Lenny's Reads

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comIf feedback is a gift, why does it often feel so difficult?

In this episode, we break down executive coach Jack Cohen’s evidence-based GAIN framework - a simple, memorable way to give feedback that actually lands.

Whether you manage a team or want to nudge a peer, this is a step-by-step playbook for feedback that strengthens relationships, drives behavior change, and leaves people feeling supported and motivated to change.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why we struggle to give tough feedback

• How “start with the Goal” flips defensiveness into motivation

• Why great feedback names Actions and Impacts, not judgments

• How acknowledging your contribution disarms resistance

• Scripts that make tough conversations feel collaborative

• A framing that helps preserve ambition and psychological safety

• A Stanford-tested “wise feedback” sentence that boosts follow-through

• The 3 Ws framework to lock in change

• A live case study: a VP uses GAIN to unwind a founder’s micromanaging habit

References:

• Amy Edmondson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycedmondson/

• “Breaking the cycle of mistrust: Wise interventions to provide critical feedback across the racial divide”: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-28213-001

• Brian Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-e-martin-50575a2b/

• Carol Dweck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-dweck-4618236/

• Cycle of conflict or cycle of connection?: https://speakerdeck.com/jackcohen/cycle-of-conflict-or-cycle-of-connection

• FeedbackGPT: https://maven.com/p/6f79f8/feedback-gpt-give-feedback-people-thank-you-for

• “Framing for Learning: Lessons in Successful Technology Implementation: https://www.notion.so/27d43d3a2709810a9f8de040eea2b01a?pvs=21”

• How to become a supermanager with AI: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-become-a-supermanager-with

• How to motivate your team for free: https://actionablewisdom.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-motivate-your-team-for-free

• Jack Cohen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackadamcohen/

• John Gottman: https://www.gottman.com/author/john-gottman-ph-d/

• ManagerGPT: The AI Tools and Human Systems to Scale Yourself and Your Team Fast: https://maven.com/actionablefeedback/managergpt

• Nischal Nadhamuni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishchaln/

• Nonviolent Communication (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Life-Changing-Relationships/dp/189200528X

• “On the elicitation of preferences for alternative therapies”: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7070445/

• “Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9686450/”

• Radical Candor (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509

• Satya Nadella: https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella/

• Sheryl Sandberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652/

• Slack: https://slack.com/

• Stanford University: https://www.stanford.edu/

• Tal Raviv: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsraviv/

• “The effectiveness of the “But-you-are-free” technique: Meta-analysis and re-examination of the technique: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344807911_The_effectiveness_of_the_But-you-are-free_technique_Meta-analysis_and_re-examination_of_the_technique”

• The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup (book): https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Dilemmas-Anticipating-Foundation-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304

• The GAIN Feedback Template: https://maven.com/p/ad08cc/the-gain-feedback-template

• Read the newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/introducing-the-gain-framework-for

Subscribe

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj

• Substack: https://lennysreads.com

Follow Lenny

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast

About

Welcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot.

To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.com

If you’ve been wondering how to get real value from the subscriber product pass, this episode is for you. I break down exactly how I’m using eight of the tools today - from what they’re great at, what surprised me, and where they slot into a modern PM’s stack. Consider this your field guide to turning these tools into real workflow improvements

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What each tool actually does for PMs (beyond the tagline): where it shines vs. falls short

• How to vibe code entire apps with Replit, including auth, DB, testing, and auto-fix loops

• Why Warp turns your terminal into an agentic sidekick

• Linear’s sweet spot for teams

• When voice beats typing: workflows where Wispr Flow is faster and more accurate

• Rapid content creation with Gamma 3.0, including decks, landing pages, and shareable summaries

• Fast prototyping with Magic Patterns using your own component library

• How non-video-people ship great video with Descript + Underlord

• Smart real-life examples of how PMs and teams are using each tool right now

References:

• Read the post: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-product

• A peek at an upcoming episode on evals: https://the-rise-of-ai-evals-q62i0s7.gamma.site/

• Announcing 15+ free premium tools available exclusively to paid annual subscribers: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/productpass

• Ben Horowitz’s episode on leadership: https://gamma.app/docs/10-Hard-Truths-That-Built-Billion-Dollar-Companies-onh55jsg26xrzp5

• Brendan Foody’s story of Mercor: https://ai-revolutions-hidden-bo-3k6n3li.gamma.site/

