TLDR Product Management 2024-09-06

This article traces the rise and decline of Intel, highlighting how the company's initial dominance in semiconductor manufacturing, driven by its integrated design and manufacturing model, has faltered due to missteps in adapting to new technologies like mobile and AI. Intel's future survival may depend on separating its design and manufacturing divisions. Significant government support may be needed to sustain U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.

Trust is a FinTech company's most crucial asset, as customers rely on these companies to protect their money and data. Without it, user churn is inevitable, making trust the lifeblood of FinTech. As a product manager, your role is to ensure security, reliability, and compliance to build and sustain that trust.

Product vision and mission guide teams through challenges, driving alignment, innovation, and better decision-making. Vision inspires long-term goals, while mission grounds daily actions. Ensure they are actionable, aligned with company goals, and integrated into daily processes. Use them as tools for decision-making to achieve lasting success.

Prioritization is key to building successful product roadmaps. While there's no perfect method, embracing it improves focus, productivity, and outcomes. Product managers should choose the approach that best fits their company, product, team, and constraints.

Consumer subscription apps are easy to launch but difficult to scale due to challenges like distribution control, reliance on paid acquisition, high churn rates, and low ARPU. However, by focusing on a core value promise and leveraging the Subscription Value Loop to improve key metrics like LTV/CAC and payback period, these apps can achieve faster and more efficient growth.

In the first 30 days of a new role, focus on discovery by learning about the product, market, business, and company dynamics while also building key relationships. From days 60-90, build on the foundation you've established by transitioning from quick wins to tackling more significant and strategic goals, further establishing trust through demonstrated competency, reliability, integrity, and empathy.

Effective communication requires using language that accurately reflects your intent, meaning, and level of certainty. By speaking with precision, you build trust, encourage productive discussions, and avoid misunderstandings, leading to better decision-making and more successful outcomes.

Key takeaways for negotiating a PM job offer: Prepare early by tracking opportunities and creating leverage; skillfully handle compensation questions, even without competing offers, using the MERIT framework; showcase your value with a 30-60-90-day plan and present a strong counteroffer tied to your worth; and be ready for pushback and remember that negotiation is normal in tech and can greatly impact your career.

The SHARED feedback model offers a structured approach to giving constructive feedback that emphasizes mutual understanding, engagement, and positive intent, ensuring that both parties feel heard and can effectively address issues.

If your work aligns with your interests but doesn't ignite your passion, that's still a success.