Kassen Qian

The biggest risk is building the wrong product - a product that doesn’t delight our users, or doesn’t improve success metrics such as user acquisition, user retention, etc. We call this “product risk". The 4-stage model helps us drive down risk and get products out the door quickly.

I initially did this solely for monetary gain. But then when I started getting deeper into it, I found community. I met real dope people that were really there for me. I found newer forms of creativity that I didn't even think I had. I feel like being a community leader is a creative to a great extent as well. And that changed my whole outlook on... See more

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.

Honesty & Culture: You build trust, credibility, and respect with the team.

You’re a coach: Coaches understand that teams are composed of people and the interpersonal relationships between each member determine to a large extent the effectiveness of the team, what it is capable of producing as a unit. PMs too must inspire, motivate and convince their team to fight for Every Single Inch.

The King of the Hill at Airbnb has switched from designers to product managers in most parts of the org. Vision-led rather than design-led.

5. Make Team Management Your Highest Priority Product: To be a good product team manager, you need to have been a successful product manager first. "As a group product manager, my job is to help PMs own their ideas, work with stakeholders, get people on board and amplify their insights. Our product managers are my products."