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Lenny's Newsletter
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Summary: April Dunford on product positioning, segmentation, and optimizing your sales process
- April Dunford is an expert at product positioning and wrote the book on it - Obviously Awesome.
- Positioning defines how your product is the best in the world at delivering some value that a set of companies care about.
- It's hard to measure bad or weak positioning, but you can feel a sluggishness with customers who do not understand the product.
- Most cases April has dealt with are misalignment problems within orgs and not positioning problems.
- The five key steps to figuring out your product’s positioning are: competitive alternatives, unique attributes, translate into value, target customers and the market you win.
- An early-stage company trying to find PMF does not need to nail positioning as it involves a lot of validation of the product hypothesis first.
- Segmentation involves things like firmographics, while personas are created to identify who the internal champion is for prospective buyers.
- Positioning is a precursor to messaging, which is the text on the homepage. Branding is the differentiation for the brand to be distinct.
- April has worked hands-on with over 200 companies on positioning, including Google, IBM, Postman, and Epic Games.
- April helped Help Scout figure out its differentiation, which they found to be their philosophy of customer service.
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Lenny's Newsletter
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Summary: AI and product management | Marily Nika (Meta, Google)
- Marily Nika, an AI Product Lead, suggests that all product managers (PMs) will eventually have to be AI PMs in the future to represent AI-centric views even in transforming their career.
- Nika recommends using AI and machine learning with caution, only after due consideration of the problems to be solved by the products and not for mere MVPs. Further, companies should look at sourcing AI tools directly related to their needs and leverage existing data before developing their own models.
- Moreover, Nika advises that PMs need to become comfortable working with research scientists to get ahead in AI PM roles, with skills such as communication, data analysis and collaboration to excel in corporate settings.
- AutoML, Google's no-code AI tool, reflects the move to disseminating AI and machine learning in more accessible ways.
- The article highlights current developments in the AI field and offers recommendations on staying informed about AI developments, usage of ChatGPT, and building AI-enhanced ideas.
- The article also notes the changing demands in PMs on adopting varying design and implementation skills in areas like machine learning algorithms, AI solutions and provides some suggestions on where to learn these skills.
- Nika especially highlights that PMs must focus on building skill sets to understand underlying mechanisms and should not rely solely on AI and machine learning to augment their capabilities
- PMs should also seek training to become more familiar with communicating with data scientists and making strategic decisions while dealing with uncertainty associated with AI and the product development lifecycle.
- In general, the article provides readers with tips on how to launch an AI-driven product by asking themselves if there is a problem that needs to be solved in a smart way while making sure to start from the problem itself.
- Apart from the technical aspects, the article also emphasizes the importance of creating one's own course that reflects the experience and knowledge of the developer and the need to stay updated on new developments in the AI field.
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Lenny's Newsletter
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Summary: Lessons from working with 600+ YC startups | Gustaf Alströmer (Y Combinator, Airbnb)
- Lessons from working with over 600 startups at Y Combinator shared by Gustaf Alströmer,
- Companies fail when they don't find 'product-market fit' stemmed from not talking to users,
- Early success can cause neglect of customer input driven by external validation and investments,
- Founders fear users will dislike their product, but usually users are simply indifferent toward it,
- Talk to your users, learn what they want, and create products that address their needs.
- Successful founders understand what failure looks like; they have excellent communication skills, good at storytelling, figure out how to talk to users and make progress,
- Successful founders are determined to win, have both confidence and humility, and focus on execution instead of strategy pre-product market fit,
- YC is good at predicting what failure looks like, and the most helpful indicator is progress made during weekly office hours,
- YC works to help startups find focus and product-market fit to prevent failure and advises against acts of desperation,
- Climate tech is a lucrative market with substantial economic incentives and cutting-edge technological innovations,
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Lenny's Newsletter
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288
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Time management techniques that actually work
- Using your calendar for to-dos is a better approach than adding to-dos to an app.
- If a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately instead of adding it to the to-do list.
- Creating a waiting for list ensures you don't drop the ball when someone else is delaying a task you need.
- Pick 1-3 things you must accomplish each day before opening your to-do list.
- Creating Deep Work time allows for focused, uninterrupted, and valuable cognitive processing.
