🎾 5 Steps to Take to Move Into a Product Leadership Role, "Process People" According to Marty Cagan, Understanding the Difference Between OKRs and Outcomes

+ Meme you'll love

This is Sunday 1-1-2-3 with George.

Each week, you get an easy-to-read breakdown of the latest ideas in product development, with a dash of humor to keep things interesting.

My newsletter is like a Marty Cagan masterclass, but with less repetition about the 4 risks.

Today we have:

• How To Read Balance Sheets - Software Edition

• How Marty Cagan Thinks About “Process People”

• How To Know The Difference Between OKRs and Outcomes (Teresa Torres)

• 5 Things To Do To Move Into a Product Leadership Position

+ a meme

---

📚 How to Read Balance Sheets - Software Edition

I found my favorite new Substack newsletter: OnlyCFO.

Maybe I’m just getting old, and that intense urge to look at financial statements is starting to flood me just like the urge to visit the hardware store on the weekends.

Maybe it’s cause this newsletter is like my other favorite newsletter: Olga’s Data Analysis Journal:

Whatever it is, OnlyCFO just dropped 3 amazing posts, of which I’m sharing the first. It’s filled with great detail from an operator, and is a must-read really for anyone working in tech:

---

---

👀 Is Shreyas Doshi Right About Avoiding “Process People”?

A few years ago, I vowed to stop watching Marty Cagan’s interviews. It was clear that the marginal benefit for me at that stage was little: I had listened to him say the same stuff too many times.

Then Shreyas Doshi suggested to watch this video with Marty, and I wasn’t disappointed. Perhaps, I needed a break from Marty. I liked the whole interview, but I’ll highlight this part.

The distinction Marty makes between different “process people” is:

• Some believe in scale through process

• Others believe in scale through coaching

The other interesting idea made (though you might disagree) is that people who rely on process do so because process is less ambiguous. It stems, maybe, from lack of self-confidence.

Finally, a quote I will probably take into my next 5 years: “Talk is cheap. So we should do more of it.” Talk = debate, and perhaps we should debate more.

---

🍪 Quick Bites

Teresa Torres @ttorres

What's the difference between OKRs and Outcomes? This is by far one of the most common questions I get. There are lots of answers to this question. Here's mine: 🧵

Bandan @bandanjot

If you are a PM or a Sr.PM and want to move to Product Leadership Position (Group PM/Dir. of Product/Head of Product), Here are 5 things you should be doing in your day-to-day already:

Trung Phan @TrungTPhan

Disney World receives 10m+ visitors a year. And to make a memorable experience, the park's design expertly uses visual, color, sound and smell psychology. Here are 10 examples🧵

---

😂 Meme

---

That's a wrap for today. Stay focused and see you next week! If you want more, be sure to follow me on Twitter (@nurijanian)

---

😀 What did you think of this week's newsletter?

Loved it | Great | Good | Meh | Bad

If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing it with a friend. If a friend sent you this, get the next newsletter by signing up below.

Who's George?

It’s me

I’m an underdog product manager.

Product management in New Zealand (where I live) is still a relatively immature discipline. I also came into it late via data science and UX. I may be older than others, but I often feel like a rookie.

To become better at my craft, I learn and explore new ideas relentlessly.

Then I share high-quality, tried-and-true ideas that can be used right away.

How I can help you:

• If you’re learning about product as a cross-functional leader, I’ve compiled my best actionable finds in prodmgmt.world.

• Get some help via prodmgmt.help. People ask about How to prioritise, How to do market research, how to work with engineers, how to go from a service to a product, how to develop a deep coherent product strategy, what books to read and courses to take on product topics & design systems product management.

see you next week.

— George.