Choose useful beliefs to become a better product manager
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TLDR
In this episode of Product Mastery Now, three-time returning guest Nir Eyal discusses his latest book, Beyond Belief. The conversation dives into how our underlying beliefs shape our actions, careers, and the products we build, with science-backed strategies for challenging limiting beliefs, reframing workplace motivation, and building liberating beliefs that help teams thrive.
Introduction
There are guests you have on once. And there are guests you keep coming back to because as the field keeps moving so do they.
Nir Eyal keeps moving, learning, and informing us on how to make better products and how to be better ourselves. Twelve years ago he joined me on episode 30 to talk about Hooked — how great products are built on human behavior, not just features. He came back on episode 259 for Indistractable — how we take our attention back in a device-filled world.
Now he’s gone deeper. His new book is Beyond Belief — a science-backed look at the hidden assumptions that decide what we think is possible and how our psychology impacts what we can accomplish. And for product managers and leaders, the beliefs we carry about our work, our teams, and ourselves shape everything we accomplish, including the products we ship.
Summary of Concepts Discussed for Product Managers
Nir’s New Book, Beyond Belief
Nir’s newest book, Beyond Belief, was inspired by conversations with people who had read his previous book, Indistractable, and complained that it didn’t work for them, despite not having actually tried any of the practices the book recommended. Nir wondered why, in an age when we know so much, we often fail to put information into action.
What Are Beliefs?
Nir distinguishes between facts, faith, and beliefs. He defines facts as objective truths, faith as convictions that do not require evidence, and beliefs as convictions that are open to revision based on evidence. Beliefs are malleable. Nir explains that many problems come from not realizing that many of the things we think are facts are actually beliefs. In order to change our behavior, we should ask ourselves, “Is this belief serving me or hurting me?”
Beliefs change what we see. If you don’t believe something is possible, you won’t stay motivated to do it. Long-term motivation requires a behavior, a benefit, and belief. You must believe that you are capable of performing the behavior and that by doing so you will receive the benefit.
The Three Powers of Belief
Nir introduces three powers of belief.
Together, these powers of belief determine who we become.
Preparing for the Pain
Nir critiques “manifesting,” which focuses on outcomes. Research shows that envisioning outcomes makes people less likely to achieve those outcomes. A more effective practice is focusing on the process needed to achieve those outcomes. This is how athletes prepare for an event — they visualize what they are going to do and how they are going to react when something goes wrong. Nir recommends that in a business context, leaders should help their teams “prepare for the pain” rather than fixating on the ends. When we believe the pain can serve a purpose, it does not become suffering. Top performers feel the same pain as everyone else, but they believe it serves a purpose, and can therefore sustain motivation over the long term instead of quitting.
Reframing Negative Beliefs
Nir recommends a technique called the turnaround to help product leaders turn limiting beliefs into liberating beliefs. When you’re experience pain, such as being stuck in your career, instead of focusing on your suffering, ask yourself, “What is the benefit here?” Maybe you have more time to spend with family or extra time to look for another job during a time of rapid change. These reframed beliefs increase motivation and decrease suffering. Nir recommends collecting a portfolio of perspectives to ask yourself, “Could the opposite of what’s causing your suffering also be true?”
Beliefs can be useful even if untrue. For example, Amazon uses the belief, “It’s always day one.” This isn’t true, but it is useful. Liberating beliefs don’t have to be true but they can be aspirational and are open to change based on the evidence.
Useful Beliefs for Product Teams
Nir describes how product leaders can help their teams adopt useful beliefs. Leaders should have beliefs that they are willing to sacrifice for, that the team will stake their reputation on no matter what. This beliefs should be specific and fitting to the organization.
Useful Links
Check out Nir’s book, Beyond Belief: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself and Achieve Breakthrough ResultsGet a free five-minute belief change guideGet bonus content and the 30-Day Belief Transformation JournalVisit Nir’s websiteConnect with Nir on LinkedInInnovation Quote
“Beliefs are tools, not truths.” – Nir Eyal
Application Questions
What are some beliefs you hold about your role or your product that might be limiting your possibilities or team outcomes?How does your team approach setbacks or failures—do your shared beliefs encourage learning, or do they focus on blame and avoidance?In what ways could you introduce liberating beliefs within your organization, and how would you measure their impact on motivation and results?How can you distinguish between facts, faith, and beliefs in your day-to-day product decisions? Where might you be treating beliefs as facts?What team or company-wide beliefs (spoken or unspoken) have you noticed, and how do they help or hinder your team’s success and innovation?Bio
Nir Eyal is a globally recognized authority on behavior change and human potential. His frameworks have empowered millions to build better habits, enhance focus, and unlock greater agency in their lives and work. A former lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, Nir has collaborated with leaders and organizations worldwide to boost performance through behavior design.
He is the New York Times bestselling author of the international bestsellers Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, which have sold over one million copies in more than 30 languages. Hooked was a finalist for the 2014 Goodreads Choice Awards. Indistractable won the 2019 Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award and was named one of the Best Business & Leadership Books of the Year by Amazon, Audible, and The Globe and Mail. His third book, Beyond Belief: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself and Achieve Breakthrough Results, became an instant New York Times best-seller and reveals how to identify and replace the hidden beliefs that define our limits.
As a seasoned entrepreneur and angel investor, Nir has backed multi-billion-dollar companies, including Canva, Kahoot!, and others. In addition to blogging at NirAndFar.com, his writing has been featured in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, and Psychology Today. For over 25 years, he has worked alongside his wife and business partner, Julie Li.
Thanks!
Thank you for taking the journey to product mastery and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.