- Saying No is important. If you overcommit, your productivity significantly reduces.
- Protect work async because it improves efficiency by pivoting meeting requests to email conversations.
- Get assistance for low-impact work by hiring virtual assistants who can take care of smaller tasks.
- Scheduling meetings starting from later in the day helps to save deep work time in the morning.
- Use 'Do Not Disturb' mode to eliminate distractions during deep work time.
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Minis
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Thousands of Corporate Secrets Were Left Exposed. This Guy Found Them All
- Since 2021, security researcher Bill Demirkapi has identified over 15,000 developer secrets, including passwords and API keys, and exposed vulnerabilities on 66,000 websites using unconventional data sources.
- His efforts, revealed at Defcon, uncovered sensitive data from entities such as Nebraska’s Supreme Court, Stanford University, and OpenAI customers. Demirkapi’s methods involve scanning massive data repositories like VirusTotal for leaked credentials and dangling domains.
- While Demirkapi alerted some companies, limitations exist in broader reporting mechanisms, particularly with platforms like GitHub and Amazon Web Services. His work highlights the need for innovative strategies to enhance online security.
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Lenny's Newsletter
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349
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Summary: The ultimate guide to adding a PLG motion | Hila Qu (Reforge, GitLab)
- PLG (Product-led Growth) is popular due to the shift from sales-driven B2B business models to user-focused, try-before-you-buy tactics.
- PLG is perfect for lowering the barrier for more people to try the product and broaden the reach, while sales motion is for a very targeted list of big customers.
- The first step to adding a PLG motion to a B2B company is to either have a free product, free trial, some sort of low barrier entry for anyone who stumbles upon the product to give it a try.
- PLG is a complete motion that requires commitment and a well-thought-out roadmap, potentially spanning a year or more.
- Companies that want to do PLG but lack usage data are setting themselves up for failure.
- Not every company needs to add a PLG piece, it’s a spectrum. However, the majority of B2B software companies fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum and can benefit from integrating elements of PLG into their growth strategy.
- In terms of tool recommendations for setting up an initial stack for product-led growth, Hila Qu mentions several key pieces: infrastructure tools, product analytics tools, experimentation tools, lifecycle marketing tools, data enrichment tools, onboarding tools, and conversion tools.
- The most critical role for an MVP PLG team is the growth PM (Product Manager) who leads the team.
- PLG is a key asset in a product-led growth strategy, and a well-structured data infrastructure can ensure this asset is leveraged effectively.
- To move from just a PLG team to a PLG organization, it is crucial to determine the metrics that each team will own.
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The Beautiful Mess
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TBM 303: The Current Tech Puzzle (With Diverse Takes)
- Tech companies are facing several problems such as duplicative administrative tasks, an onslaught of meetings, and shifting strategies which are resulting in long work hours for managers.
- Increasing demand for managers to get into details has made work much harder. Teams are filling out engagement surveys, resulting in leadership calling for managers to get into the details as well.
- Managers are drowning in low-value work, however, the fear of layoffs prevents them from calling out the current problems in tech companies.
- Meaningful change requires reducing Work In Progress (WIP) and changing architecture, code ownership, and business model. However, the shifting technological and economical climates result in naturally hectic situations.
- Teams are likely to be playing an evermore elaborate game of Tetris to cope which exacerbates problems and makes investing time in “boring” work, harder to refactor and improve.
- Leadership needs to focus on removing out-dated work practices and enforcing processes that encourage team members to say “no” without escalating things up the chain.
- For dissent to be allowed and welcomed, leaders have to communicate effectively with each other and remove development-by-committee practices.
- Limiting the work in progress (WIP) has been cited as the key to solving problems related to administrative overhead, reducing technical debt and increasing productivity.
- The current context requires firms and leaders to recognize the different phases, corresponding to different gears, of market conditions, customer readiness, capability maturity, economic willingness to pay, competitive alternatives, etc. and allow the gears to shift accordingly.
- It is imperative that leadership establishes a clear process for concerns, build trust, and create an environment where failures are acceptable and seen as learning opportunities.
