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Jiaona Zhang (JZ) is a product leader with a strong background in consumer products and extensive hiring and management experience. She is currently SVP of Product at Webflow as well as a lecturer at Stanford, where she teaches a graduate-level course on product management. Before Webflow, JZ was Head of Product for the Homes Platform at Airbnb and has also led product teams at Airbnb, WeWork, and Dropbox. In today\u2019s episode, we discuss:

\u2022 Building a \u201cminimum lovable product\u201d rather than a minimum viable product

\u2022 How to create better roadmaps through storytelling

\u2022 Top lessons from Dropbox, Airbnb, WeWork, and Webflow

\u2022 The importance of setting ambitious OKRs

\u2022 JZ\u2019s first 90 days playbook: how to succeed in a new role

\u2022 Advice for early-career PMs

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-minimum-lovable-products

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Where to find Jiaona Zhang:

\u2022 Reforge: https://www.reforge.com/managing-your-pm-career

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

\u2022 Website: https://www.jiaonazhang.com/

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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) JZ\u2019s background

(04:22) Common mistakes new PMs make

(06:44) Why Airbnb Plus didn\u2019t work out, and takeaways from that experience

(10:51) Executing big dreams step-by-step

(13:45) The right way to push back against founders

(16:54) Minimum lovable product vs. minimum viable product

(20:53) What makes a product lovable

(22:20) Advice on roadmapping and prioritization

(28:04) Tips for new PMs to accelerate their career

(29:16) JZ\u2019s top skills and how they have evolved over her career

(31:37) Designing crisp OKRs

(36:09) Lessons from WeWork

(43:01) Winning the first 90 days at a new company

(48:34) Why trust is crucial

(51:48) High-level lessons from Dropbox, Airbnb, WeWork, and Webflow

(56:38) The one piece of advice that transformed JZ\u2019s career

(58:39) Lightning round

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Referenced:

\u2022 Mike Lewis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikelewis/

\u2022 \u201cWhat working at Figma taught me about customer obsession,\u201d VP of Product Sho Kuwamoto: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-working-at-figma-taught-me-about

\u2022 WeWork: https://www.wework.com/

\u2022 WeCrashed on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/wecrashed/umc.cmc.6qw605uv2rwbzutk2p2fsgvq9

\u2022 Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days: https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas/dp/150112174X

\u2022 The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Manager-What-Everyone-Looks/dp/0735219567

\u2022 Tress of the Emerald Sea: A Cosmere Novel: https://www.amazon.com/Tress-Emerald-Sea-Brandon-Sanderson/dp/1250899656/

\u2022 Arcane on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81435684

\u2022 Snoo: https://www.happiestbaby.com/

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

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

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.