Lessons from Claire Vo

On the Future of Product Management and AI

"Product management is dead or it will be soon" [1] Vo argues that the traditional role of a product manager is rapidly becoming obsolete due to AI. [1]
"AI is going to transform the role of product design and engineering faster than we all expect" [1] She emphasizes the unprecedented speed at which AI is changing the tech industry. [1]
"The only people that need to be worried are the people acting like they don't need to be worried." [1] This quote serves as a wake-up call for professionals to adapt to the new AI-driven landscape. [1]
"AI will never do this thing is super naive but AI can help me do anything is really inspiring." [1] Vo encourages a mindset of leveraging AI as a powerful tool rather than fearing it. [1]
"I think you'll be asked to provide not just content about yourself, but ideas about what you'll bring even ahead of having a formal interview. So that's one of the things I would advise folks to start thinking about. I think the bar is going to be high there.” [2] The expectation for product managers is shifting towards demonstrating proactive value. [2]
"I think we need to disambiguate when we're talking about being “technical”. It can mean I understand computer science, it can mean I can code or it can mean I can build things... Claire believes being a PM won't require computer science degrees, but will require being able to build." [2] The definition of "technical" for a PM is evolving to focus on the ability to create. [2]
"I don't say product management is dead because of doom and gloom i say it's dead because one I think you're going to be in a world of pain if you're not prepared for a shift in the next 18 months." [3] Her provocative statement is meant to urge preparation for the inevitable changes. [3]
"A lot of the job is not fun like a lot of the job is tedious a lot of the job is not creative a lot of the job is very disconnected from customer impact." [3] Vo points out that AI can automate the less desirable aspects of product management. [3]
"The rise of AI-powered 'triple threats' who can handle product, design, and engineering." [1] She foresees a future where individuals will have a broader skill set, enabled by AI. [1]
"Instead of saying product managers are totally going away, what I would say is I'm a PM in that kind of world, what do I do instead with my time?” [4] The focus should be on how the role will evolve, not if it will disappear. [4]

On Career Growth and Strategy

"Know what you want out of your current role and know exactly what you want your next role to be." [5][6] Vo stresses the importance of having a clear career trajectory. [5][6]
"Treat your career like a product... outline your goals, gather user feedback from your peers, and plan your roadmap." [7] She advocates for applying product management principles to one's own career. [7]
"Raise your hand and chart your own path – aligned to the company's growth." [7] Proactive career management is essential, especially in fast-growing companies. [7]
"I have walked in with a one sheet like one pager on this is the job that I want to do... and your manager or your leader can then partner on you with you getting you into that role." [8] She advises being concrete and proactive in proposing your next career move. [8]
"Know what you want but do the work and and produce the results. and you can have a career like mine." [5] Ambition must be backed by tangible achievements. [5]
"PM is such a generalist role it's okay to go a little left and a little right to go up." [5] Career progression isn't always linear; lateral moves can be beneficial. [5]
"I'm a perfectly serviceable product leader... and I think I picked up a lot of skills. but I know what I'm really great at because I know what I enjoy." [9] Self-awareness of one's strengths and passions is key to a fulfilling career. [9]
"No one's going to give you anything you don't ask for." [10] Advocating for oneself is a critical skill for career advancement. [10]
"Be fearless in learning and participate broadly." [10] A willingness to learn and engage outside of one's core responsibilities is crucial. [10]
"Running towards problems is essential for growth." [10] Taking on challenges is a direct path to professional development. [10]

On Leadership and Team Building

"There should be no debates over what's best for product or what's best for engineering… should be what is best for the organization." [6] As a Chief Product and Technology Officer, she advocates for a unified vision. [6]
"I communicate to my leaders that my expectation is they bring in the clock speed one click faster." [5] Vo pushes her teams to operate with a sense of urgency. [5]
"I'm hired to remind them they can operate like a startup." [6] She believes larger companies can and should maintain the agility of a startup. [6]
"Scaffold the design of your team... define the ultimate product organisation structure, forecasting for the next 6, 12 or 36 months." [7] Thoughtful, long-term organizational design is crucial for scaling teams. [7]
"Empower teams by giving them clearly defined roles and insist on tight alignment between product and engineering." [7] Clarity and partnership are foundational to effective teams. [7]
"Leave things better than when you found them." [7] A continuous improvement mindset should be ingrained in the team culture. [7]
"I'm always targeting like who operates at that next gear that kind of surprises the people around them." [11] When hiring, she looks for individuals who have a high-paced work ethic. [11]
"As a product leader you have to normalize using these tools to accelerate. and build skills." [1] Leaders must champion the adoption of new technologies like AI. [1]
"Raw talent in product teams significantly impacts success." [10] She emphasizes the importance of hiring individuals with innate capabilities. [10]
"You vote with where you spend your time." [10] A leader's priorities are demonstrated by how they allocate their own time. [10]

