enable engineering teams to build and ship products faster and safer. The challenge is managing the expectations of multiple stakeholders to come up with solutions that benefit many teams. Actions taken include engaging with stakeholders, understanding their expectations, analyzing data, and finding a core solution that has the highest reach and biggest impact. Lessons learned include balancing expectations, being collaborative, and being honest.

The Limits to Improvement

In my previous job, I led the air products team and noticed that a section of our users couldn't book a direct flight. We conducted user research and found that many users had to make multiple bookings to reach their destination, taking a lot of time. We built an algorithm to determine the money value of time and an API to show users direct flights and other opportunities with connecting flights. We encountered a number of challenges, and when we launched the product in the pilot phase, we received complaints. We eventually expanded the product to international flights, but it didn't gain much traction. We learned that we could have done better user testing and failed to explain our value proposition clearly.

Establishing the Goals for an Acquired Organization

A year ago, the author joined the office of a startup bought by their current company with the intent to expand their product across the US and globally. Through conversations with stakeholders and user research, the author proposed a flywheel structure and identified critical narratives and key metrics to measure performance. They also identified four future value streams and personas, and set goals for each vertical with key metrics. The team grew from two to ten members, and the business increased 8x in the next year according to the current plan. The author learned to build trust, think about users when building the team, not rush to hire people, and go deep to add value.

Understanding a Product Domain

A product leader was approached by the CPO to lead a platform consisting of consumer payments, data products, data science, analytics, and business intelligence. Despite having no knowledge of payments, the product leader took on the challenge and upgraded their knowledge in a short period of time. They identified three areas of work and deep dived into each one, learning the ins and outs of the domain. Through their hard work and dedication, they were able to become competent in the new domain and lead the team with confidence. The product leader learned that to create an impact, they need to be passionate and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Managing an IC Who Is Getting Ahead of the Project Timeline

A Lead Engineer was very enthusiastic about a new feature within the company's suite of offerings, but the manager was concerned about moving too quickly and potentially harming the brand. To manage the situation, the manager suggested talking to users to gain insight before moving forward. The manager also redirected the Engineer's energy to generic features that would be part of the feature no matter what direction it took. The key lesson learned was to manage expectations around timelines and to connect the Engineer to the customer's needs.

Using Pre-Mortems to Set the Stage for a Successful Product Launch

This article discusses the importance of creating a great user experience in order to incentivize drivers to return. It suggests pre-mortems as a way to anticipate potential challenges and to build team unity. Pre-mortems involve the entire team coming together to consider worst-case scenarios and to identify common denominators. The goal is to make the process fun and to hold people accountable while still making the goal tangible.

Challenging the Status Quo

Women in the professional world often face pressure to be "nice" and filter their thoughts through what others expect of them, leading to a lack of authenticity and undervaluing of their talents. Through the guidance of mentors, the author has learned to be her authentic self and to provide feedback and mentorship to other women in the industry. She has also learned the importance of pushing back and developing her own perspective in order to be successful.

Branching Out Your Skillset as a Junior

This advice encourages juniors to focus on learning continuously instead of following a specific career ladder. It suggests that by changing their perspectives and taking on new opportunities, they can unlock a lot of different things in their path. It also encourages collaboration and communication with peers and mentors to help them reach their goals. Ultimately, it is a personal decision to decide what to learn and how to go about it.

Healing Broken Trust in Your Team

This article discusses the common disconnect between management and frontline engineers in startups. It outlines the actions taken by the author to address the situation, such as redefining team values, clarifying roles, and asking tough questions to stakeholders. The author also shares lessons learned, such as the importance of setting up team values, understanding the 'why' of the team's actions, and clarifying roles.

Aligning Your Product Strategy With Your Company’s Overall Strategy

When working on product without the context of the organization, it can be difficult to prioritize and come up with a product strategy. One approach is to review what you're working on and what metrics you're striving for, and try to understand the bigger picture. Deliberate thinking allows you to understand how you're contributing to the company strategy, and to listen intently to what your team communicates as being important outside of your current scope. This helps determine where your work should be going in terms of unexplored areas of interest.