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Minis
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1.7k
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Uday Shankar, the 15-Year-Old Redefining AI in India
- Uday Shankar, a 15-year-old prodigy from India, is revolutionizing the AI landscape as the CTO of Urav Advanced Learning System Pvt Ltd in Kochi, Kerala.
- Dropping out of school in eighth grade, Uday followed his passion for science and technology, mastering skills in AI, augmented reality, and game development. He has authored four research papers, holds three patents, and created fifteen games, nine programs, and seven apps.
- His notable projects include the "Hi Friends" app, enabling users to create avatars and communicate in any language, and "Clean Alka," an AI chatbot. Uday’s achievements earned him the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Ignited Mind Award 2030.
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Lenny's Newsletter
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435
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Improve strategy, influence, and decision-making by understanding your brain | Evan LaPointe (founder of CORE Sciences)
- Evan LaPointe is the founder of CORE Sciences, which teaches companies and individuals how our brains work and how that translates to improved collaboration, better products, faster decision-making, and more growth.
- Understanding the different systems of the brain can help you become more influential, increase productivity and creativity, and improve your vision and strategy skills.
- Structure meetings with diamond thinking to generate diverse ideas before focusing on decision-making.
- Creating a supportive “habitat” and team environment that values different ways of thinking can prevent issues like excessive focus on ROI or rigid adherence to procedures.
- To build better relationships at work, focus on being a positive experience, assess and build trust at three levels and encourage open, honest discussions about differing beliefs and opinions.
- Enhancing focus can be achieved by allocating time for activities that foster daydreaming and creativity, designating specific times for focused, high-output tasks, and setting aside dedicated periods for deep, intensive work.
- Stop assuming people are similar to you. Instead, build the muscle for getting along with people very different from you.
- The brain has three main systems: safety, reward, and purpose. Understanding how these systems work can help you optimize your own performance and better motivate your team.
- When faced with a problem or decision, identify which “department” of your brain you’re using, and actively choose the department to consult based on the problem at hand.
- Reverse engineer your desired outcome to understand the inputs and processes that lead to that outcome.
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Leah’s ProducTea
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186
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How to find your first ICP Guide
- Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) defines the properties of most valuable customers, while target market or total addressable market includes every possible company that might buy product or service.
- ICP should be a description of perfect customer for B2B SaaS business and encapsulate who customers are from a firmographic perspective as well as their use cases or JTBD.
- Identifying ICP ultimately helps focus on attracting and selling to the right customers and building a product that delivers maximum value to them and in exchange, they stick around the longest, spend the most, and spread the word for you.
- The hidden costs of not defining an ICP include wasted marketing spend, lower conversion rates, increased customer churn, product-market misalignment, inefficient use of resources, loss of competitive edge.
- Quantitative analysis identifies most profitable and loyal customer segments, qualitative analysis provides a deeper understanding of their needs and behaviors, and market analysis validates the opportunity from market perspective.
- ICP should be constantly refining and redefined entirely as gaining a new understanding of market and customers.
- Aligning team around an ICP is one of the single biggest high-impact activities a company can do to reduce churn and accelerate growth.
- Courses like 'How to find your Ideal Customer Profile 'ICP' in B2B SaaS' can be helpful for learning more.
- Defining ICP is not a set-and-forget exercise, and you should be constantly refining and, in some cases, redefining it entirely as you gain a new understanding of the market and your customers.
- Aligning your team around an ICP is one of the single biggest high-impact activities you can do as a company to reduce churn and accelerate growth.
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Minis
3M
12.2k
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1 Lakh Jobs Axed In July In The Technology Sector: How To Secure Your Position Amidst Massive Tech Layoffs In 2024
- In 2024, the tech sector faces unprecedented challenges, with over 124,000 layoffs globally, including 8,000 in July alone. Companies like Intel and Microsoft are cutting jobs due to economic pressures and rapid technological shifts.
- To secure your position, focus on continuous upskilling, particularly in emerging areas like AI and cloud computing. Showcase your achievements, enhance your soft skills, and network strategically both within and outside your organization.
- Adaptability and a proactive approach in high-impact projects are key.
- Additionally, consider diversifying your income and stay informed about industry trends to navigate this volatile landscape.
