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Meet Aaron 'Ronnie' Chatterji, Indian-American who is OpenAI’s first chief economist
- Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji, a professor of business and public policy at Duke University, has been appointed as OpenAI’s first Chief Economist.
- With extensive experience in academia and government, including roles in the Obama and Biden administrations, Chatterji will lead research on AI’s economic impact. His focus will include how AI affects job creation, economic growth, and global market trends.
- Previously, Chatterji served as the CHIPS coordinator in the Biden administration and as Chief Economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce. His appointment signals OpenAI's growing influence in shaping AI's role in the global economy.
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ADPList’s Newsletter
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How to succeed at design interviews
- Landing a role in the competitive field of product design often comes down to the interview. Therefore, it's essential to communicate your value and experience effectively. In this post, Staff Product Designer Meghan Logan outlines 5 stages of the interview process, including the recruiter screen, whiteboard challenge, and portfolio review, and how to excel during each one with tips from leaders at Meta, Airbnb, and Mixpanel. Preparation, communication, storytelling, collaboration, and emphasizing business goals are critical to success. Logan also created the Product Design Interview Playbook, which offers comprehensive guidance and actionable strategies.
- In the recruiter screen, research the company thoroughly and align its values with your personal motivations. During the whiteboard challenge, assess your product sense, critical thinking, and collaboration in real time by talking through your problem-solving process out loud. For the most critical part of the interview, the portfolio review, present 1-3 case studies in individual decks for each one and present them as a compelling story.
- Designers often make the mistake of not researching the company thoroughly before the interview. Make sure to tailor your portfolio to match the company’s needs, indicating your design thinking is in line with the company's vision. As you structure your case studies, focus on your thought process, solutions, and related design decisions.
- Communicating your design decisions effectively is crucial during interviews. You must demonstrate your ability to think critically and solve problems through your design and explain why you designed that way. Employers want to observe how you collaborate with cross-functional teams and whether you accept constructive feedback openly.
- One common pitfall of interviews is when designers focus on their aesthetics and personal preferences instead of user needs and business objectives. Companies seek to find a balance between solving user’s problems and meeting business goals, so always bring the offer of taking a balanced approach.
- Apart from providing tips on how to prepare for each stage of the interview, Logan also created the Product Design Interview Playbook, which is a comprehensive guide to design interview success. The playbook dives deeper into crafting portfolio case studies, mastering whiteboard or live design challenges during interviews, and presenting oneself as the best candidate.
- Meghan Logan’s free Product Design Interview Playbook offers actionable insights to navigate the design interview process and succeed in landing a role in the competitive field. The Playbook and Meghan Logan's Course are great resources to refine your approach and showcase your unique strengths.
- Hiring managers want to see how you handle feedback, and a willingness to collaborate with all the teams within the organization shows your flexibility and adaptability. If you think about your design decisions is a critical skill for any product designer.
- The biggest mistake designers can make is failing to tell a story. Case studies presented as steps make for a terribly boring and undifferentiated portfolio. Your portfolio should focus on the “why” behind your design decisions. Creating a PowerPoint slide deck for your portfolio review is a great way to execute your showcase.
- In summary: Research the company thoroughly, focus on the why of your design decisions, communicate your design thinking and accept feedback positively, showcase how you have collaborated with teams in the past, and present your challenges and failures transparently.
- The Product Design Interview Playbook by Meghan Logan dives deeper into mastering the interview process and provides actionable strategies to excel during every stage of the interview. Mastering every step, especially the whiteboard challenge and the portfolio review, is crucial for product design success.
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Lenny's Newsletter
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How much do U.S. product managers really make?
- We recently analyzed over 5,000 survey responses from Lenny’s Newsletter subscribers to answer the question: “How much do U.S. product managers really make?” We are focusing on U.S. product managers at all levels as they are one of the larger segments represented in this community (n=1,740).
- As product managers move up the ranks, salaries predictably increase, especially for individual contributors (ICs). But one surprising twist is that senior ICs often out-earn managers, challenging the assumption that management roles always pay more.
- We uncovered a number of insights in the data, but the biggest and perhaps most unexpected theme is the rise of the IC career path. This trend suggests that the value of ICs is rising, a shift further reinforced by recent layoffs disproportionately affecting middle managers, thus “flattening” organizations.
- Does the company’s stage affect higher senior IC salaries? Yes and no. Among senior ICs at private companies, those earning in the 75th percentile or higher typically work at Series C or later-stage companies.