• Creating a unique resume: https://suchita-kaundin-bsb2sbo.gamma.site/

• Ethan Smith’s episode on AEO: https://gamma.app/docs/Mastering-Answer-Engine-Optimization-n4gxgak9z9tpzhc

• Lenny’s product pass: https://lennysproductpass.com/

• Turning PRDs into decks: https://x.com/clairevo/status/1968002491724988923

• Yoto: https://us.yotoplay.com/

Tools + use-case examples:

Descript: https://descript.com/lenny

• Creating ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvBGR5cSeNw

• Creating avatar-based demos: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/burkhauser_guys-now-on-descript-you-can-instantly-create-activity-7320888554761453568-Eex_

• Adding big juicy text to videos: https://youtube.com/shorts/phEBSCJP8xw• Creating a rough cut with AI: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RtC7_wQ1Arg

• Creating YouTube Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rXZkt6YkZw

• Underlord example: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fatemeh-alavizadeh_ever-wonder-how-ai-actually-thinks-about-activity-7350929550232444928-fc6s

Gamma: https://gamma.app/partners/lenny

• Gamma 3.0: https://x.com/thisisgrantlee/status/1967943621782413388

• Generating custom decks for each sales outreach: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/yonathan-cohen_gamma-30-just-dropped-i-built-a-29-reply-activity-7373718410439942144-sKqM/

• Creating landing pages: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/charlie-hills_how-to-make-a-landing-page-in-5-minutes-activity-7321473049843621888-BTLe/

• Turning meeting notes into a deck and follow-up email: https://x.com/riyazmd774/status/1967978262015160802

• The story of Gamma: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/technology/ai-silicon-valley-start-ups.html

• Turn Granola notes into presentations with Gamma: https://zapier.com/templates/details/meeting-notes-to-presentations-granola-gamma

Linear: https://linear.app/

• Claire at ChatPRD on building an agent in Linear: https://linear.app/integrations/chatprd

• How Commure is building dashboards to monitor their team’s progress: https://linear.app/now/commure-dashboards in Linear

• Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products with Nan Yu (their Head of Product): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTr21kgCFF4

• How Linear uses Linear to manage their own customer feedback: https://linear.app/now/how-we-think-about-customer-experience-at-linear

Magic Patterns: https://magicpatterns.link/lpp1

• Copy-and-pasting PRDs, creating a Magic Patterns prototype, and then: https://magicpatterns.link/llp1x sharing with engineering

• Creating personalized customer demos: https://magicpatterns.link/lpp1lu

• Skipping Figma entirely: https://magicpatterns.link/llp1jh when prototyping

• Magic Patterns tutorials: https://www.magicpatterns.com/docs/documentation/ai-prototyping-course/introduction

Mobbin: https://mobbin.com/lenny

• Copy-and-pasting best-in-class flows into your Figma: https://youtu.be/E4idM0hC_AY?si=tJA95mUdzSmya0Wa&t=1537

• Designing a viral app: https://youtu.be/T64X2GUoDwc?si=8f98NKkKPygr9QHS&t=360

• Elevating your design taste: https://youtu.be/8mMH6Pq8qnE?si=xCt-KLIZsOhxrV-v&t=533

• Getting design inspiration: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3px5ESAwxA/

• Studying in the best way: https://x.com/rexan_wong/status/1967789508717650388

Replit: https://replit.com/?utm_source=lenny&utm_medium=lenny&utm_campaign=v2

• Building a fully featured website for Saastr: https://x.com/jasonlk/status/1967408276825575753

• Building a social networking platform (in 193 minutes): https://x.com/anthropiast/status/1966109218479714593

• Coming up with startup ideas: https://x.com/daniel_mac8/status/1966260595143094534

• Vibe-coding automations: https://x.com/omarsar0/status/1966949907149058551

• Taking on Upwork projects: https://x.com/niconley/status/1966505076849074618

Warp: http://go.warp.dev/lenny

• How Warp helps a dad teach his kids how to build websites: https://x.com/some_user123/status/1950443062016041377

• Building a Strava clone: https://youtu.be/cmHheGcDWTQ

• Converting MRI imaging files to JPEGs: https://x.com/aaronwhite/status/1958281839333794057?s=46

• Warp tutorials: https://warp.dev/university

Wispr Flow: https://wisprflow.ai/

• Doctors transcribing their notes: https://x.com/RutaB_/status/1956099269544567236

• Slow typers speeding up their workflows: https://x.com/rywiggs/status/1937991165217017879

