Gokul Rajaram on designing your product development process, when and how to hire your first PM, a playbook for hiring leaders, getting ahead in you career, how to get started angel investing, more
with Gokul Rajaram · Jun 2022
You often don't know if you're passionate about something until you start doing the work. Focus on the problem you're solving and the customer segment you're serving—the passion follows. Working on payments seemed impossible until the environment, culture, and mission made it energizing.
Related
Ideas from across Lenny's archive that connect to this one
What Buddhism Taught Me About Product Management
Jun 2019The illusion that you can reach a state where all problems are solved is the root of team suffering. Instead, accept that fires will always burn and people will always get upset. Find your fulfillment in the act of solving problems, not in the fantasy of a problem-free state.
What Seven Years at Airbnb Taught Me About Building a Business
Jun 2019Simple projects with vague problem statements circle for weeks; complex projects with strong problem statements sail smoothly. Crystallizing the problem you're solving is the single most important step before solving anything. Misalignment on the problem is invisible waste.
A Three-Step Framework For Solving Problems 👌
Jun 2019A polished, well-designed product that doesn't solve the problem you set out to solve is a failure, regardless of its aesthetic or technical merit. The work of staying true to the problem is harder than the work of building the solution.
A Three-Step Framework For Solving Problems 👌
Jun 2019Resist the urge to jump to a solution early. A strong problem statement references an unfulfilled need, includes both what and why, is focused enough for one team to own, and can be expressed in a single sentence. The more you need to explain it, the less clear the problem actually is.
How to get into product management
Jun 2019Before becoming a PM, honestly assess what fulfills you. The role is thankless, nerve-racking, and all-consuming—but when it works, you feel born to do it. Misalignment here leads to burnout, not success.
Import your highlights, and we'll find the connections you've been missing.