- Senior ICs still have a higher mode salary band of $175K to $200K compared with $150K to $175K for senior managers, and senior IC roles have a tighter salary range between the low and high points in the range than senior manager roles.
- The correlation between total compensation package (salary, equity, and bonus) and satisfaction is 0.31, indicating a moderate positive relationship. This suggests that as compensation increases, satisfaction with total compensation also tends to increase, but the relationship is not overly strong, as you might expect.
- The data shows that job level is one of the strongest predictors of salary. This means that if you want to increase your earnings, focus on advancing your role, whether through a higher IC level or transitioning to management.
- For employers, understanding the value of experienced ICs is crucial. Senior ICs play vital roles in driving product success and can command salaries that rival management roles.
- By focusing on the job level and offering a well-rounded compensation package, both job seekers and employers can create win-win scenarios in today’s competitive market.
- For round three, we plan to team up with Pave, domain experts in the compensation space, to share data (including equity and bonus benchmarks) and trends related to this segment and others.
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Minis
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CEO denies employee's 2-day wedding leave: "We Have 2 Critical Projects..."
- Lauren Tickner, CEO of a British marketing company, denied an employee’s request for a two-day leave for their wedding, citing two critical projects and the employee's failure to train a replacement after already taking 2.5 weeks off.
- Tickner shared her reasoning on Threads, stating the company’s "Flexible Time Off" policy allows employees to take leave without approval but stressed the need for preparation.
- Her post sparked debate, with critics questioning the fairness of the policy and pointing out contradictions. Some accused Tickner of “rage-baiting” to provoke reactions and increase engagement.
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Elon Musk's xAI offers Rs 5000 per hour for this job role
- Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is hiring AI tutors for remote, full-time positions lasting six months, offering Rs 5,000 per hour.
- The role involves generating high-quality, accurately labeled data to train natural language processing algorithms. Key responsibilities include using proprietary software for data labeling, collaborating with technical staff, and refining generative AI models.
- Candidates should possess strong research, communication, and organizational skills, along with proficiency in English and excellent reading comprehension. The job listings are currently live on LinkedIn, indicating multiple openings for interested applicants.
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Minis
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Billionaire CEO shares his 2 biggest interview red flags
- Billionaire Jay Chaudhry, CEO of Zscaler, has founded multiple companies and interviewed countless candidates.
- He identifies two major interview red flags. First, he avoids those who focus on “building fiefdoms,” emphasizing resources like budget and team size over growth and creativity. Chaudhry values candidates who can achieve results with what they have.
- Second, he steers clear of those who “package their results to look good.” Instead, he looks for people who focus on continuous improvement, not just making their work appear successful. At Zscaler, 90% of meeting time is spent finding areas for growth.
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Asking these 4 questions at work can make you more successful, says psychologist
- Building deeper connections at work can lead to success, says organizational psychologist Richard Davis.
- He suggests asking colleagues four key questions to understand their personality traits, such as intellect and sociability: Who was an early influencer in your life? How are you similar or different from them? Who is in your close circle of friends? What are your friend turn-offs? These questions reveal important insights into colleagues’ core values, helping build stronger workplace relationships.
- A 2023 survey found 85% of workers with authentic connections reported career benefits. Davis also stresses the importance of self-awareness—understanding yourself first helps you build meaningful relationships with others in the workplace.
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Minis
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What Is The 'Unhappy Leave' Workplace Trend?
- In response to rising dissatisfaction among workers, a new trend called "unhappy leave" is gaining traction.
- This concept allows employees to take time off when feeling emotionally unwell, aiming to enhance mental health in the workplace. A recent report indicated that 70% of Indian workers are unhappy due to poor work culture and lack of growth.
- Notably, Chinese retail chain Pang Dong Lai has introduced 10 days of unhappy leave annually, emphasizing employee autonomy. As mental health awareness grows, companies are adopting similar policies, fostering a positive work environment that values emotional well-being alongside productivity.
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Minis
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Delhi CEO shares job-seeker’s cover letter with glaring mistakes, blames ChatGPT
- A Delhi CEO, Ananya Narang, founder of content-as-a-service platform Entourage, shared a humorous yet frustrating job application on X, highlighting significant errors.
- The candidate used a template cover letter but neglected to replace placeholders with personal details, saying, “I'm proficient in [mention your key skills].” Narang lamented the state of unemployment, suggesting the candidate likely relied on ChatGPT without proper proofreading.