• Talking to chatbots: https://x.com/MatthewGattozzi/status/1967952481419403609

• Vibe coding: https://x.com/tankots/status/1891138380404060298

• Writing: https://x.com/deedydas/status/1930130567649210879

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

If you’re a premium subscriber

Add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.com

In this episode, you’ll learn:

* Why product sense isn’t magic: it’s a muscle you can train

* How to build product sense by developing deeper user empathy

* Why watching real users interact with products sharpens your intuition

* How to reverse-engineer everyday products to uncover what makes them work

* How creativity plays a key role in building great products

* What you can learn by studying how top product thinkers make decisions

* Why staying curious about new technology trends fuels innovation

* How to tell if your product sense is actually improving over time

Listen now: YouTube | Apple | Spotify

References:

* A comprehensive survey of Product Management

* Anthropic

* Are You Solving the Right Problems?

* Balaji Srinivasan

* Bangaly Kaba

* Braze

* Camille Edwards

* Cash App

* Carta

* Courtney Lessard

* David Lieb

* Elad Gil

* Erin Teague

* How to Do a Product Critique

* How to Get Startup Ideas

* Inspired

* Intro to the Design of Everyday Things

* Jules Walter

* Julie Zhuo

* Lawrence Ripsher

* Marty Cagan

* Naval Ravikant

* Paul Graham

* Rahul Vohra

* Shreyas Doshi

* Slack

* Stewart Butterfield

* Stripe

* Superhuman

* Textract (Amazon)

* The First Secret of Great Design

* Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg

* Todd Sherman

* Tony Fadell

* Uber

* Venmo

* Why now

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at https://add.lennysreads.com

In this episode, we dive into the fast-emerging discipline of AI evaluation with Hamel Husain and Shreya Shankar, creators of AI Evals for Engineers & PMs, the #1 highest-grossing course on Maven.

After training 2000+ PMs and engineers across 500+ companies, Hamel and Shreya reveal the complete playbook for building evaluations that actually improve your AI product: moving beyond vanity dashboards, to a system that drives continuous improvement.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why most AI eval dashboards fail to deliver real product improvements

• How to use error analysis to uncover your product’s most critical failure modes

• The role of a “principal domain expert” in setting a consistent quality bar

• Techniques for transforming messy error notes into a clean taxonomy of failures

• When to use code-based checks vs. LLM-as-a-judge evaluators

• How to build trust in your evals with human-labeled ground-truth datasets

• Why binary pass/fail labels outperform Likert scales in practice

• Evaluation strategies for complex systems: multi-turn conversations, RAG pipelines, and agentic workflows

• How CI safety nets and production monitoring work together to create a flywheel of continuous product improvement

References:

• Read the newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-eval-systems-that-improve

• AI Evals for Engineers & PMs: https://maven.com/parlance-labs/evals

• A Field Guide to Rapidly Improving AI Products: https://hamel.dev/blog/posts/field-guide/

• Aligning LLM-Assisted Evaluation of LLM Outputs with Human Preferences: https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.12272

• Aman Khan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanberkeley/

• Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/

• Arize Phoenix: https://phoenix.arize.com/

• Braintrust: https://www.braintrust.dev/

• Beyond vibe checks: A PM’s complete guide to evals: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/beyond-vibe-checks-a-pms-complete

• Frequently Asked Questions (And Answers) About AI Evals: https://hamel.dev/blog/posts/evals-faq/

• Hamel Husain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamelhusain/

• LangSmith: https://smith.langchain.com/

• Not Dead Yet: On RAG: https://hamel.dev/notes/llm/rag/not_dead.html

• OpenAI: https://openai.com/

• Shreya Shankar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrshnk/

Listen:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Follow Lenny:

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast

Subscribe

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads

• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj

• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/

Follow Lenny

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcast

About

Welcome to Lenny's Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot.

To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

In this episode, naming expert David Placek shares his foundational principles that helped him create some of the world’s most iconic brands: BlackBerry, Azure, Sonos, and Impossible Foods, to name a few.

Whether you’re launching a new company or naming a product, this episode will sharpen how you think about brand strategy and help you avoid costly mistakes.

