Ebi Atawodi

Transitioning into PM is best achieved by practicing the craft (identifying problems and imagining solutions) in your daily life before officially holding the title.

"I genuinely think that some of the best product managers come from something else because you have empathy for being on the other side... already start product management, doing product management bef..."

Writing short, structured documents (2-4 pages) is the most effective way to achieve clarity in product strategy.

"Clarity comes when you write. So I made them write two-page documents. I'll let you go up to four, maybe. But two page documents with insights, your strategy or I use the word approach sometimes and t..."

Vision evangelism should move outward in concentric circles, starting with the core team to build a foundation of support before moving to broader stakeholders and executives.

"In terms of evangelizing, I think about three concentric circles. So the core of your vision is your team... Then I kind of go to this next layer, which is the stakeholders... and then finally, once y..."

Technical debt should be viewed as 'product debt,' making it a core responsibility of the PM rather than just an engineering concern.

"infrastructure is the product. Period. People are like, 'Oh, tech debt.' I'm like, 'Yeah, it's a product debt.' I cannot build a skyscraper on a shaky foundation. So it is your problem too. It's not f..."

Interviewing for product roles should focus on a candidate's ability to articulate a clear philosophy and their natural storytelling/empathy for products.

"Two questions. If they're a people manager, what is your leadership philosophy? The amount of leaders who have never thought about that is quite scary. And if you're just pure product chops, tell me y..."

High-performing team culture is built on 'love' (commitment to mutual growth) rather than 'niceness,' allowing for the friction necessary to produce great work.

"I do not believe in being liked. I believe in being loved, right? And that's a very, very different thing... love is the choice to extend yourself for the spiritual growth of oneself or another... whe..."

Effective difficult conversations are rooted in 'love' (extending oneself for another's growth) rather than just being 'nice,' ensuring the recipient knows the feedback comes from a place of genuine care.

"When you are extending yourself, you're not nice. It's not always nice or like, it sometimes is having hard conversations. It's knowing that, oh, there's a human, they know I care about them. So when..."

Effective decision-making requires a single 'informed captain' rather than seeking group consensus, which often leads to delays and lack of accountability.

"I'm in too many conversations where I'm like, 'Who is on the hook for this decision? Who cares if this decision is made?' It's not like six people with consensus. Who is the person? And I'm very big o..."

Strong cross-functional partnerships are built on personal human connection and understanding the motivations of your partners.

"Do you know your engineering manager's birthday? It's the day they showed up in the world. It's the most important day for them... Do you know their work anniversary? Do you know why they're doing the..."

A strong product vision must balance being aspirational with being attainable, while ignoring current technical constraints to focus on the core user problem.

"four things. So it has to be lofty, it has to be realistic, it has to be devoid of any tech or limitations of today, and it has to be grounded in a very clear and potent problem. User problem."

Using a narrative 'Mad Libs' framework helps simplify complex product goals into a relatable story of change.

"Once upon a time, write the problem and then write something and then write something, and then one day something happened. And as a result, the state of the world where we're trying to be. It's very..."

Visualizing the future through a mock news article or headline forces clarity on the ultimate impact and value proposition of the product.

"I write an article. I'll write in the headline because if the vision has come to pass, right? And it's gone well, someone's going to be writing hopefully some sexy headline about the thing that you've..."

Mocking up the App Store presence forces the team to prioritize the 3-4 most important value propositions that will actually land with users.

"I actually took a screenshot of the Google Play Store... and then I created rounded rectangles, just blank rectangles, four panels. And then I printed that out and I gave everyone a sheet and I said,..."

A roadmap should focus on a small number of 'big rocks' that provide the most impact, rather than a long list of minor tasks.

"the big rocks are not a laundry list of 20 things because if I asked you to make me a cocktail, you would put ice in first. Then you would pour the drink. You would not put the drink and then put the..."

Maintaining a living document of the top 10 problems ensures the team is always aligned on the most critical issues to solve.

"the tactical thing that I almost make every PM on my team do I call it top 10 things you should know. It's a living document... 10 problems you should know. And you revise it. Every quarter you update..."

Using a strict template for stakeholders prevents rambling presentations and forces them to prioritize their needs.

"I'll sometimes bring them in at the beginning of the strategy session and give them a template, 10 things you should know. So you use my framework to give me 10 problems. Because if you say, 'Come pre..."