Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Naomi Gleit is head of product at Meta, joined as employee #29, and is the longest-serving executive at Meta other than Mark Zuckerberg. She’s been at the center of some of the company’s most foundational products, including Facebook’s early growth team. In our conversation, we discuss: • How she originally landed at Facebook • The evolution of Facebook’s growth team and key metrics • Lessons from working with Mark Zuckerberg • Insights from Facebook’s activation metric and retention strategies • Leadership lessons and “Naomiisms” for effective product management • Tactics for creating extreme clarity in team communication • Advice for running effective meetings • More — Brought to you by: • Pendo [https://www.pendo.io/lenny]—The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application • Vanta [https://vanta.com/lenny]—Automate compliance. Simplify security • Eppo [https://www.geteppo.com/]—Run reliable, impactful experiments — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/metas-head-of-product-naomi-gleit [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/metas-head-of-product-naomi-gleit] — Where to find Naomi Gleit: • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naomigleit [https://www.instagram.com/naomigleit] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-gleit/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-gleit/] • Website: https://naomi.com/ [https://naomi.com/] — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com] • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan [https://twitter.com/lennysan] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/] — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Naomi Gleit (01:53) Naomi’s journey at Meta (06:18) Landing a job at Facebook (10:40) Becoming a product manager (13:40) Working as Head of Product at Meta (14:55) Insights on working with Mark Zuckerberg (20:04) Small Groups and “disagreeable givers” (24:28) The legendary growth team (33:45) Activation metrics and onboarding (43:44) Naomi’s leadership and PM philosophy (53:00) Canonical documents (55:55) Simplifying complex projects (01:00:33) Teen accounts: a case study (01:06:37) Running effective meetings (01:12:10) The importance of exercise (01:16:36) The role of a product manager (01:25:49) Lightning round — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/ [https://penname.co/]. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com [podcast@lennyrachitsky.com]. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Jessica Hische is a lettering artist and New York Times bestselling author based in Oakland, California. She specializes in typographical work for logos, film, books, and other commercial applications. Her clients include Wes Anderson, The United States Postal Service, Target, Hallmark, and Penguin Books, and her work has been featured in design and illustration annuals both in the U.S. and internationally. She’s been named a Print Magazine New Visual Artist (20 under 30), one of Forbes 30 under 30 in Art and Design, an ADC Young Gun, a “Person to Watch” by GD USA, and an Adweek “Creative 100.” In our conversation, we discuss: • My new logo and brand! • Jessica’s process for refreshing my logo/brand • Why most startups shouldn’t worry about their logo/brand • The psychology behind different typography choices • Balancing creativity with business needs in logo design • Jessica’s unique approach to pricing logo work • How AI is (and isn’t) impacting the design world • Jessica’s other creative pursuits, including children’s books and art supply stores — Brought to you by: • The Enterprise Ready Conference [https://www.enterprise-ready.com/] — For B2B leaders building enterprise SaaS • OneSchema [https://oneschema.co/lenny] — Import CSV data 10x faster • Merge [http://merge.dev/lenny] — A single API to add hundreds of integrations into your app — Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/seeing-like-a-designer-jessica-hische [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/seeing-like-a-designer-jessica-hische] — Where to find Jessica Hische: • Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jessicahische [https://www.threads.net/@jessicahische] • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicahische [https://www.instagram.com/jessicahische/] • Website: https://jessicahische.is [https://jessicahische.is] — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com] • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan [https://twitter.com/lennysan] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/] — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Jessica’s background (01:32) The logo refresh process (09:45) When to refresh your logo (11:45) High-level overview (18:04) Approaching Lenny’s brand refresh (24:25) How to see like a designer (37:53) Lenny’s new logo: where we landed (44:07) Brand’s role in company success (50:04) Jessica’s flexible pricing strategies and collaborative design process (57:14) Balancing multiple creative projects (01:01:48) Using AI in creative work (01:05:50) Upcoming projects and final thoughts (01:08:24) Lightning round — Referenced: • Jeni’s: https://jenis.com [https://jenis.com] • James Edmondson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestedmondson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamestedmondson/] • Figma