The one question that saves product careers | Matt LeMay

Overview

This episode dives into the critical importance of aligning product management work with business outcomes. Matt LeMay, a seasoned product leader and author, shares actionable insights on avoiding the low-impact PM death spiral, how to ensure your team remains indispensable, and why commercially minded PMs are often the happiest. He also discusses how to push back on executive demands constructively and the lessons he learned from his early career as a music critic.

Notable Quotes

- If you were the CEO of this company, would you fully fund your own team? – Matt LeMay, on evaluating your team's value.

- Even if you are told to build a thing that the execs are really excited about, you're still going to get fired eventually. – Lenny Rachitsky, on the risks of low-impact work.

- No good work is wasted. Even if you don't see it right away, it will have some positive effect on the world. – Matt LeMay, on the long-term value of meaningful contributions.

🛠️ The Low-Impact PM Death Spiral

- Matt explains how product teams often fall into a cycle of low-impact work, focusing on minor features or cosmetic improvements that avoid scrutiny but fail to drive meaningful business outcomes.

- This spiral leads to bloated products, heavier dependencies, and eventual layoffs.

- Breaking the cycle requires bravery and a focus on high-impact work, even if it invites more executive oversight or cross-team coordination.

📊 Aligning Work with Business Outcomes

- Teams must set goals no more than one step removed from company objectives. For example, instead of vague OKRs, define measurable contributions like converting single-product users to multi-product users.

- Avoid cascading goals into oblivion—ensure every team member understands how their work ties directly to business success.

- Use a simple heuristic: if your team’s work doesn’t clearly add up to the company’s top-line goals, it’s time to reassess.

💡 Pushing Back on Executive Demands

- Instead of outright saying no, present options with trade-offs and a recommendation. This approach builds trust and fosters collaboration.

- Matt emphasizes that PMs should facilitate decision-making, not dictate it. Executives may have access to information that justifies their requests.

- Example: A PM at MailChimp rallied her team to focus on improving the user onboarding experience, aligning with the company’s top priority of increasing email sends.

🎯 Steps to Build an Impact-First Product Team

1. Set Team Goals Close to Company Goals: Ensure your team’s objectives are directly tied to measurable business outcomes.

2. Keep Impact First at Every Step: Revisit goals throughout the product lifecycle to avoid drifting into irrelevant work.

3. Connect Every Bit of Work Back to Impact: Use impact estimation tied to your team’s goals to prioritize effectively.

🎵 Lessons from Music and Product Management

- Matt draws parallels between creating music and building products: both require diverse perspectives and collaboration to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

- He reflects on his early career as a music critic, acknowledging past mistakes and the importance of humility and growth.

📚 Recommended Resources

- Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke – A guide to setting impactful OKRs.

- The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts – Insights on embracing uncertainty and focusing on what truly matters.