Why half of product managers are in trouble | Nikhyl Singhal (Meta, Google)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The skills that used to be really valued in product managers are changing substantially.
It's going to be chaos.
What are the major changes happening in product management?
Our industry is very much in stress. Nothing's constant. Everyone's in a state of alert. If you talk to product leaders three years ago, their day was largely moving information. The information mover is essentially going to become a dinosaur.
I just did this report on the job market. Interestingly, we have the most open PM roles globally in three plus years.
This is a complete renaissance for the product industry, but it comes with a lot of strings attached. In the next 12 to 24 months, we're going to see massive shedding of staffs and then massive rehiring.
Why are many product managers feeling stressed right now?
You might see a company shed 30,000 and hire 8,000. But the 8,000 people are going to all be AI first. The builders are going to have the time of their lives. But if you don't love building stuff, you're in trouble. What are some things that people should do to thrive in this future that is emerging? You have to find ability to increase pace. You've got to find that reserve. The next two years requires a lot of fire in the belly.
Today, my guest is Nikhil Singhal.
What skills are becoming essential for product managers today?
Nikhil is, in my opinion, right now, the number one best source of career advice for product managers and for tech people in general. He was a longtime exec at Meta and at Google, CPO at Credit Karma. He's also a four-time founder, and he leads the best community out there for heads of product and chief product officers called the Skip community. He also has a larger community for tech professionals called the Skip Coach.
Why is the divide between builders and information movers significant?
And through these communities and his 30 years of building consumer products at scale and also his podcast, which I've recently partnered with, he is constantly gathering and meeting with and speaking with top product leaders around the world about what's happening and what's changing in the lives of product managers and tech workers in general. And the answer is a lot. This is an episode that every single product person needs to listen to, and you won't find a more real talk and actionable overview of what is going on and where things are heading in your career, and also what you should be doing about it right now. Seriously, do not miss this conversation. Before we get into it, don't forget to check out lenny'sproductfast.com for an incredible set of deals available exclusively to Lenny's Newsletter subscribers.
With that, I bring you Nikhil Singhal. Nikhil, thank you so much for being here. Welcome back to the podcast.
Yeah, thank you, Lenny. I appreciate version two. And all my notes were like Lenny version two. So I'm quite excited about being back on the show. You've done so well since the last time that I visited and appreciate the opportunity to share with you my current thing.
What predictions does the guest have for the future job market?
Yeah, so you were actually one of the launch episodes, the first 20, 30 guests that I had on the podcast. This was two or three years ago, something like that. And a lot has changed in the world of product management since then.
How can one overcome psychological barriers to change?
And we're going to be basically spending this entire episode talking about what is changing in the role and the career of a product manager. And what I especially love about you talking to you and hearing your insights is you don't sugarcoat what's going on. You're very real about like, here's what you need to know about what is going on. So we're going to be talking about the good and the bad and just like a lot of advice for product managers in particular. To kick things off, give us just kind of the big picture view into what is changing for product managers, the good and then maybe the scary stuff.
Yeah, be a lot shorter of an episode if we just talked about what didn't change. Wow. That says a lot.
How can product managers find joy in their work with AI?
Maybe I'll start with this. I think that when we first chatted, it was like maybe the end of COVID, I think. The ZERP era, as we call it, zero interest, kind of free money from investors was just kind of cresting. We talked about how ICs are now more in demand. We talked about how these first round of layoffs are existing, that ex-growth companies are going to be a struggle.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:05
2
What are the major changes happening in product management?
0:05–0:43
3
Why are many product managers feeling stressed right now?
0:43–1:13
4
What skills are becoming essential for product managers today?
1:13–1:37
5
Why is the divide between builders and information movers significant?
1:37–2:51
6
What predictions does the guest have for the future job market?
2:51–3:03
7
How can one overcome psychological barriers to change?
3:03–3:45
8
How can product managers find joy in their work with AI?
3:45–1:35:08
Speakers
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