Kassen Qian

Side benefit of this method: by forcing multiple iterations on a PR/FAQ, you implicitly gain the approval of everyone who reviews it, demands iterations on it, and subsequently approves it. This then means that when a product passes the PR/FAQ process but subsequently fails in the market, people are more likely to take collective responsibility.

How can we understand the different types of value that PMs of different levels bring to the table and use that information to effectively build a PM organization?

Users constitute an essential source of information, up to and including their interactions with prototypes and as paying customers.

Good product managers know the market, the product, the product line and the competition extremely well and operate from a strong basis of knowledge and confidence. Bad product managers have lots of excuses. Once bad product managers fail, they point out that they predicted they would fail.

You’re an engineer: companies want PMs who can roll with engineers, speak the same language, grasp the technical concepts (and problems and opportunities) quickly, and by so doing gain the respect and trust of the people actually moving bits around. The best PMs are culturally engineers

But an orientation toward storytelling and vision can sometimes cause challenges with execution : The only new product launch that succeeded was Airbnb.com. Every other big launch over the last eight years has actually been a complete flop.

Stripe has a very, very long time horizon. If you know where you’re going over time, you can reason clearly about which specific asks are one-offs vs indicative of emerging trends relevant to many users. We talk a lot about building multi-decade abstractions. That long time horizon comes from the top, and it’s in the culture.

One of our operating principles is “really, really care.” It’s craftsmanship and a huge amount of dedication to getting all of the details right.