If you’re a premium subscriber

Add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.com: https://add.lennysreads.com/

Listen now:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why naming is the single highest-leverage brand decision you’ll make

• The 3 pillars of effective names

• How invented names outperform descriptive ones (and cost less to build)

• Why brainstorming rarely works - and what to do instead

• The story behind Intel’s Pentium and how one name changed the industry

• Why “Swiffer” made mopping fun

• How Vercel went from “Zeit” to a name built for momentum

• The 6 challenges every name must overcome in today’s AI-driven world

• What not to do: common naming traps that lead to forgettable brands

References:

• AMD: https://www.amd.com/

• Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com/

• BlackBerry: https://www.blackberry.com/

• Codeium: https://codeium.com/

• Dell: https://www.dell.com/

• HP: https://www.hp.com/

• Impossible Foods: https://impossiblefoods.com/

• Intel: https://www.intel.com/

• Lexicon Branding: https://www.lexiconbranding.com/

• Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/

• Navan: https://navan.com/

• Procter & Gamble: https://us.pg.com/

• Sonos: https://www.sonos.com/

• Subaru: https://www.subaru.com/

• Vercel: https://vercel.com/

To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

In this episode, Aishwarya Reganti and Kiriti Badam introduce a powerful new framework for building AI products: the Continuous Calibration/Continuous Development (CC/CD) framework.

If you’ve ever shipped an AI demo that looked magical but struggled to scale, this framework will resonate. The CC/CD framework provides a practical and structured approach to navigating these realities and building AI systems that are stable, intentional, and trustworthy.

Listen: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj

Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The two core differences every AI builder must account for: non-determinism and the agency–control tradeoff

• The six phases of the CC/CD loop

• How to scope capabilities across different versions of your product to gradually earn trust and agency

• The role of reference datasets in taming unpredictability and guiding evals

• How to design application-specific evals that act as the equivalent of tests for AI

• Why control handoffs are essential for maintaining user trust

• How to transform deployment from a finish line into the start of continuous calibration

• Why you should never “jump to full agency” before the system earns it

• How to apply the CC/CD loop with real-world examples: customer support, marketing assistants, and coding copilots

References:

• Beyond vibe checks: A PM’s complete guide to evals: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/beyond-vibe-checks-a-pms-complete

• “Building agentic AI applications with a problem-first approach” [Maven course]: https://maven.com/aishwarya-kiriti/genai-system-design

• Cursor: https://cursor.com

• “Don’t build AI products like traditional software” [Free lightning talk]: https://maven.com/p/88a325/don-t-build-ai-products-like-traditional-software

• GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot

• Why premature pptimization is the root of all evil: https://stackify.com/premature-optimization-evil/

• Why your AI product needs a different development lifecycle: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/48e7fb02-1fc1-4bb7-bf85-85f4165e8225

To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you’re a premium subscriber

Add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.com

In this episode, I share another 10 must-read essays that continue to shape how I think about product, startups, and career.

Whether you’re scaling a startup, leading a team, or sharpening your thinking, this episode will expand your perspective and give you practical tools you can use immediately.

Listen now:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj

Substack: https://lennysreads.com/

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why solving the right problem for the right audience is obvious - yet essential

• Why leaders must take full responsibility for any communication discrepancies

• How to use the SCQA (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) framework for concise, persuasive messaging

• Why sales, often overlooked, is critical to your product’s success

• A tremendously clarifying way to think about your market

• The four types of “fit” every startup needs

• What we get wrong about our definition of a startup

• How to start giving away your Legos

• How reframing what you’re selling can strengthen your positioning

• What “Schlep blindness” is - and how founders can avoid it

References:

References:

• Building Products: https://medium.com/the-year-of-the-looking-glass/building-products-91aa93bea4bb

• Communication is the Job: https://boz.com/articles/communication-is-the-job

• Distribution: https://a16z.com/distribution/

• Eigenquestions: The Art of Framing Problems: https://coda.io/@shishir/eigenquestions-the-art-of-framing-problems

• Executive Communication: https://www.heavybit.com/library/video/executive-communication/

• Give Away Your Legos: https://review.firstround.com/give-away-your-legos-and-other-commandments-for-scaling-startups/

• How to Work with Designers: https://medium.com/the-year-of-the-looking-glass/how-to-work-with-designers-6c975dede146

• Product Management Mental Models for Everyone: https://blackboxofpm.com/product-management-mental-models-for-everyone-31e7828cb50b

• Schlep Blindness: https://www.paulgraham.com/schlep.html

• Startup = Growth: https://paulgraham.com/growth.html

• The Four Fits: https://brianbalfour.com/four-fits-growth-framework

• The Market Curve: https://medium.com/sequoia-capital/the-market-curve-44097b626f6d

