Shreyas Doshi is a former product leader at Stripe, Twitter, Google, and Yahoo. He’s now a full-time advisor and coach to founders and executives. Shreyas is known for his incredibly insightful writing on products, which has garnered him a passionate following in the PM and startup community. Last week, we sat down together at the very first Lenny and Friends Summit in San Francisco for a special live episode. We covered:
• Why product leaders often feel overwhelmed with work, and how to combat it
• The importance of developing good taste, and how to do it
• How to reduce frustration in your product leadership role
• The critical skill of truly listening as a leader
• Common pitfalls in annual planning and decision-making
• Lots of laughs
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To learn more from Shreyas, check out these courses:
• Improving Your Product Sense: <a href="https://bit.ly/product-sense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://bit.ly/product-sense</a>
• Managing Your PM Career: <a href="https://bit.ly/pm-career-course" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://bit.ly/pm-career-course</a>
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Find the transcript at: <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/shreyas-doshi-live" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/shreyas-doshi-live</a>
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Where to find Shreyas Doshi:
• X: <a href="https://x.com/shreyas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://x.com/shreyas</a>
• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shreyasdoshi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.linkedin.com/in/shreyasdoshi/</a>
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@shreyas.threads
• Linktree: <a href="https://linktr.ee/shreyasdoshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://linktr.ee/shreyasdoshi</a>
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShreyasDoshiVideos
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>
• X: <a href="https://twitter.com/lennysan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>
• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Introduction
(05:35) Question one: Why am I so busy?
(10:08) Annual planning as an example
(16:48) Tactical tips for staying less busy
(25:20) Question two: Do I actually have good taste?
(38:09) Question three: Why does my job feel so frustrating?
(43:29) Question four: Am I really listening?
(44:35) Closing remarks
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Referenced:
• Shreyas Doshi on pre-mortems, the LNO framework, the three levels of product work, why most execution problems are strategy problems, and ROI vs. opportunity cost thinking: <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/episode-3-shreyas-doshi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/episode-3-shreyas-doshi</a>
• LNO framework: <a href="https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1492345184171945984" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1492345184171945984</a>
• Time management techniques that actually work: <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/time-management-techniques-that-actually" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/time-management-techniques-that-actually</a>
• Part 2: Time management techniques that actually work: <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/part-2-time-management-techniques" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/part-2-time-management-techniques</a>
• Eisenhower quote: <a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dwight_d_eisenhower_164720" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/dwight_d_eisenhower_164720</a>
• Stripe Connect: <a href="https://stripe.com/connect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://stripe.com/connect</a>
• Jeff Bezos explains one-way door decisions and two-way door decisions: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxsdOQa_QkM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxsdOQa_QkM</a>
• Spotify Is America’s Most Loved Workplace: <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/2021/10/29/spotify-americas-most-loved-workplace-1639982.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.newsweek.com/2021/10/29/spotify-americas-most-loved-workplace-1639982.html</a>
• Shreyas on “thinking is cheap”: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shreyasdoshi_thinking-is-very-cheap-doing-is-very-expensive-activity-7225237421813116929-Qzi3/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.linkedin.com/posts/shreyasdoshi_thinking-is-very-cheap-doing-is-very-expensive-activity-7225237421813116929-Qzi3/</a>
• Good Product Strategy, Bad Product Strategy from Shreyas: <a href="https://x.com/shreyas/status/1244810075908128768" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://x.com/shreyas/status/1244810075908128768</a>
• Shreyas on annual planning and metrics:
<a href="https://x.com/shreyas/status/1302423854095036421" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://x.com/shreyas/status/1302423854095036421</a>
<a href="https://x.com/shreyas/status/1304628719374544896" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://x.com/shreyas/status/1304628719374544896</a>
• Jensen Huang on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang/</a>
• Patrick Mahomes’s website: <a href="https://www.adidas.com/us/patrick_mahomes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.adidas.com/us/patrick_mahomes</a>
• Virat Kohli: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virat_Kohli" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virat_Kohli</a>
• Reversible and Irreversible Decisions: <a href="https://fs.blog/reversible-irreversible-decisions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://fs.blog/reversible-irreversible-decisions/</a>
• Fail fast: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fail_fast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fail_fast</a>
• 3 levels of product work: <a href="https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1370248637842812936" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1370248637842812936</a>
• Shakespeare quote: <a href="https://nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/famous/to-thine-own-self-be-true/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/famous/to-thine-own-self-be-true/</a>
• Rick Rubin: Legendary Music Producer | Lex Fridman Podcast #275: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_szemxPcTI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://Dwww.youtube.com/watch?v=H_szemxPcTI</a>
• Blake Burge on Rick Ruben: <a href="https://x.com/blakeaburge/status/1794470295828341222" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://x.com/blakeaburge/status/1794470295828341222</a>
• Rick Rubin on X: <a href="https://x.com/RickRubin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://x.com/RickRubin</a>
• Dee Hock on X: <a href="https://x.com/deewhock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://x.com/deewhock</a>
• Dee Hock quote on listening: <a href="https://x.com/shreyas/status/1351279398423465984" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://x.com/shreyas/status/1351279398423465984</a>
• Peter Drucker: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Drucker</a>
• Peter Drucker quotes on listening: <a href="https://www.azquotes.com/author/4147-Peter_Drucker/tag/listening" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.azquotes.com/author/4147-Peter_Drucker/tag/listening</a>
• Lenny’s first podcast recording: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP_QghPLG-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP_QghPLG-8</a>
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Production and marketing by <a href="https://penname.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>.
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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Lenny Rachitsky

4 questions Shreyas Doshi wishes he’d asked himself sooner | Former PM leader at Stripe, Twitter, Google

Shreyas Doshi is a former product leader at Stripe, Twitter, Google, and Yahoo. He’s now a full-time advisor and coach to founders and executives. Shreyas is known for his incredibly insightful writing on products, which has garnered him a passionate following in the PM and startup community. Last week, we sat down together at the [&hellip;]