Product Habits - What the best managers do

The Most Important Quality in a Mentor or Coach

This week, one of my favorite tweets comes from Adam Grant, who says the essential quality great mentors, teachers, or coaches have isn't how much they know—it's how much they care. I've found this to be accurate time and time again. Find people who celebrate your growth and keep them close. 

Raising Capital as a Pseudonymous Founder

Among crypto startups, founding team pseudonymity is becoming a common practice. It comes with its set of challenges when you're looking to fundraise, but it's certainly not impossible. Here are the investor expectations you should be aware of if some or all of your team works under a pseudonym. 

How Stack Overflow Uses Flexible Leadership

Stack Overflow is the world's largest software developer network and platform, serving almost 100 million monthly visitors. Surprisingly, the leadership style at the company is non-dualistic and relies on a combination of empathy, flexibility, and context. In short, the company assumes there are likely multiple answers to any particular challenge. These are the steps the company takes to practice flexible leadership. 

How Would You Improve LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a tech goliath. But even the best products could use improvement. I asked people on Twitter what they would improve about LinkedIn if they were the Head of Product. The responses are fascinating—check them out here. What would you change about LinkedIn's product? 

Stop Being the Hero

Most product leaders focus on solving the practical top layer of a problem, focusing primarily on features. But the best product leaders solve all three layers—practical, emotional, and narrative—of a problem. When you understand the other two layers, you start asking better questions and building a competitive edge. Every product leader should read this.

What Nobody Tells You About Software Documentation

The secret to writing good software documentation is that it contains four components: tutorials, how-to guides, technical references, and explanations. Each one serves a different purpose. When you include all four, your documentation becomes more robust and enables your team to be more successful in the future. This presentation is worth watching. 

Marketing for Engineers

I found this curated collection of marketing articles and tools to help engineers grow their products, and it's as comprehensive as it gets. The guide covers everything from user research to marketing automation to product pricing. I highly recommend bookmarking this page for reference—whether you're an engineer or a seasoned marketer.

How To Accelerate Growth in 2022

It seems that most startups are hyper-focused on growth lately. Growth will always be important, but before you double down on it, make sure you have a good foundation in place. It starts with attracting the right talent and getting more from your existing customers. Don't prioritize customer acquisition until you've done these things first.  

An Important Skill for Every Leader

Empathy is a crucial trait for every leader, particularly those with software engineering backgrounds transitioning into people management. Empathy isn't an easy or simple skill, but it's the one trait every great leader shares. This is an inspiring read about how you can cultivate more empathy in your role as a leader.