“ If you simply wake up every day trying to have the biggest impact you can, how you do every part of your day — that's a really good guiding light.
Why it matters: Forget politics, promotion, or empire-building. The simplest north star for any new PM is ruthless focus on impact. Everything else is noise.
career mindset impact
I
Ian McAllister
Former PM Leader, Uber · Amazon · Airbnb
What it takes to become a top 1% PM
“ Ask yourself: if you were the CEO of this company, would you fully fund your own team? Frankly, most people I ask that question to don't know the answer right away.
Why it matters: The low-impact PM death spiral starts innocuously — small features, cosmetic improvements — until the next round of layoffs. Aligning every team goal to no more than one step from company goals is the antidote.
strategy impact leadership
M
Matt LeMay
Author, Product Management in Practice · Impact First Product Teams
The one question that saves product careers
“ There was a perception that some people were intrinsically good at strategy and others weren't — as if there was a strategy gene. The answer is: anyone can build great product strategy through a clear, repeatable process.
Why it matters: Strategy isn't a talent, it's a skill. Chandra's process — starting with why people don't understand what you're building, then working backwards to a written strategy — turned Headspace's product around and led to his promotion to CPO.
strategy leadership frameworks
C
Chandra Janakiraman
CPO, VRChat · ex-Meta, Headspace, Zynga, Amazon
An operator's guide to product strategy