2022 Year in Review: 10 Lessons From My Journey as a Creator and Product Leader
2022 Year in Review: 10 Lessons From My Journey as a Creator and Product LeaderCreators and product leaders have more in common than you thinkDear subscribers, For my last post of the year, I want to share 10 lessons from my journey as a creator and a product leader. Many of the lessons below I learned the hard way. I hope you find them valuable as you make plans for 2023. Lessons as a creatorThis year, I grew to 100K followers across social and 35K email subscribers. I also built a crypto education portal and launched a product management course. Here’s what I learned as a creator: 1. Work backwards from the outcomeCreators need to work backwards from a specific outcome that their customers want. Amazon’s working backwards questions are very relevant for creators. For example, Justin Welsh built a multi-million business by answering:
If you don’t have crisp answers to these questions, experiment until you find out. 2. Teach, entertain, understandCreators need to address core needs and create emotion to go viral. All of my most viral tweets meet one of the needs below:
But going viral is overrated, because… 3. Consistency > Going viralCreators need to build a content system that helps them publish consistently. I tweet almost everyday and publish a newsletter post every two weeks. Here's how I stay consistent despite having a full time job and 2 kids:
The above process helps me avoid the "staring at the blank page" problem. 4. Connection > audience80% of the value from having an audience comes from the DMs. I made more friends online than in real life this year. Here’s how I build connection online with people I respect:
I did many amazing interviews with product leaders (e.g., Ethan Evans, Ravi Mehta) and founders (e.g., Dan Romero, Nat Emodi) from making these connections. 5. Community is a full time jobBuilding a thriving community is a big commitment. I built a 6,000 person crypto community and then downsized it to 60 people. Along the way, I learned that a great community requires:
The best communities that I’m part of (e.g., Lenny Rachitsky and Daniel Vassallo) all meet the criteria above. If you’re not ready to make the commitment, I encourage you to engage your followers on social as a more lightweight way to build community. Lessons as a product leaderThis year, I scaled a new product from to millions of users with a great team at Reddit. But then the economy crashed and many people were impacted. I started looking for a new job and am lucky to have found one building for creators that I’m really excited about (more on the job in a future post). Here’s what I learned as a product leader: 1. Build community to build better productDifferent PMs excel in different functions. For me, I can’t build good products if I can’t talk to customers on a regular basis and ideally, become the customer. Community building is a superpower that most PMs are not investing in. Here’s how you can build one for your product:
For more, see my post on community-led product development. 2. Apply the PSHE framework to look up and aroundI never liked PM career ladders because they feel like a game of checking the boxes. The PSHE framework by Shishir (CEO of Coda) simplies a PM’s career journey:
For more, see my thread on the PSHE framework. 3. Find your zone of geniusOver 100,000 employees have been laid off from tech companies already. This year, I learned how important it is to find and leverage my zone of genius:
I was able to quickly land a great job because I focused my search on companies that wanted my zone of genius and track record for creators and community building. For more, see my post on how to land a great job in the tech recession. 4. The ladder is not the only career path for PMsThe default PM career ladder is: PM → Senior PM → GPM → Director → VP. But not everyone wants to manage a large org. There are many paths to success for product leaders beyond climb the ladder (thanks to Shreyas’ course). For example, I learned to not always take the job with the fancier title. There are other factors (e.g., impact, scope, money) that are worth considering. 5. Creator and employee can be win-winMany successful creators are also excellent employees. Some employers are wary of employees who also create content online. Here’s my (admittedly biased) point of view:
Companies and creators should look for the win-win. What does success look like to you in 2023?On Christmas day, my 1-year old daughter woke up with a barking cough and gasping breaths. We drove her to the ER where she was diagnosed with croup, a viral infection that constrains kids’ upper airways and makes it hard for them to breathe. She’s fine now but this scare reminded me of what’s truly important in life. Too often, we only set goals for our careers. Instead, I encourage you to have a broader definition of success that includes:
The above is how I’d like to think my priorities are ranked. But if I were to be honest, I often get antsy when I spend a whole day with my family without thinking about work or creating content. I need to practice what I preach more in 2023. I’ll leave you with this. Society has taught us to chase things like money, fame, and status.
I think that’s the best way to create cherished memories that last a lifetime. I wish everyone who’s reading this an amazing 2023. If you’ve read this far, I’ve spent 50+ hours during the break to prepare my live course for new and aspiring product managers (January 6-8). Use the code EARLYBIRDPM to get $100 off. |
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Nat Emodi (Highlight, Ex-GM Doordash): NFT Business Models and the Hope for a More Sustainable Future
Monday, December 12, 2022
A year after the hype, how are creators using NFTs and where do we go from here?
Ravi Mehta (Outpace, Ex-CPO Tinder): How to Define Your Product and Career Strategy
Thursday, December 8, 2022
Bringing clarity to mission, strategy, roadmap, and goals for your product and career
My PM Course is Now Open for Enrollment (Get $100 Off for a Limited Time)
Sunday, November 27, 2022
Actionable advice for new and aspiring PMs to accelerate their product career
How to Land a Great Job in the Tech Recession
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
A practical guide to getting your mind right, making a plan, and landing on your feet
Dan Romero (Farcaster): Building a Web3 Social Network for Thoughtful Conversations
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
How Farcaster is combining the best of web2 and web3 to scale thoughtfully
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