- Amused by the situation, she sought advice on how to respond, noting the irony that the applicant may have been vying for a content-related role at a company focused on branding and digital content creation.
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Lenny's Newsletter
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Why no productivity hack will solve your overwhelm
- The major hidden driver of productivity and burnout issues at work is inner conflict.
- Looking outside yourself to solve overwhelm is a trap; to get to the next level externally, you have to start by looking inside.
- We all have many different parts that make up who we are; secret to internal and external success lies in learning to recognize and integrate these parts.
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an effective method for navigating the workplace conflicts, for example taking on a new project, negotiating your salary or constructive feedback.
- IFS can help us turn toward that tension constructively so we can build the clarity and courage required for the next evolution of our professional development.
- IFS approach involves meeting and getting to know our parts, validating that each part of us is valuable and wise, and facilitating better ongoing internal collaboration so that they can work together on the same team.
- It is not enough to simply understand these concepts, rather one must aim to feel it and apply it.
- Facilitating a more effective dialogue between different parts of you can help break through stuckness, overcome procrastination, and care for (rather than bully) yourself more in the process.
- Learning how to notice and listen more effectively to the competing voices within you can help you develop a more integrated, aligned and collaborative self.
- The IFS process can bring surprisingly powerful results in helping facilitate better, ongoing internal collaboration so that our parts can work together towards a common goal.
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Minis
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The 5 Most In-Demand Skills In 2025
- AI Fluency: By 2025, mastering AI tools and understanding their applications will be crucial for career success.
- Digital Transformation Leadership: Leaders who guide organizations through digital changes with strategic insight will be highly valued.
- Perpetual Learning: Continuous upskilling will be vital as new technologies rapidly evolve, making learning agility a must for staying relevant.
- Strategic Problem-Solving: Human problem-solving will remain irreplaceable, even as AI capabilities grow.
- Emotional Intelligence: Empathy, communication, and relationship-building will be critical for leadership, especially in remote or hybrid work environments.
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Minis
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The Theobroma story: Sisters behind ₹3,500 crore bakery eye India’s largest cash exit
- Theobroma, founded in 2004 by sisters Kainaz and Tina Messman, is set for a monumental cash exit with a potential acquisition valued at ₹3,500 crore.
- Starting as a one-room bakery in Mumbai’s Colaba, the duo grew the brand into a 225-outlet national chain, filling a gap in India’s baking scene with European-style desserts.
- Despite early funding challenges, they secured a ₹5 crore loan in 2014, which fueled expansion. Now, ChrysCapital is reportedly finalizing the acquisition, making this one of India’s largest founder cash exits, marking the Messman sisters' remarkable entrepreneurial journey.
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Leah’s ProducTea
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How to un-suck your product with experimentation
- Benchmark is a false promise, focus on fixing the issues with experimentation.
- Product and growth management requires experimenting with various ideas.
- Experimentation should be simple and trackable, with easy deployment and analysis.
- Find a good metric to embody the product and track user engagement.
- Learn how to experiment quickly before shipping good experiments.
- To retain users, ask them why they became power users and why they left.
- Differentiate between activation and retention to improve overall experience.
- Create mini-moments to gradually improve activation rate.
- Features attract and retain differently, ensure the core value proposition is retained.
- Setting up a fast cadence to test is more important than finding the next big thing.
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Minis
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The Pomodoro Technique; why it works & how to do it
- The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method where you work in focused 25-minute intervals (called pomodoros), followed by a 5-minute break.
- Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, this technique enhances productivity by minimizing distractions and preventing burnout. To maximize its effectiveness, break down complex tasks, combine small tasks, and commit to uninterrupted work during each pomodoro.
- After four sessions, take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. This method not only improves focus and motivation but also helps in tracking time and gamifying productivity, making work feel more manageable and rewarding.
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Minis
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Chennai company gifts 28 cars including Mercedes Benz to employees to ‘boost morale’
- Chennai-based company, Team Detailing Solutions, gifted 28 cars and 29 bikes to its employees to boost morale and enhance productivity.
- The vehicles, ranging from Maruti Suzuki to Mercedes Benz, were presented as a token of appreciation for the workers' dedication and performance. Managing Director Sridhar Kannan highlighted the employees’ exceptional commitment, emphasizing that they are the company's greatest assets.
- The company, which has about 180 employees from humble backgrounds, also offers marriage assistance, recently increasing the amount from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh. Employees can upgrade vehicles by covering the additional cost themselves.
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