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David Singleton is Chief Technology Officer at Stripe, where he oversees engineering and design teams. Since joining Stripe, David has helped grow the technology org across the U.S. and developed new engineering hubs in Singapore and Dublin as well as Stripe\u2019s fifth hub, remote engineering, across the globe. Before Stripe, he spent 11 years at Google, where he was VP of Engineering, leading product development and coordinating more than 15 different hardware partnerships. In today\u2019s episode, we cover:

\u2022 Hiring secrets that set Stripe employees apart

\u2022 How to build a product-minded engineering team

\u2022 How to operationalize meticulousness

\u2022 Strategies for maintaining developer productivity at scale

\u2022 The process of \u201cfriction logging\u201d used to make better products

\u2022 How AI is changing the way engineers work

\u2022 Insights for planning and prioritizing at scale

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-culture-of-excellence

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Where to find David Singleton:

\u2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/dps

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpsingleton/

\u2022 Website: https://blog.singleton.io/

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Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) David\u2019s background

(04:22) How Stripe\u2019s unique hiring process has helped them build an incredible team

(12:27) An example of a relentlessly curious and passionate employee

(14:11) Structured hiring loops at Stripe

(16:39) How Stripe built a product-minded engineering culture

(21:56) Stripe\u2019s operating principles\xa0

(25:39) How Stripe uses \u201cfriction logging\u201d to build a meticulous product culture\xa0

(32:22) How to operationalize friction logging

(35:02) How to set PMs up for success

(36:53) Stripe\u2019s collaborative approach to product evaluation

(41:17) Advice for presenting to CTOs\xa0

(42:58) How to get better at building products

(45:28) Stripe\u2019s \u201cengineerications\u201d and the importance of getting into the weeds as a leader

(52:03) Auto-testing and other strategies to improve shipping speeds

(59:29) Improving developer productivity

(1:00:54) How AI has impacted the way Stripe builds product\xa0

(1:07:03) Why David is excited about Copilot

(1:09:24) Lessons from managing people

(1:14:30) Planning and prioritization based on first-principles thinking

(1:18:23) Lenny\u2019s feedback from using Stripe

(1:19:14) What\u2019s next for Stripe

(1:22:10) Lightning round

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Referenced:

\u2022 Stripe: https://stripe.com/

\u2022 Jeff Weinstein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwweinstein/

\u2022 How we use friction logs to improve products at Stripe: https://dev.to/stripe/how-we-use-friction-logs-to-improve-products-at-stripe-i6p

\u2022 GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot

\u2022 High Output Management by Andrew Grove: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884

\u2022 Build by Tony Fadell: https://www.amazon.com/Build/dp/1787634116/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

\u2022 Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building by Claire Hughes Johnson: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-People-Tactics-Management-Building/dp/1953953212/

\u2022 Andrej Karpathy on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrejKarpathy

\u2022 Midjourney: https://www.midjourney.com/home/

\u2022 Emily Sands: https://www.linkedin.com/in/egsands/

\u2022 Michelle Bu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebu/

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.