How to Delegate Effectively

When hiring a new employee, delegation is a key factor in their success. It is important to provide the right amount of context and to slowly build up their responsibilities. Shared ownership should be avoided, as it can lead to conflict. It is also important to remember that new hires may not have the same motivations as the founding team, and should be given the right support and context to succeed.

What Makes the Perfect One-on-One?

This article discusses how to effectively manage a small team by having frequent one-on-ones, creating transparency, and delegating resources. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding each team member's motivations, providing a safe space for them to express their feelings, and helping them to manage their time and resources in order to reach their career goals.

Designing a Leveling Rubric for a Small Company

This article discusses the challenge of developing a leveling rubric for a small company. The author spoke to peers outside of the company to gain insight on how to set up expectations with engineers. After drafting out the rubric, there was pushback from stakeholders. With the help of HR, the rubric was implemented and surveyed employees reported that they felt everything was much more fair. The author learned that having clear expectations made engineers more self-aware and that in a new start-up, the margin for error is very low.

How to Uplift a Competent Employee Troubled by Interpersonal Problems

A senior engineer on the team lacked interpersonal skills, so the manager took it upon themselves to observe and experience the problems first-hand. The manager then implemented a few tactics to help the engineer improve, such as introducing them to a toastmasters club, enrolling them in an external training class, shadowing the manager during meetings, and finding a mentor. Through these implementations, the engineer was able to improve and continues to do so. The manager learned that interpersonal skills can be developed, and that it is important to do one's homework before jumping to conclusions about poor performance.

Finding the Right Moment of Opportunity to Advance Yourself

After working as an individual contributor for many years, the author decided to pursue a career in management. They took the initiative to manage a junior team in their office for a three month period, and received positive feedback. Through this experience, they learned the importance of taking ownership of their career, being a solution provider, staying informed, and having conversations with their managers.

Testing, Learning, and Improving: Building a Successful System Progressively

A collective of six teams distributed across the world and several time zones needed to bridge knowledge gaps. To address this roadblock, the Spotify squad model was adapted to match the company's needs. This involved creating dynamic squads around customer-focused problem statements. After gaining buy-in from leadership and the engineering team, the new system was tested and improved upon. After three quarters, the problem was solved and the team leader gained a newfound sense of confidence in their ability to lead. The experience also taught the value of a test-and-learn approach to problem solving and improved communication skills.

Standing up for an Employee in Trouble

A conflict arose between two teams when one team wanted to contribute code to an application owned by the other team. One of the junior engineers made some optimization suggestions which were not taken well by the other team, leading to bullying. The manager of the first team intervened by getting the full story and speaking to the manager of the other team. The engineers apologized for their inappropriate language and the incident was used as an example of how not to behave. The manager learned the importance of conflict resolution and protecting their team.

Making the Most of User Data in Early-Stage Products

When tracking data in early-stage products, two main challenges are knowing what to measure and how to measure it, and being careful not to be blindsided by data. Product leaders should have a profound understanding of how a product will be used and set metrics accordingly, while also complementing data with qualitative metrics. Data can tell any story depending on how it is interpreted, so it should be coupled with a holistic understanding of a product and its users. People should approach data with a fresh mind and let it speak for itself, without letting presupposed narratives influence the interpretation.

Mentorship Troubles: Finding the Right Fit

Finding the right mentor is an important part of mentorship, and it can be difficult to find the right fit. Self-reflection and prioritization of problems can help narrow down the search. Additionally, there are various avenues to connect with potential mentors, such as formalized mentorship rings, Facebook groups, and experienced leaders in other departments. Ultimately, understanding the avenues of how and when to connect should precede who to connect with.

Switching Career From Engineering to Product Management

This article is about the journey of transitioning from a software engineering role to a product management role. The author studied online resources and took courses to better understand the role of a product manager, and talked to a number of product managers to gain a better understanding of the company context. They then had an open conversation with their manager about their career plan and gradually shifted their work ratio from 80/20 in favor of software engineering to 50/50. The author learned that there are many paths to product management and that companies often look for prior PM experience, which can include passion projects and side hustles. They also suggest applying for an associate PM role as many companies run programs welcoming people switching careers or coming from non-traditional backgrounds.