On Product and Execution

"Fast beats right." [8] Vo champions speed and iteration over striving for perfection in the initial launch. [8]
"The more at bats you have the more likely you are to strike gold." [8] She believes that a higher frequency of releases leads to more opportunities for success. [8]
"You can't put an idea in like a framework factory and get success out the other end it that's not how it works." [8] Over-reliance on frameworks can be a pitfall; they are not a substitute for critical thinking. [8]
"I don't think product manager sort of like divine from the universe. what's right and what's wrong." [8] Product decisions should be based on data and customer feedback, not intuition alone. [8]
"Yes is the new no." [12] In contrast to the traditional PM mantra of saying "no," she encourages a focus on enabling new ideas and opportunities. [12]
"Don't look at it as how you can get to 100% look at how you can get to 75%. faster than starting from zero." [1] This quote highlights the efficiency gains from using AI to get a head start on tasks. [1]
"We don't get to decide our users get to decide build it as an experiment. and tell me what happens." [13] The ultimate arbiter of a product's success is the user. [13]
"So many of us presume that just adding something new is net positive when often when we add something new... we can actually degrade the user. experience without knowing. it." [13] Vo cautions against the assumption that all new features are improvements. [13]
"How you'll package your offering is one of the hardest parts of product management." [10] She acknowledges the significant challenge and importance of pricing and packaging. [10]
"Customer engagement is essential for effective product management." [10] Staying close to the customer is a non-negotiable aspect of the role. [10]

On Personal Mindset and Advice for Women in Tech

"I know that everything almost everything is learnable and so I'm rarely intimidated." [9] A growth mindset is her "secret sauce" to taking on new challenges. [9]
"I'm pretty late in my career yet I'm a beginner in things." [9] She embraces a continuous learning mindset, regardless of her seniority. [9]
"Be more entitled. You are incredibly talented. You are capable and you will never ask for more than your worth. Even if you try to.” [14] This is advice she received and passes on to other women in tech, encouraging them to recognize their value. [14]
"Just really show up with a bigger sense of confidence in that you deserve your success, because there are boys out there that certainly think they deserve their success and that's who you're in competition with." [14] She advocates for women to project the confidence they have earned. [14]
"Be nice and certainly be nice to the other women in your life because they will help you through a lot." [14] Building a strong support network with other women is invaluable. [14]
"It's been so exciting to see just the wide range of product leaders and thinkers in the space." [6] She expresses optimism about the increasing diversity of voices in the product community. [6]
"I continued to work really hard. I continued to negotiate this acquisition that was in flight when I was seven/eight/nine months pregnant." [14] She shares her personal experience of not letting pregnancy hinder her career ambitions. [14]
"I do feel like I'm in my zone of genius. and I also know that part of staying in my personal zone of Genius is having this breath. of responsibility but preserving Builder time." [5] Finding a balance between broad responsibilities and hands-on work is key to her effectiveness. [5]
"My trick here is every time I do one of those things and I think in my heart. I wish I didn't have to do this i go spend four to seven minutes trying to figure out if I can manifest a way not to have to do it." [1] She actively seeks to automate tedious tasks in her own workflow. [1]
"I think my secret sauce is I know that everything almost everything is learnable." [9] This foundational belief underpins her career trajectory and her advice to others. [9]

Learn more:

Lessons from Claire Vo

On the Future of Product Management and AI

On Career Growth and Strategy

On Leadership and Team Building

On Product and Execution

On Personal Mindset and Advice for Women in Tech

Written by Antoine Buteau

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