Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconve…
Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconventional product advice | Alex Komoroske (Stripe, Google)Alex Komoroske, ex-Google and Stripe, now co-founds a startup to reimagine the web with AI. Discover his views on product, strategy, and organizational growth.Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. Brought to you by: • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments — Alex Komoroske is a strategic leader who merges the practice, theory, and mindset necessary to tackle complex problems. He spent 13 years at Google, where he worked on Search and DoubleClick and led Chrome’s Open Web Platform. He also spearheaded Augmented Reality in Google Maps and developed toolkits to align companywide strategy from the ground up. After serving as Head of Corporate Strategy at Stripe, he is now co-founding a startup aimed at reimagining the web for the AI era. Alex created the popular “Slime Molds” deck, which offers fresh insights into organizational dynamics. He is also the author of the widely read “Bits and Bobs,” a collection of thought-provoking reflections.
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unconventional-product-advice-alex-komoroske Some takeaways:
Where to find Alex Komoroske: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-komoroske-6597336/ • Website: https://www.komoroske.com/ Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Alex (01:53) Alex’s Bits and Bobs document (06:20) The Compendium and note-taking process (10:10) The impact of AI and LLMs on product development (14:24) Skills to lean into as a product manager (19:02) How AI makes us better as individuals (23:04) Organizational kayfabe (31:48) Gardening vs. building (34:46) Emergence-oriented thinking (41:55) Slime molds and organizational structure (45:15) Identifying resonant ideas (47:05) The power of metaphors (48:02) Strategy salons and nerd clubs (52:30) Building and sustaining communities (55:59) Productivity hacks and self-control (01:01:04) Life philosophy and personal insights (01:07:52) The adjacent possible (01:15:56) Lightning round Referenced: • Bits and Bobs Google Doc: https://groups.google.com/g/komoroske-updates/c/2rPJ9EyKVYY?pli=1 • The Compendium: https://thecompendium.cards/ • WebSim: https://websim.ai/ • Dylan Field live at Config: Intuition, simplicity, and the future of design: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/dylan-field-live-at-config • Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/ • Claude: https://claude.ai • Steve Jobs on Why Computers Are Like a Bicycle for the Mind (1990): https://www.themarginalian.org/2011/12/21/steve-jobs-bicycle-for-the-mind-1990/ • Kayfabe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe • Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration: https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012 • How Perplexity builds product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-perplexity-builds-product • Slime Molds: https://komoroske.com/slime-mold/ • Ken Stanley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenneth-stanley-3a159b/ • Evolution through the Search for Novelty Alone: https://www.cs.swarthmore.edu/~meeden/DevelopmentalRobotics/lehman_ecj11.pdf • Tim Urban’s X post on “idea lab” culture: https://x.com/waitbutwhy/status/1639003239801602049 • For self-control, “always” rules are better than “sometimes” rules: https://medium.com/@komorama/for-self-control-always-rules-are-better-than-sometimes-rules-4c38be32f318 • How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Goals by Using the “Seinfeld Strategy”: https://jamesclear.com/stop-procrastinating-seinfeld-strategy • The Iterative Adjacent Possible: https://medium.com/@komorama/the-iterative-adjacent-possible-af3e7038357d • “The Hallmark Card Fallacy” on Infinite Loops: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7IgApdfBjNI • Tim Urban’s website: https://waitbutwhy.com/ • Adnan Ahmad Sheikh’s post on LinkedIn: Happiness = Reality - Expectations (by Tim Urban): https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/happiness-reality-expectations-tim-urban-adnan-ahmad/ • The Origin of Wealth: The Radical Remaking of Economics and What It Means for Business and Society: https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Wealth-Remaking-Economics-Business/dp/1422121038 • Thinking in Systems: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557 • The Green Knight on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Green-Knight-Dev-Patel/dp/B09CP1FMJK • OpenAI Just Released Its Long-Awaited “Strawberry” Model: https://futurism.com/openai-released-strawberry-o1-preview-model Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. You're currently a free subscriber to Lenny's Newsletter. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |
Older messages
Finish signing in to Lenny's Newsletter
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
Here's a link to sign in to Lenny's Newsletter. This link can only be used once and expires in one hour. If expired, please try signing in again here. Sign in now © 2024 2443 Fillmore St., #380
A PM’s guide to influence
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
How to align stakeholders so decisions go your way ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How marketplaces win: Liquidity, growth levers, quality, and more | Benjamin Lauzier (Lyft, Thumbtack, Reforge)
Sunday, September 29, 2024
Benjamin Lauzier discusses marketplace growth, supply-demand tactics, and his new health tech startup, Nurra. Insights from 15+ years in tech and product leadership. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You don’t need to be a well-run company to win: Surprising lessons in product leadership and AI strategy | Tamar Y…
Thursday, September 26, 2024
Tamar Yehoshua shares lessons on scaling products, AI's future, and leadership insights from her roles at Glean, Slack, and Google. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
State of the product job market, part 2
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Which companies are hiring PMs, what hard skills are most in demand, trends in remote work, whether there's been a shift to senior hires, what roles AI companies are hiring for, and so much more ͏
You Might Also Like
thought you’d be interested
Sunday, October 6, 2024
venture capital outlook and emerging trends Hi there, Curious about the biggest trends in VC? And where we see the market shifting next? Then save a spot for this event. CB Insights' senior lead
#200 | GovTech Opportunities, How to measure Product-Market-Fit, & more
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Updated SandHill newsletter; The latest from Sequoia, Crossbeam, A16Z, First Round, and others ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You won't believe what this $500K/year saas does...
Sunday, October 6, 2024
Starter Story's Sunday Breakfast #113 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Becoming a conscious leader: Leading without fear, finding your life’s objective function, and getting better at v…
Sunday, October 6, 2024
JM Nickels shares insights on conscious leadership, product strategy, and emotional intelligence from his time at Uber, Waymo, and DoorDash. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
🛑 Stop wasting time on “branding”—do THIS instead
Sunday, October 6, 2024
The #1 mistake new entrepreneurs make Hi Friend , Ready to stop wasting time and start building a profitable ecommerce business? Join The $1 Challenge: Learn How to Generate Your First Shopify Sale in
🗞 What's New: The problem with OpenAI's new "canvas" feature
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Also: MrBeast's new LinkedIn competitor ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
🧃 How to name your startup + reverse-engineering virality
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Take a sip of your weekend coffee with 2 new episodes of the Startup Ideas Podcast ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
🗝️ The $5.50 sale that changed everything for me
Saturday, October 5, 2024
True story :) Hi Friend , I want to personally invite you to join The $1 Challenge: Learn How to Generate Your First Shopify Sale in 5 Days. Join for Free Challenge_Cover 1x1 This challenge means a lot
💡5 Ways You Can Find Validated Startup Ideas
Saturday, October 5, 2024
+ $1M Revenue per employee startup ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
What’s 🔥 in Enterprise IT/VC #414
Saturday, October 5, 2024
VCs giving 💰 back - dot.com vibes or AI vibes - will there be more or less $10B outcomes? ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