Lakshman Somasundaram

Hi LinkedIn fam, It has been long months of building and making products great and better. So why am I here and back out of hiatus ? well I had some sort of reflection and and I thought a community helped me land my first role as a Product Manager so I am returning the favor and helping others and if possible land their first role as a APM. So if you are pivoting to tech and want to make a difference then join our community. If you are new to product management and looking to accelerate your career in tech? Join our vibrant community on Telegram, "All Things Product" (https://lnkd.in/eQjtJjEJ), to connect with experienced professionals, gain valuable insights, and access top-notch resources! What to Expect: - Expert advice and mentorship from seasoned product managers - Access to curated resources, including articles, podcasts, and webinars - Networking opportunities with like-minded professionals - Discussions on industry trends, best practices, and innovative strategies - Support and guidance to help you overcome challenges and achieve your goals Whether you're just starting out or looking to upskill, our community is here to help you: - Develop a deeper understanding of product management principles - Stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies - Build a network of peers and mentors for support and guidance - Enhance your skills and confidence to excel in your tech career Join me today and become part of a dynamic community dedicated to helping you succeed in product management! Regards, Segun Sobodu #Productmanagement #APM #Techcommunity #joinustoday

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Shantanu Deshpande Bombay Shaving Company This moment marketing is not ok. In fact this is horrible and cruel. A young girl is getting trolled and you tried to leverage that for your cheap publicity. If you argue that it was done in good spirits then you and your marketing team probably are completely devoid of basic sense and intelligence. Please remove this ad in your own interest. The longer it stays in public domain the more it will talk about how horrible you are as a company. #bombayshavingcompany

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👋 How can improv help product managers have effective conversations? Shardul Mehta is a rare combination of a seasoned product leader and an improv instructor! In just 6 min on Product BLAH, Shardul shares three improv techniques to level up. Shardul teaches product managers how to launch and scale products. He has been an entrepreneur and a senior product executive at growth-focused companies. He also performs and teaches improv. 🗣 We bring the BLAH, now its your turn to bring the BLAH BLAH :-) Love to hear your thoughts! Product BLAH 2 - Level Up with Improv | Shardul Mehta #productmanagement #productleadership Product Leader's Journey

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Continuing our exploration of evolving learning approaches, happy to share a year-long learning experiment undertaken with my team. A heartfelt thanks to Lenny Rachitsky, whose podcasts were our go-to resource for all things on product management. Our experiment revolved around hosting watch parties for Lenny's Podcasts, fostering real-time discussions and insightful post-party reflections within our team. The primary aim was to infuse our team with the latest success stories, cutting-edge product management methodologies, and emerging trends in the field, all geared towards fostering a culture of continuous learning. Over the past 12 months, we've conducted 20 engaging watch party sessions. Here's a glimpse into our journey and its outcomes…   Wave 1: Rapidly bring everyone together into a rhythm. Weekly 'all team' watch parties (AM/PM alternates time to accommodate US and India teams) Goals: Awareness, continuous learning mindset, PM disciplines Sessions 1- Nature of product - Marty cagan   2 - Why product led growth is the future - Elena Verna 3- Build better products with continuous product discovery - Teresa Torres 4 - Mastering onboarding by Lauryn Isfold 5 - Building better product roadmaps | Janna Bastow (Mind the Product, ProdPad)  Wave2: Focus on broader and deeper discussion topics. Split sessions between India and US (optimized for a Friday ambience) , frequency changed to Every 2/3 weeks, 2 part sessions to cover longer podcasts  Goals: More relaxed setting, increase engagement, explore adjacent topics to PM, Career awareness,  forcing function for practicing listening and sharing perspectives real-time Sessions 6- Julie Zhuo on accelerating your career, impostor syndrome, writing, building product sense 7 - Building minimum lovable products and thriving as a PM | Jiaona Zhang 8- AI and product management | Marily Nika (Meta, Google) 9- Picking sharp problems, increasing virality,unique product frameworks | Oji Udezue 10- A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins | April Dunford 11- Brian Chesky’s new playbook 12: Making time for what matters. Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky  13: Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor  Team Feedback 'Good to see what is possible', 'Engaging speakers sharing practical suggestions' 'Concepts are indeed relevant not just professionally, but also personally' 'Very good content we should factor into our work'.   Next wave in the making… Some Ideas from the team for making it more interesting..  - Sessions with fun exercises or activities  - Contextualize session to real projects  - Book club idea where people share insights from the Podcast in a group setting   In summary, PMs have internalized this paradigm of learning model. With high awareness and absorption of concepts, we are ready to engage with those more deeply at work. Curious to hear your feedback or other similar experiences.  See comments to try it in your teams