Config: https://config.figma.com/ [https://config.figma.com/] • Helvetica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvetica [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvetica] • MyFonts: https://www.myfonts.com/ [https://www.myfonts.com/] • Geometric sans serif fonts: https://www.myfonts.com/pages/tags/geometric%20sans%20serif-fonts [https://www.myfonts.com/pages/tags/geometric%20sans%20serif-fonts] • The Rise of Fractional Executives: https://www.reforge.com/blog/leveraging-fractional-executives [https://www.reforge.com/blog/leveraging-fractional-executives] • JH&F: https://jessicahische.shop/pages/my-oakland-store [https://jessicahische.shop/pages/my-oakland-store] • Drawling: https://drawling.shop/ [https://drawling.shop/] • Jessica Hische’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jessica-Hische/author/B082XDN54V [https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jessica-Hische/author/B082XDN54V] • Dreamforce: https://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce [https://www.salesforce.com/dreamforce] • Bezier handles: https://www.tella.tv/definition/bezier-handles [https://www.tella.tv/definition/bezier-handles] • My First Book of Fancy Letters: https://www.amazon.com/My-First-Book-Fancy-Letters/dp/0593385012/r [https://www.amazon.com/My-First-Book-Fancy-Letters/dp/0593385012/r] • The Creative Act: A Way of Being: https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Act-Way-Being/dp/0593652886/ [https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Act-Way-Being/dp/0593652886/] • Inside Paragraphs: Typographic Fundamentals: https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Paragraphs-Fundamentals-Cyrus-Highsmith/dp/1616899417 [https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Paragraphs-Fundamentals-Cyrus-Highsmith/dp/1616899417] • Just Kids: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Kids-Patti-Smith/dp/0060936223 [https://www.amazon.com/Just-Kids-Patti-Smith/dp/0060936223] • Robert Mapplethorpe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mapplethorpe [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mapplethorpe] • The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer: https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/dp/1439170916/r [https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/dp/1439170916/r] • Severance on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Severance-Toby-Stephens/dp/B001ARYGCU [https://www.amazon.com/Severance-Toby-Stephens/dp/B001ARYGCU] • Penco brown bag stand: https://penco.jp/en/products/db079/ [https://penco.jp/en/products/db079/] • XOXO: https://xoxofest.com/ [https://xoxofest.com/] • Mariame Kaba quotes: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/8156101.Mariame_Kaba [https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/8156101.Mariame_Kaba] — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/ [https://penname.co/]. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com [podcast@lennyrachitsky.com]. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Anneka Gupta is the Chief Product Officer at Rubrik, a leading B2B cybersecurity company. She previously spent 11 years at LiveRamp, where she was the President and Head of Product and Platforms leading product development and go-to-market operations and strategy. Anneka also sits on the board of directors for Tinuiti and teaches product management at Stanford University. In our conversation, we discuss: • Navigating “founder mode” dynamics in organizations • Navigating difficult personalities and aligning teams • The PM skill of summarization • Giving and receiving hard feedback effectively • The value of a positive mindset • Tips for breaking into product management • Much more — Brought to you by: • The Enterprise Ready Conference [https://www.enterprise-ready.com/] — For B2B leaders building enterprise SaaS • Command AI [https://www.command.ai/lenny] — AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users • Eppo [https://www.geteppo.com/] — Run reliable, impactful experiments — Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/becoming-more-strategic-anneka-gupta [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/becoming-more-strategic-anneka-gupta] — Where to find Anneka Gupta: • X: https://x.com/annekagupta [https://x.com/annekagupta] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annekagupta [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annekagupta/] — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com] • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan [https://twitter.com/lennysan] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/] — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Anneka Gupta (01:43) Key mindsets for success (05:30) Managing energy for optimal performance (09:05) Founder mode (18:26) Becoming more strategic (27:54) The importance of decision-making (37:18) Navigating difficult personalities (41:38) Techniques for giving and receiving feedback (51:01) Transitioning into product management (54:56) Advice for aspiring product managers (59:39) Leveraging AI tools in product management (01:01:27) The power of a positive mindset (01:04:30) Lightning round — Referenced: • Founder Mode: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html [https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html] • Building a long and meaningful career | Nikhyl Singhal (Meta, Google): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-long-and-meaningful-career [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-long-and-meaningful-career] • The Skip community: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skip-community/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/skip-community/] • Rubrik: https://www.rubrik.com/ [https://www.rubrik.com/] • 5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-strategy-roger-martin [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-strategy-roger-martin] • Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X [https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X] • Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconventional product advice | Alex Komoroske: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unconventional-product-advice-alex-komoroske [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unconventional-product-advice-alex-komoroske] • Acquired podcast interviews Zuckerberg in San Francisco: https://transistor.fm/acquired-live/ [https://transistor.fm/acquired-live/] • Hema Mohan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemamohan/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemamohan/] • Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509 [https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509] • Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice] • LiveRamp: https://liveramp.com/ [https://liveramp.com/] • Product Management class at Stanford: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/learning/experiential-learning/action-learning-program/product-management [https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/learning/experiential-learning/action-learning-program/product-management] • Figma: https://www.figma.com/ [https://www.figma.com/] • Dovetail: https://try.dovetail.com/ [https://try.dovetail.com/] • The Remarkable Advantage of Abundant Thinking: https://review.firstround.com/the-remarkable-advantage-of-abundant-thinking/ [https://review.firstround.com/the-remarkable-advantage-of-abundant-thinking/] • The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205 [https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205] • Brandon Sanderson’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Brandon-Sanderson/author/B001IGFHW6 [https://www.amazon.com/stores/Brandon-Sanderson/author/B001IGFHW6] • Fallout on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN4HV16N [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN4HV16N] • Thunderbolt 4 ( 3-meter cable): https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MW5H3AM/A/thunderbolt-4-usb%E2%80%91c-pro-cable-3-m [https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MW5H3AM/A/thunderbolt-4-usb%E2%80%91c-pro-cable-3-m] • Isaac Asimov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov] • The complete Foundation series: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Asimovs-Foundation-Foundations-Prelude/dp/B01EFDEMS8 [https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Asimovs-Foundation-Foundations-Prelude/dp/B01EFDEMS8] — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/ [https://penname.co/]. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com [podcast@lennyrachitsky.com]. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Tristan de Montebello is the co-creator of Ultraspeaking, the most effective method I’ve come across for rapidly improving communication and presentation skills. In 2017, Tristan became the fastest person ever to reach the finals of the World Championship of Public Speaking, achieving this feat in just seven months with no prior experience. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why public speaking is a meta skill that can transform your life • Practical games and exercises to improve your speaking skills • The “Accordion Method” for preparing talks without memorization • The “Bow and Arrow Technique” for crafting memorable presentations • Tristan’s journey to the World Championship of Public Speaking finals • Lenny doing some of the exercises live on-screen Tristan is offering a limited-time discount to Ultraspeaking [https://ultraspeaking.com/]. Both codes are valid until November 14, 2024: → $500 off an Unlimited Membership with code UNLIMITEDLENNY500 → $200 off a Rapid Tier pass for a single cohort with code RAPIDLENNY200 — Brought to you by: • Eppo [https://www.geteppo.com/]—Run reliable, impactful experiments • Command AI [https://www.command.ai/lenny]—AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users • Brave Search [https://brave.com/lenny]—A smarter way to search — Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-public-speaking-tristan-de-montebello [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/master-public-speaking-tristan-de-montebello] — Where to find Tristan de Montebello: • X: https://x.com/Montebello [https://x.com/Montebello] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristandemontebello/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristandemontebello/] • Website: https://ultraspeaking.com [https://ultraspeaking.com] • Free email course: https://ultraspeaking.com/lenny/ [https://ultraspeaking.com/lenny/] — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com] • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan [https://twitter.com/lennysan] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/] — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to Tristan de Montebello and Ultraspeaking (01:42) Personal experiences with public speaking (05:35) Misconceptions and meta skills in public speaking (08:56) Enjoyment as a barometer for effective speaking (15:30) Tactical tips for public speaking (29:15) The importance of practice and games (34:50) Game 1: The Conductor (Accessing different emotional states) (45:54) Mindset shift: playing the game (51:07) Game 2: Triple Step (Staying focused amid distractions) (01:07:51) Quieting the noise (01:09:46) Game 3: Conviction Prompts (Building executive presence) (01:17:27) The Accordion Method explained (01:37:57) The Bow and Arrow technique (01:43:43) Final thoughts and encouragement (01:44:55) Lightning round — Referenced: • Michael Gendler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgendler [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgendler] • Alienor playing Conductor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmholFWwHro [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmholFWwHro] • Triple Step: https://ultraspeaking.com/triple-step-game/ [https://ultraspeaking.com/triple-step-game/] • Rapid Fire Analogies: https://ultraspeaking.com/rapid-fire-game/ [https://ultraspeaking.com/rapid-fire-game/] • Joe Rogan Experience #1309 — Naval Ravikant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHkcs3kG44 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qHkcs3kG44] • The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Leap-Conquer-Hidden-Level/dp/0061735361 [https://www.amazon.com/Big-Leap-Conquer-Hidden-Level/dp/0061735361] • Tall poppy syndrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_poppy_syndrome] • Peaky Blinders on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80002479 [https://www.netflix.com/title/80002479] • The Nice Guys on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Nice-Guys-Russell-Crowe/dp/B01FV1GLR8 [https://www.amazon.com/Nice-Guys-Russell-Crowe/dp/B01FV1GLR8] • Ember temperature control smart mug: https://www.amazon.com/Ember-Temperature-Control-1-5-hr-Battery/dp/B07NQRM6ML [https://www.amazon.com/Ember-Temperature-Control-1-5-hr-Battery/dp/B07NQRM6ML] • How I got to the World Championships of Public Speaking in 7 months: https://medium.com/the-mission/3000-people-staring-c2cbd14c6d6c [https://medium.com/the-mission/3000-people-staring-c2cbd14c6d6c] — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/ [https://penname.co/]. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com [podcast@lennyrachitsky.com]. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Raiza Martin is a senior product manager for AI at Google Labs, where she leads the team behind NotebookLM, an AI-powered research tool that includes a delightful podcast-on-demand feature called “Audio Overviews.” NotebookLM started as a 20% project and has grown into a product that’s spreading across social media and has a Discord server with over 60,000 users. Raiza previously worked on AI Test Kitchen and has a background in startups, payments, and ads. In our conversation, we discuss: • The origin story of NotebookLM • The future road map for NotebookLM • How Google Labs operates differently from the rest of Google • The development of the “Audio Overviews” feature • Key metrics and growth of NotebookLM • Stories about collaborating with author Steven Johnson • Navigating potential misuse of AI technology — Brought to you by: • Explo [https://explo.co/lenny] — Embed customer-facing analytics in your product • Sprig⁠⁠ [https://sprig.com/getstarted?utm_source=lenny&utm_medium=podcast] — Build products for people, not data points • Sidebar [https://www.sidebar.com/lenny?utm_source=lennys&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=waitlist&utm_content=3] — Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers — Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/googles-notebooklm-raiza-martin [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/googles-notebooklm-raiza-martin] — Where to find Raiza Martin: • X: https://x.com/raiza_abubakar [https://x.com/raiza_abubakar] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whatsaraiza/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/whatsaraiza/] — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com] • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan [https://twitter.com/lennysan] • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/] — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction to NotebookLM (05:43) The genesis of NotebookLM (08:08) Innovative features and use cases (18:52) Building a startup culture within Google (24:28) Expanding user demographics (27:30) The product roadmap (32:18) Other use cases (36:11) Collaborating with Steven Johnson (42:49) Ensuring ethical AI (46:06) Future directions and user engagement — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/ [https://penname.co/]. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com [podcast@lennyrachitsky.com]. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe [https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]