Behind the Craft

Latest Episodes:

Why You Should Push Yourself to Do Hard Things | Nat Eliason (Author) Jul 05, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Nat Eliason, one of my favorite writers online. Nat is the author of Crypto Confidential, a real-life thriller about how he made and lost millions in crypto. We also talked about how Nat uses AI to edit his writing, why he pushes himself to do hard things like writing a sci-fi novel, and his advice for aspiring creators on avoiding the dark side of the creator economy. Nat is a personal inspiration to me. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast and check out Nat's new book: https://www.nateliason.com/crypto-confidential Timestamps: (00:00) Prove to yourself that you can do hard things

(00:56) Introducing Nat

(02:06) Using AI to edit his non-fiction writing

(08:03) Why Nat is writing a sci-fi book

(11:42) 3 ways Nat is using AI to write his sci-fi book

(17:33) Using AI to fill in details about a sci-fi setting

(19:22) Novel Crafter as an advanced AI writing tool

(22:57) Why Nat got into crypto with a new baby coming

(26:50) Nat's lowest moment in crypto losing $35,000 in one night

(30:27) Why you must push yourself to do hard things

(34:36) How Nat keeps motivated through small wins

(38:26) The dark side of the creator economy

(41:43) How to avoid making content that you hate

(45:47) Advice for aspiring creators Where to find Nat: X: https://x.com/nateliason Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/do-hard-things-ai-nat-eliason 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Proven Rituals of Great Product Teams | Lane Shackleton (CPO Coda) Jun 21, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Lane Shackleton, Chief Product Officer of Coda. Lane has interviewed hundreds of product teams from Figma, Uber, Spotify, and more as the chief product officer of Coda. He shared with me his favorite rituals from these interviews for crafting a vision, running product reviews, and making decisions. Timestamps:

(00:00) Cathedrals, not bricks to craft a great vision

(03:41) Moving beyond the 1-line vision with powerful artifacts

(06:46) Translating vision to roadmap with quarterly plus OKRs

(13:26) Why most product reviews fall short

(16:08) How the Catalyst meeting makes reviews better

(22:50) Two way write-ups to avoid the highest-paid person's opinion

(26:31) How to learn by making, not talking

(30:46) The trait that leaders and builders respect the most Get the templates for each ritual: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/rituals-and-templates-of-great-product-teams Where to find Lane: https://x.com/lshackleton 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Unlock Your Storytelling Superpower | Robbie Crabtree (Coach) Jun 14, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Robbie Crabtree, founder of Competitive Storytelling. Robbie is a top storytelling coach who has helped hundreds of founders raise $600M+ through this skill. Before that, he perfected his storytelling craft as a trial lawyer who oversaw 100+ criminal cases. We talked about: - How to craft a great story - The two stories that every leader must have - How to deliver your story in a compelling way I’ve struggled with storytelling myself, and Robbie’s tips were incredibly helpful. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast. Timestamps: (00:00) The U-shaped approach to tell a great story (01:29) The essence of a great story in one line (02:46) Connecting personally with your audience (03:56) Why impromptu storytelling is a myth (05:26) The five-part storytelling framework (05:52) Defending a murder case example (10:44) Crafting a story in 10 words (22:17) The two essential stories every leader needs (28:09) Deliver a story people will never forget (32:12) Proven tactics to tell better stories Where to find Robbie:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbiecrab/Website: https://www.competitivestorytelling.co/ Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/unlock-your-storytelling-superpower 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Inside the $550M AI Browser That's Taking on Google Chrome | Josh Miller (CEO Browser Company) Jun 07, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Josh Miller, CEO of the Browser Company.

Josh and his team built Arc, an AI-first browser that users can’t stop raving about. To take on Google Chrome, they’ve raised $550M from top investors such as LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner and Figma’s Dylan Field. In our chat, Josh gives us an inside look at how the Browser Company crafts great products and hires top talent.

Timestamps:

(00:00) The #1 thing we look for to hire great talent (01:29) Why Josh wants to re-invent the browser (04:41) How to find and hire great people (08:11) Build with the community on day 1 (12:01) Inside crafting browser that uses AI to browse for you (15:18) Turn it up to 100 on just one thing (19:47) We only have 12-24 months to win (24:30) Balancing craft with time to market (30:18) How Arc thinks about monetization (35:45) Addressing publisher concerns with AI search (41:04) The secret to feeling fulfilled in your career

Where to find Josh:

X: https://x.com/joshm Website: https://thebrowser.company/

Get the interview takeaways:

https://creatoreconomy.so/p/josh-miller-inside-ai-browser-product

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Proven Tactics to 10x Your Impact as a Leader | David Kline (Bridgewater) May 31, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Dave Kline.

David led teams at Bridgwater for 20+ years, working directly with billionaire Ray Dalio. Since then, he’s coached 1000s of leaders through his course and newsletter.

We spoke about:

- His journey from leader to solopreneur

- How to manage up well

- How to delegate and help others grow

If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/dave-kline-how-to-manage

Timestamps:

(00:00) The #1 mistake that new managers make

(01:40) Top lesson from working with Ray Dalio

(04:25) Dave's journey from leader to solopreneur

(09:36) How to manage up without screwing up

(14:42) Asking for constructive feedback the right way

(19:01) Taking a strategic approach to getting promoted

(25:39) Why you should create a personal brand at your company

(26:18) The importance of delegating until it hurts

(30:29) Managing high and low performers

(35:16) A personal story of when harsh feedback forced Dave to grow

Where to find Dave:

Newsletter: https://mgmt.beehiiv.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkline/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Build Your Career by Collapsing the Talent Stack | Scott Belsky (CPO Adobe) May 24, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Design and Emerging Products.

