I've been told I undersell the Slack community that you get access to as a paid newsletter subscriber, so here's the sell: For $150/year, get access to a thriving community of 5,000+ PMs, founders, growth leaders, and all manner of product builders. More in thread 🧵
The community that's formed around the newsletter is probably the thing I'm most proud of in all of the time I've been working on the newsletter. It's mind-boggling how much value is created when you bring smart, driven, generous people together.
Some community stats:
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Finding yourself having to often say no—to your manager, your CEO, your team? Worried about becoming the "no" person?
In this week's post, I share five techniques for saying no effectively. Summary in thread below 🧵 lennysnewsletter.com/p/saying-no
1/ First of all, as a leader on the team (and company), it’s actually OK to be the “no” person. It’s literally your job to create focus and stability for your team and company. I bet your leader (mostly) appreciates you for it, even if it doesn’t feel good.
2/ Still, there’s certainly a skill to saying no, especially when you have to do it often.
Whenever I reflect on a question like this, I flip the script and imagine I’m the other person. As a manager, how would I want my report to deal with my many brilliant ideas I suggest?
The 10 commandments of salary negotiation, by @mediumsizecats
👇 Read on 👇
1/ Negotiation starts earlier than you think
Every recruiter worth their salt will ask about your salary expectations when you first start interviewing. Do not — I repeat, do not — give them a number.
What to do instead: Ask for the range they’re budgeted for the role.
How to say it: “Can you tell me the salary band for this level? Happy to let you know if it’s within my range, and we can discuss specific numbers later when I’ve met the team.”
As a PM, having a technical background is like having a superpower: You can predict timelines, anticipate blockers, and avoid black holes of endless work. In this week's post, I share advice for how to quickly level up your technical skills. Summary in 🧵 lennysnewsletter.com/p/getting-more…
1/ Learn the basics
Start by learning the basic terms, technologies, and concepts involved in building product. Investing a few hours here will immediately level up your game.
Here's a lesson plan (links in the full post):
2/ Ask questions
Leverage the gift right under your nose: the engineers you work with! Guess what, they are experts at the very thing you want to learn. How convenient. And in my experience, most engineers love nothing more than explaining their craft to curious people.
1/ How long does it normally take to expand from a single market to a second market?
On average, 8 to 12 months. A few marketplaces, like Caviar and OpenTable, launched their second and third markets at essentially the same time, while Grubhub took three years.
2/ When should you expand to a second (and third) market?
As soon as your first market starts to work.
Expand too early and risk both markets failing. Expand too late and you give your competition a chance to race ahead.