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Bangaly Kaba was an early growth PM at Facebook, head of growth at Instagram, and VP of Product at Instacart and is currently Director of Product at YouTube overseeing a global team working on creator monetization. Bangaly has also been a growth advisor to dozens of companies, including Twitter, on the board of multiple companies, and is an active angel investor. In our conversation, we discuss:

\u2022 A simple framework for choosing where to work and what to work on

\u2022 The importance of \u201cunderstand work\u201d

\u2022 The \u201cadjacent users\u201d theory and how it can help you drive growth

\u2022 Advice for coaching product managers

\u2022 Invaluable lessons from his time at Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

\u2022 Much more

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Brought to you by:

\u2022 Uizard\u2014AI-powered prototyping for visionary product leaders

\u2022 Mercury\u2014The powerful and intuitive way for ambitious companies to bank

\u2022 Vanta\u2014Automate compliance. Simplify security.

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Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/frameworks-for-growing-your-career-bangaly-kaba

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Where to find Bangaly Kaba:

\u2022 X: https://twitter.com/iambangaly

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

\u2022 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambangaly/

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Where to find Lenny:

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

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

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

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Bangaly\u2019s background

(06:31) Choosing where to work and what to work on

(08:39) The impact factor

(10:53) Evaluating the environment

(15:53) The manager component

(18:27) The skills part of the equation

(23:49) Advice on finding a mentor

(25:42) The power of \u201cunderstand work\u201d

(31:17) Operationalizing understand work

(37:55) Balancing understand work

(41:25) Managing complex change

(45:26) Effective management of product managers

(51:35) The role of product managers as coaches and team leaders

(54:52) Driving growth through flywheels and value proposition

(01:03:14) Understanding adjacent users

(01:08:41) The role of partnerships and SEO in Instagram\u2019s early growth

(01:16:08) The secret behind Instagram\u2019s growth

(01:25:37) Lessons from Facebook

(01:29:15) Failure corner

(01:31:58) Lightning round

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Referenced:

\u2022 Impact = Environment x Skills: How to Make Career Decisions: https://www.reforge.com/blog/how-to-make-career-decisions

\u2022 Thinking beyond frameworks | Casey Winters (Pinterest, Eventbrite, Airbnb, Tinder, Canva, Reddit, Grubhub): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/thinking-beyond-frameworks-casey

\u2022 Casey Winters\u2019s blog: https://caseyaccidental.com/

\u2022 Ben Thompson\u2019s newsletter: https://stratechery.com/about/

\u2022 Elena Verna on how B2B growth is changing, product-led growth, product-led sales, why you should go freemium not trial, what features to make free, and much more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/elena-verna-on-why-every-company

\u2022 George Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geolee/

\u2022 Bangaly Kaba: The Path to 1 Billion: Lessons Learned from Growing Instagram\u2014CXL LIVE 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9ZHlb6kj_E

\u2022 What Is \u2018Dogfooding\u2019?: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/business/dogfooding.html

\u2022 Bloom\u2019s taxonomy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_taxonomy

\u2022 Kevin Systrom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinsystrom/

\u2022 Mike Krieger on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekrieger/

\u2022 LeBron James: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James

\u2022 Kobe Bryant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant

\u2022\xa0 Mike Krzyzewski: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Krzyzewski

\u2022 John Calipari: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calipari

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

\u2022 Chief: https://chief.com/

\u2022 Jobs to be done framework: https://jobs-to-be-done.com/jobs-to-be-done-a-framework-for-customer-needs-c883cbf61c90

\u2022 The Adjacent User: https://brianbalfour.com/quick-takes/the-adjacent-user

\u2022 How the biggest consumer apps got their first 1,000 users: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-the-biggest-consumer-apps-got

\u2022 Alex Zhu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keepsilence/

\u2022 From Brush to Canvas with Alex Zhu of Musical.ly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey15v81pwII

\u2022 Selena Gomez on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selenagomez/

\u2022 Kim Kardashian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimkardashian/

\u2022 Rob Andrews on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robby-andrews-64669720/

\u2022 Instagram\u2019s growth speeds up as it hits 700 million users: https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/26/instagram-700-million-users/

\u2022 Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484

\u2022 Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World: https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/1455586692

\u2022 Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change: https://www.amazon.com/Start-End-Products-Create-Change/dp/0525534423

\u2022 Flighty app: https://www.flightyapp.com/

\u2022 Adam Grant on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamgrant/

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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.