Balancing Expectations of Multiple Stakeholders

This organization's goal is to enable engineering teams to build and ship products faster and safer. The challenge is managing the expectations of multiple stakeholders to come up with solutions that benefit many teams. Actions taken include engaging with stakeholders, understanding their expectations, analyzing data, and finding a core solution that has the highest reach and biggest impact. Lessons learned include balancing expectations, being collaborative, and being honest.

The Limits to Improvement

In my previous job, I led the air products team and noticed that a section of our users couldn't book a direct flight. We conducted user research and found that many users had to make multiple bookings to reach their destination, taking a lot of time. We built an algorithm to determine the money value of time and an API to show users direct flights and other opportunities with connecting flights. We encountered a number of challenges, and when we launched the product in the pilot phase, we received complaints. We eventually expanded the product to international flights, but it didn't gain much traction. We learned that we could have done better user testing and failed to explain our value proposition clearly.

Establishing the Goals for an Acquired Organization

A year ago, the author joined the office of a startup bought by their current company with the intent to expand their product across the US and globally. Through conversations with stakeholders and user research, the author proposed a flywheel structure and identified critical narratives and key metrics to measure performance. They also identified four future value streams and personas, and set goals for each vertical with key metrics. The team grew from two to ten members, and the business increased 8x in the next year according to the current plan. The author learned to build trust, think about users when building the team, not rush to hire people, and go deep to add value.

Understanding a Product Domain

A product leader was approached by the CPO to lead a platform consisting of consumer payments, data products, data science, analytics, and business intelligence. Despite having no knowledge of payments, the product leader took on the challenge and upgraded their knowledge in a short period of time. They identified three areas of work and deep dived into each one, learning the ins and outs of the domain. Through their hard work and dedication, they were able to become competent in the new domain and lead the team with confidence. The product leader learned that to create an impact, they need to be passionate and understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Managing an IC Who Is Getting Ahead of the Project Timeline

A Lead Engineer was very enthusiastic about a new feature within the company's suite of offerings, but the manager was concerned about moving too quickly and potentially harming the brand. To manage the situation, the manager suggested talking to users to gain insight before moving forward. The manager also redirected the Engineer's energy to generic features that would be part of the feature no matter what direction it took. The key lesson learned was to manage expectations around timelines and to connect the Engineer to the customer's needs.

Using Pre-Mortems to Set the Stage for a Successful Product Launch

This article discusses the importance of creating a great user experience in order to incentivize drivers to return. It suggests pre-mortems as a way to anticipate potential challenges and to build team unity. Pre-mortems involve the entire team coming together to consider worst-case scenarios and to identify common denominators. The goal is to make the process fun and to hold people accountable while still making the goal tangible.

Challenging the Status Quo

Women in the professional world often face pressure to be "nice" and filter their thoughts through what others expect of them, leading to a lack of authenticity and undervaluing of their talents. Through the guidance of mentors, the author has learned to be her authentic self and to provide feedback and mentorship to other women in the industry. She has also learned the importance of pushing back and developing her own perspective in order to be successful.

Branching Out Your Skillset as a Junior

This advice encourages juniors to focus on learning continuously instead of following a specific career ladder. It suggests that by changing their perspectives and taking on new opportunities, they can unlock a lot of different things in their path. It also encourages collaboration and communication with peers and mentors to help them reach their goals. Ultimately, it is a personal decision to decide what to learn and how to go about it.

Healing Broken Trust in Your Team

This article discusses the common disconnect between management and frontline engineers in startups. It outlines the actions taken by the author to address the situation, such as redefining team values, clarifying roles, and asking tough questions to stakeholders. The author also shares lessons learned, such as the importance of setting up team values, understanding the 'why' of the team's actions, and clarifying roles.