Scott has also advised 100s of startups and writes a popular newsletter called Implications.

I spoke to Scott about:

Why the talent stack is collapsing and what you can do about it

How to improve the first-mile experience of your product

The 4P framework for building generative AI products

Scott is a leader who obsesses about customer empathy and keeping high performing teams as small as possible. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Why empathy must come before vision
(02:02) How the talent stack is collapsing
(04:50) How employees can prep for smaller teams and AI
(07:00) The ideal design to PM relationship is they’re the same person
(13:50) Improve the first-mile experience of a product
(19:00) Principles for building AI products at Adobe
(22:47) How to talk to people who are anti-AI
(25:25) The 4P framework for navigating AI products

Where to find me:

Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Get Unstuck in Your Career in 5 Steps | Ethan Evans (former VP Amazon) May 17, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Ethan Evans, former VP at Amazon.

Ethan rose to VP at Amazon over 15 years and then retired to make $700,000 teaching product leaders while only working 20 hours a week.

Ethan and I talked about:

The magic loop to level up at any company and how to get unstuck

How to systematically build trust with leadership

How to build a $700K+ business while working part time

Ethan is an incredible career coach and product leader. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Why trust is built more in negative events

(02:11) The Magic Loop framework to grow your career

(04:46) Where people get stuck in the Magic Loop

(07:09) How to ask your manager for constructive feedback

(11:02) The #1 thing that leaders need to do well

(16:38) How to build a strong relationship with your manager

(22:51) How Ethan built trust by taking a risk to disagree with his SVP

(29:41) How NVIDIA succeeded by simply surviving

(31:28) How Ethan recovered from failing Jeff Bezos

(37:39) Making $700K a year in retirement as a creator

(44:31) Every tech person should be doing this

Where to find me:

Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

How to Become an AI First PM and Designer | Paul Adams (CPO Intercom) May 10, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Paul Adams, Chief Product Officer of Intercom.

When ChatGPT launched, Paul and the Intercom team blew up their roadmap to go all in on AI. Since then, they’ve built an AI-first customer service suite that can provide accurate answers to customers 24/7.

Paul and I spoke about:

1. How PMs and designers can skill up on AI and get hired to work on AI products

2. Why you may not want to start with the problem when building AI products

3. How Intercom blew up its roadmap to build an AI chatbot that can resolve 50% of support queries without a human

Paul is a thoughtful product leader – be sure to subscribe if you enjoy our conversation.

Timestamps: (00:00) Will AI make us dumber and lazier?
(01:32) How PMs and designers can skill up on AI
(05:05) AI will further separate great vs. mediocre PMs
(09:00) The rise of “AI PMs” and how to learn without the BS
(13:44) What Paul looks for when hiring people to work on AI
(16:32) How building AI products is different
(21:05) Why is customer support so terrible
(26:48) How AI will transform customer support
(31:03) Will AI hurt customer support jobs?
(33:00) Why AI products challenge “start with the customer problem”
(38:26) Think big, start small, ship to learn
(46:08) Closing words for advice for building in the age of AI

Where to find me:

Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

The Best Product Designer I Ever Worked With | Alex Cornell (Meta AI) May 03, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Alex Cornell, Director of Design at Meta AI.

Alex is one of the best product designers I’ve ever worked with. He helped design Facebook, Substack, Linear, and an app for family and friends called Cocoon.

We talked about:

- Lessons from designing at Meta, Substack, and Linear

- How interface design will change with generative AI

- How anyone can start learning design right now

This interview is a must-watch if you’re interested in design at all. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.

Timestamps:

(00:00) How to build good design taste

(01:44) The #1 mistake that designers make

(04:09) How to start designing a new product

(15:02) Lessons from designing Substack and Linear’s mobile apps

(23:35) Ideal design environment - big companies or startups?

(26:17) Balancing North Star vs. what’s shipping next

(32:42) How Alex uses AI in his personal life

(39:17) 3 ways for anyone to learn how to design

Where to find Alex:

https://twitter.com/alexcornell

https://www.alexcornell.com/

Get the takeaways:

https://creatoreconomy.so/p/alex-cornell-best-designer-that-i-worked-with

Inside How Figma Builds AI Products | Yuhki Yamashita (CPO Figma) Apr 26, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Yuhki Yamashita, Chief Product Officer of Figma.

Yuhki and I talked about how Figma:

- Created a culture where employees love their craft

- Builds AI products to solve real user problems

- Plans to make design accessible to everyone

Yuhki is a great storyteller and shares an inside look at how Figma’s amazing product culture works. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/yuhki-inside-how-figma-built-figjam-ai

Timestamps :

(00:00) How PMs should collaborate with designers

(04:00) How to hire people who care about craft

(05:20) Balancing craft with moving metrics and optics

(07:43) Tips to get better at storytelling

(10:52) How Figjam evolved from Figma

(12:45) Why fun is a pillar for Figma products

(16:59) Evaluating AI use cases for Figjam

(19:01) Quality is everything with AI products

(24:31) How to balance power user and new user needs

(29:24) Best way for PMs to learn design