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Minis
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82.9k
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Demanding a 100% salary hike? Here’s how to negotiate CTC at your new job
- Justify Your Demand: While quoting a high figure is easy, back up your demand with measurable outcomes from your previous job and your plans for the new role.
- Understand the Industry: Research the economic climate and sector. A 100% hike might be unrealistic in a tight job market or declining industry.
- Be Ready to Adjust: Budget constraints might limit salary offers. Flexibility in negotiations can lead to a better overall package.
- Consider Total Compensation: Evaluate other benefits like appraisals, insurance, housing, and stock options.
- Focus on Long-Term Value: Perks like flexible hours, professional development, and bonus schemes contribute significantly to your overall compensation.
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The Beautiful Mess
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195
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TBM 305: Stop the (Goal) Cascade Madness
- Goal cascades are compelling, but they don’t work nearly as well as we think they do.
- Every front-line product team should have an array of stable metrics they care about.
- Teams often say establishing their core metrics is hard if they don’t stay focused on one thing.
- Bets involve unique metrics that are more ephemeral but determine if the thing is working as expected.
- Teams should set goals using a core metric, a bet metric, or some feasible input into #1 or #2.
- There should be a causal model or framework underpinning the goals that mimic the org chart.
- The confusion comes from imagining the teams are at the bottom of the cascade.
- You don’t need big goal cascades in most cases; you only really need two levels of cascading goals.
- Start where it really counts – teams. Yes, leadership should evolve the strategy.
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Minis
3M
10
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How to fill the gap in your resume after a layoff
- Filling resume gaps post-layoff involves highlighting freelancing, volunteering, or short-term contracts. Professor Dame Heather McGregor of Heriot-Watt University advises listing continuous learning and upskilling efforts.
- For fresh graduates, internships and industry-specific experiences are essential, showcasing practical skills and reliability. Even jobs like working in a fish and chip shop demonstrate valuable traits. Employers prioritize technical skills, good grades, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork.
- Universities like Heriot-Watt are forming partnerships with companies, such as their collaboration with TCS on a cybersecurity course, to enhance student employability and bridge industry-academic gaps.
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Lenny's Newsletter
3M
453
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Ethan Smith: The power of internal linking for SEO
- Ethan Smith is the SEO expert who worked with Upwork, Medium, and Masterclass to help them grow their business. SEO involves increasing website visibility to bring in more organic traffic, and good internal linking is an essential, but often overlooked aspect of this. Internal links are a means of connecting pages of the same website, allowing search engines to better understand a site’s structure, distributing link equity and improving the user experience. Ethan recommends 5-10 internal links per page, with anchor text being relevant to the content. Editorial SEO is more effective than programmatic SEO in driving traffic and consists of manually written content. Additionally, AI tools may harm your content by producing inaccurate information.
- Internal linking, an essential aspect of SEO, is often overlooked by companies. It allows search engines to better understand the structure of a site and is a means of distributing link equity and improving the user experience.
- Internal linking is a means of connecting pages of the same website. Good internal links involve both contextual and navigational links.
- Contextual links connect one web page to another internally, within body content, driving deeper engagement with visitors. Navigational links are used in the header, footer or sidebar of a website.
- Internal links, in addition to being a valuable tool for distributing link equity, can also target specific keywords, teach search engines about a website's structure, and improve the user experience.
- Ethan recommends using anchor text that is relevant to the content when linking pages, and at least 5-10 links per page. Additionally, Ethan believes editorial SEO is more effective than programmatic SEO in driving traffic.
- AI tools like ChatGPT have the capability to extract structure, identify topics and perform keyword research, but they shouldn't be used for manual writing. GPT-3 sentences may or may not be accurate.
- Google weighs pages with accurate and relevant content more heavily, so GPT-3 sentences that are unreliable could harm users and business.
- For companies looking to develop an internal linking strategy to improve search rankings, Ethan recommends conducting a site audit, identifying best-performing pages, identifying related content, and linking related content to the best-performing pages.
- Enterprise companies like Masterclass, Medium, and Upwork turned to Ethan Smith to optimize their search engine optimization (SEO). SEO includes increasing website visibility to bring in more organic traffic. Good internal linking is an essential aspect of this.
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