• The Next Feature Fallacy: https://andrewchen.com/the-next-feature-fallacy-the-fallacy-that-the-next-new-feature-will-suddenly-make-people-use-your-product/

• We Don’t Sell Saddles Here: https://medium.com/@stewart/we-dont-sell-saddles-here-4c59524d650d

• What Makes a Strong Product Culture?: https://www.bringthedonuts.com/essays/what-makes-a-strong-product-culture/

To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you're a premium subscriber, get the full episodes in your podcast feed by visiting https://add.lennysreads.com

Read the full post: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/c674cb15-93c5-44f0-9a11-33ca626b8179

Peter Yang interviewed leaders at six of the most AI-forward companies—Zapier, Ramp, Duolingo, Shopify, Intercom, and Whoop—to uncover 25 real-world tactics for driving employee AI adoption. If your team is still struggling to get value from AI tools, this episode is packed with practical advice, internal playbooks, and strategies you can use right away.

In this episode, you’ll learn

• The five steps to driving AI adoption at your company

• Why vague AI-first mandates don’t work—and what to do instead

• How to track and reward adoption, usage, and outcomes

• How to cut through red tape and unblock company-wide access

• How to turn AI power users into internal teachers

• Which high-impact tasks top companies are automating first

• What separates real AI adoption from flashy demo theater

References

• Gallup poll: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/691643/work-nearly-doubled-two-years.aspx

• Hilary Gridley’s 30 days of GPT: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zJ4rbi9YcQuGqGxc6-AQD0-44oT9l4Eyono0AdpgJbA/edit?gid=0#gid=0

• How Zapier measures AI fluency: https://x.com/wadefoster/status/1930680089651425452

• Tobi Lütke’s AI memo: https://x.com/tobi/status/1909251946235437514?lang=en

• Zapier’s code red playbook: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zbkjL0d-ev87PO0yKJBBMlliByVaUIREKNQfvtVwXbg/

To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

If you're a premium subscriber, get the full episodes in your podcast feed by visiting https://add.lennysreads.com

Read the full post: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/build-your-personal-ai-copilot

Tal Raviv went from an AI skeptic to teaching over 20,000 tech workers how to use AI to move faster at work. In this episode, he shares a step-by-step guide to building your own AI copilot using ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or M365 Copilot. If you're still wondering how to leverage AI, start here.

In this episode, you'll learn

• How AI copilots become thinking partners that know you and your work inside out

• Why Tal prefers the term context engineering

• The four-step framework for building a useful copilot

• Dozens of example prompts for strategic thinking, learning, and productivity

• How to output structured documents, prototypes, and automations

• How to create a copilot that gets smarter with every project

• What's next: AI copilots that push you to be better

References

• A guide to AI prototyping for product managers: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-guide-to-ai-prototyping-for-product

• Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFhurV1l6Jk&t=975s

• How Experienced Growth PMs Analyze Data with AI: https://maven.com/p/eddc27/how-experienced-growth-p-ms-analyze-data-with-ai

• How to book Tal for one-day team workshops: https://talraviv.co/

• Make product management fun again with AI agents: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/162096097/ai-agent-builder-prompt

• Oleksii Monchyk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oleksii-monchyk-91ba09171/?originalSubdomain=de

• OpenAI researcher on why soft skills are the future of work | Karina Nguyen: https://youtu.be/DeskgjrLxxs?si=4boISMhdv6pSkiOc&t=3071

• Product manager is an unfair role. So work unfairly: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/151079492/get-a-head-start-on-discovery-with-product-scrapbooking

• Student Example #1: Career development copilot for women: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sblODeX-FGk

• Student Example #2: Onboarding copilot for new PMs: https://darshen.substack.com/p/the-pm-onboarding-copilot

• Tal’s “Build Your Personal PM Productivity System & AI Copilot” course in September: https://maven.com/tal-raviv/product-manager-productivity-system?promoCode=LENNYSLIST (use code LENNYSLIST for $100 off)

• Tal’s free guide and live demos of advanced copilot use cases: https://talraviv.co/

• Tal’s upcoming free lightning lesson on how to use Cursor as a PM copilot: https://maven.com/p/0a96cb/cursor-isn-t-just-for-coding-how-ai-native-p-ms-work

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Follow Tal: Twitter/X: https://x.com/talraviv | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsraviv

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I share seven timeless essays that have shaped how I think about product, startups, and career. These are the pieces I quote often, revisit regularly, and think about long after reading. You likely haven’t come across most of them—but they’re must-reads for any …

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