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Adriel Frederick is VP of Product Management at Reddit X, where he helps incubate and scale new products. He is a former Product Lead at Facebook, as well as a former PM and Director of Product at Lyft. In today\u2019s episode, we focus on what it takes to become a better product leader. Adriel shares anecdotes from his time at Lyft and Facebook, insights about how to lead through tough times, why there isn\u2019t an algorithmic solution to everything, why R&D teams need to be a part of the core mission, the tangible benefits of working on diverse teams, and his thoughts on the future of AI. He also introduces the concept of cannonballs, why you should focus on the marginal user, why organization and empathy are the most important PM skills, and so much more.

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Find the full transcript here: https://www.podpage.com/lennys-podcast/humanizing-product-development-adriel-frederick-reddit-lyft-facebook/#transcript

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Where to find Adriel Frederick:

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

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

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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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Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for making this episode possible:

\u2022 Linear: https://linear.app/lenny

\u2022 Flatfile: https://www.flatfile.com/lenny

\u2022 Eppo: https://www.geteppo.com/

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Referenced:

\u2022 Jules Walter on Twitter: https://twitter.com/julesdwalt

\u2022 Jules Walter\u2019s guest post on Lenny\u2019s newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/product-sense

\u2022 Mark Zuckerberg on The Joe Rogan Experience: https://open.spotify.com/episode/51gxrAActH18RGhKNza598

\u2022 Sam Harris\u2019s TED Talk on AI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nt3edWLgIg

\u2022 Facebook\u2019s 7 friends in 10 days: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-chamath-palihapitya-dramatically-improved-user-malinda-senanayake/

\u2022 The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power: https://www.amazon.com/Prize-Epic-Quest-Money-Power/dp/1439110123/

\u2022 The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations:\xa0https://www.amazon.com/New-Map-Energy-Climate-Nations/dp/0143111159/

\u2022 Revisionist History podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revisionist-history/id1119389968

\u2022 Tuned In podcast:\xa0https://www.hpacademy.com/blog/tuned-in-high-performance-academy-podcast/

\u2022 Mo on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81134264

\u2022 Radiant Nuclear: https://www.radiantnuclear.com/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:40) Adriel\u2019s background

(06:13) What he does at Reddit X

(07:27) Reddit X\u2019s avatar marketplace and NFTs

(08:33) Why R&D teams need to be a part of the core mission

(11:12) What it\u2019s like to be the first black PM at Facebook

(14:58) How to foster diversity

(19:40) Being a PM at controversial companies, and how to evaluate criticism

(28:25) Adriel\u2019s most stressful time at Lyft

(30:35) The importance of operational control and what it means

(32:35) Why there isn\u2019t always an algorithmic solution to everything

(37:47) Thoughts on AI

(42:42) Growth hacking and algorithms at Facebook

(48:18) Cannonballs in growth\u2014fundamental changes in the product for optimization

(49:07) Facebook\u2019s \u201c7 friends in 10 days\u201d push

(51:30) What is a marginal user, and what can you learn from their experience?

(56:06) How to think about doing experiments

(59:10) Why organization and empathy are the most important skills\xa0

(1:02:59) Lightning round\xa0

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