Why Uber’s CPO delivers food on weekends | Sachin Kansal

Overview

This episode features Sachin Kansal, Chief Product Officer at Uber, who shares his unique approach to product management, including his extreme dogfooding practices, the ship, ship, ship mantra, and how Uber is navigating challenges like profitability and autonomous vehicles. The conversation is packed with insights on building user empathy, operationalizing product culture, and balancing data-driven decisions with intuition.

Notable Quotes

- You don't ship documents, you don't ship brainstorming meetings. What you ship is code in your product. – Sachin Kansal, on the importance of execution.

- When I find issues in our app, I develop a bit of impatience because if I faced it in my 10 trips, imagine the number of times it may have happened to our 8 million couriers and drivers. – Sachin Kansal, on the urgency of fixing user pain points.

- For those 15 minutes a day when users think about your product, that’s your opportunity to dazzle them. – Sachin Kansal, on creating memorable user experiences.

🚗 Extreme Dogfooding at Uber

- Sachin personally completes Uber rides and deliveries (700+ trips) to experience the product firsthand, documenting issues and insights in detailed reports.

- This practice has shaped Uber’s product culture, encouraging leaders and teams to deeply empathize with users.

- Key learnings include the importance of designing for real-world conditions (e.g., using the app while driving at 45 mph) and understanding the emotional impact of driver-passenger interactions.

- Uber operationalizes dogfooding through company-wide initiatives like quarterly driving competitions and structured feedback loops.

🚀 The Ship, Ship, Ship Mentality

- Sachin emphasizes rapid iteration and reducing cycle times to deliver impactful features quickly.

- He advocates for cutting decision-making delays, using tools like daily standups and hands-on leadership to unblock teams.

- Examples include writing a 15-page PRD over a weekend to align a stalled team and running daily standups during COVID to address driver shortages.

- The mantra is not about rushing but about disciplined execution and prioritizing user impact.

📊 Balancing Data and Gut Decisions

- Sachin highlights the importance of blending data-driven insights with intuition, especially for bold bets like Uber for Teens and taxi integrations.

- He shares examples where data suggested otherwise, but gut instincts led to successful outcomes, such as launching Uber for Teens to address a clear user pain point.

- Uber’s culture encourages product managers to develop product sense by shipping frequently and learning from micro-decisions.

🤖 AI as a Product Management Tool

- Sachin uses AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini for summarizing user research, brainstorming feature ideas, and accelerating decision-making.

- AI serves as a research assistant, helping teams process large datasets and refine product strategies.

- For example, Sachin used AI to evaluate a driver feature concept, gaining actionable insights to kickstart team discussions.

💡 Uber’s Vision for Autonomy and Profitability

- Uber is building a hybrid network of human drivers and autonomous vehicles, partnering with companies like Waymo and May Mobility.

- The hybrid model ensures efficient utilization of AVs during low-demand periods and supplements them with human drivers during peak times.

- Sachin reflects on Uber’s cultural shift toward profitability, achieved by optimizing costs (e.g., batching deliveries) and reinvesting savings into the business.

- He stresses the importance of maintaining a strong core product while exploring new growth opportunities like grocery delivery and partnerships with taxis.