SWLW #595: My role as a founder CTO, AI Product Management, and more.

Like always, sharing my best findings for the week. 

 

This Week's Favorite

Three Product Decisions Every Team Needs to Make (Video)
71 minutes read.

So many interesting takeaways from this interview with Jean-Michel Lemieux (ex-Shopify CTO and ex-Atlassian VP Eng). Brilliant take on "What slows companies down is time horizon friction," the idea that companies need to build movements and community over products (narrative -> stories), and "I'd love to build a multi-million dollar business with the least amount of people possible." You can see the clarity in his thinking and realization of what's really important.

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Culture

Indie Devs When It’s Time to Do Marketing
1 minute read.

My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile on your face.

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Execution > Strategy
5 minutes read.

The "effort/investment stack" suggested here can help guide your decision-making in reducing risk. The entire idea behind Lean Startup was to figure out the minimal viable (and monetizable, if possible) product to build. I agree with this analysis: "When you become a strong executor, strategic questions start to crystallize and sort themselves really quickly." -- Both execution and strategy are essential and should help the company transition between scaling phases and maturity levels regarding your organization, product(s), and technology.

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Zuckerberg's Emails About the Instagram Deal Are a Masterclass in Business Strategy and Are Worth Studying. (Thread)
4 minutes read.

Reading old internal emails of successful companies can teach us a lot about how leaders analyze and act (quickly) in certain situations. You can notice how Mark framed his thinking (e.g., "we're buying time" and "finite number of social mechanics") and created buy-in while staying honest about his perception of the business and opportunities. $1B felt like a lot back then for a social app. This is maybe one of the best acquisitions of all time (at the same level as Google acquiring Youtube.)

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AI Product Management
6 minutes read.

As more companies adopt and leverage LLM, we'll see a shift in the roles and expertise the industry needs to develop. The most significant area that will change how we work, the tools we create, and the process we need to change is covered under "Feasibility Risk": "Generative AI, by its nature, is probabilistic, not deterministic. [...] This leads directly to the critical topic of quality assurance. What are acceptable error rates? What are the possible types of mistakes? How will the product handle each type of mistake? Are there ways to mitigate mistakes with the user experience?"

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Peopleware

My Role as a Founder CTO: Year Six
8 minutes read.

I enjoy reading about the ups & downs as part of the journey of building a company. It gives you some perspective and teaches you a lot about the type of War Stories and Wins we all face as part of this messiness of running a company that impacts the world (thus, people notice when you're down and cheer for you when you make their life better): "Life keeps moving forward, with its share of highs and lows. Life is too short, so you have to ensure the journey remains fun. For me, that means working with people who inspire me, and serving customers I genuinely care about."

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Moodboard: On Storytelling and the Storytellers
6 minutes read.

Learning to communicate better is one of the highest leverages we can improve as a skill. Even as builders, we have to explain what we've built, who it is useful for, and why they should use it now. I like this moodboard to get inspiration for what's important when we try to convey our message. I've added it to my bookmarks to revisit every two weeks.

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10 Must-Reads for Engineering Leaders
6 minutes read.

Anton Zaides covers 10 great books with his main takeaways (and why you should read them) and additional resources you can follow to inspire you to become a better leader. I still find "High Output Management" the best management and leadership book ever written in our industry, so start there. If you're a Director+ or Staff+ level, the book Extreme Ownership should be an internal compass you use to make sure you act as an executive.

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And finally, inspiring tweets...

@destraynor: Makers don't hate. Haters don't make. True then, true now, true always.

@useintro: "Don't worry about people stealing your idea. If it's any good, everyone will dismiss it." - @bchesky (CEO of Airbnb)
 


p.s. if you're interested in joining SWLW's Slack channel, simply reply to this email and let me know. If you're leading a team, consider writing your Manager README (it's free) or getting my e-book and interviews Leading Snowflakes: The New Engineering Manager's Handbook. You can also support me by becoming a SWLW Patron. Thank you ❤️




Keep reading, keep learning.
-- Oren Ellenbogen.