Shas Doshi's 4 Essential Questions for Product Leaders

Why Am I So Busy?

Many product leaders find themselves constantly stressed and overwhelmed with work, even after implementing various productivity techniques. Shas realized that at a certain point in a product leader's career, their scope grows so large that no amount of efficiency tricks can fully alleviate the busyness.

He offers two key insights to address this:

1. Having a clear product strategy aligned with stakeholders can dramatically reduce time spent on activities like annual planning. With a solid strategy in place, Shas was able to complete planning for a major product in just 3 days, compared to the typical 4-6 week cycle.

2. Poor product decisions often lead to unnecessary busyness. Rushing into "two-way door" decisions without proper consideration of customer motivation, differentiation, and distribution can result in features that require ongoing maintenance and expansion, even if they aren't successful.

Key Takeaway:

Spend more time thinking through product decisions upfront. As Shas puts it, "Thinking is cheap, so you should do more thinking, not less."

Do I Actually Have Good Taste?

Shas emphasizes that product leaders need to develop good taste not just in design and user experience, but in the beliefs and mental models they adopt. He shares how he initially bought into the idea that "strategy doesn't matter, only execution does" while at Google, only to later realize the critical importance of product strategy at Twitter and Stripe.

He cautions against:

• Getting overly excited by catchy metaphors (e.g. "two-way doors" vs "reversible decisions")
• Being swayed by authority bias
• Falling for alliterations (e.g. "fail fast" vs "fail quickly")
• Being impressed by complicated charts and math we don't fully understand

Key Takeaway:

Develop the ability to evaluate ideas separate from their social proof or authority. Cultivate critical thinking skills to identify what's truly valuable.

Why Does My Job Feel So Frustrating?

Despite loving the overall role, many product leaders experience daily frustrations. Shas attributes this to operating in misalignment with one's core strengths and preferences. He outlines three levels of product work:

1. Impact level
2. Execution level
3. Optics level

Product leaders often find themselves forced to spend significant time at the Optics level as they advance in their careers, which can be draining if it's not their natural strength.

Key Takeaway:

Identify your superpowers and structure your career to align with them, even if it means diverging from traditional career paths. This alignment will lead to better work and greater satisfaction.

Am I Really Listening?

Shas briefly touches on the importance of truly listening, beyond just surface-level active listening techniques. He suggests there's a deeper level of listening that enables world-class leadership.

Resources for Deeper Listening:

• Rick Rubin's thoughts on listening
• Dee Hock's perspectives on listening
• Peter Drucker's insights on listening

Conclusion

By regularly asking yourself these four questions, you can improve your effectiveness as a product leader, reduce unnecessary stress, and find greater fulfillment in your role. Remember to:

1. Think deeply before making product decisions
2. Cultivate good taste in ideas and mental models
3. Align your work with your core strengths
4. Develop truly deep listening skills

Implementing these insights can help you navigate the challenges of product leadership and drive better outcomes for your team and organization.

Article created from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atS060bNpE0