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Have questions about how the GenAI era will affect your people and teams? On May 14, I’ll be joining Microsoft’s AI at work chief Jared Spataro, The Wharton School’s Ethan Mollick and Teamraderie for a discussion about how humans can invest in themselves and their teams to prep for the future. Would love for you to join us! You can register below - and the first 500 registrants will get a free copy of Ethan’s book (Amazon #1 best seller in “Computers & Tech”).  https://lnkd.in/eTdQWRJm Hope to see you there! #AI #AIandautomation #GenAI #upskilling #automation

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The Technical Excellence Trap for #AsianAmericans For many Asian American professionals, there's a frustrating paradox we often face: We're viewed as among the most competent and technically proficient members of our teams, but those very same strengths can paradoxically hold us back from advancing into management and senior leadership positions. The statistics bear this out. The U.S. Census shows Asian Americans are the most highly educated racial group, with 49% holding a bachelor's degree or higher. We excel as individual contributors - engineers, analysts, accountants and subject matter experts. However, that technical prowess doesn't always translate to upward mobility. An Ascend Leadership study found that at major U.S. companies, only 1 in 285 Asian employees made it to the executive ranks. We're kept in supporting roles, while others are promoted into supervisory positions. Why does this happen? Often, it's a case of being too good at our jobs. Our diligence and expertise cause managers to keep us in productive technical roles, rather than developing us for greater responsibilities in leadership. For many Asian Americans, there's an additional dynamic at play: We're not always encouraged to be self-advocates. There's an emphasis on collectivism over individualism, humility over self-promotion. As a result, we may fail to vocalize our capabilities and career ambitions as strongly as others. Instead, we hope our hard work alone will get us noticed and promoted by managers. But that's an imperfect strategy when companies struggle to prioritize developing Asian leadership talent. This represents a significant untapped opportunity - for companies and individuals. By letting their Asian American talent remain stuck in a "technical excellence trap", organizations fail to fully realize our leadership potential. They miss out on the diverse perspectives and capabilities we can provide. How do we break this sometimes, self-imposed conundrum? While I could offer a list of ideas, I feel that seeking #mentors is my best recommendation. This would be above speaking up, asking to be a project lead at work and negotiating boldly in the workplace - these are things that you should be doing all along. Few truly seek #advisors who can help navigate your career. Some of this is coming up with a plan to build a successful and long lasting engagement to see results. #aapi #aanhpi #AsianAmericanHeritageMonth

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💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯 This is what I'm telling ALL of my candidates: DO NOT RELY ON APPLICATIONS!! The chances are the resume sitting in the middle of a stack of 500+ profiles will likely never be seen by human eyes. Your best bet is to go through an intro. This could be a direct referral, it could be hitting up the hiring manager with a concise but detailed note, or it could be a recruiter that is working with the hiring manager and is trusted to vet any submissions. These are the folks that are seen first. Don't depend on applications to get you the first interview--look for other doors and connections. #hiring #openforwork

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🌻 🌻 🌻 When you embrace a growth mindset and practice being a lifelong learner, that can mean a career that isn't linear but one that takes some interesting ➰ ➰ ➰ twists and turns 🌀 🌀 🌀 . At Firework, Firework Japan and Boutir, we celebrate the unique path each individual takes, where one of our core values is to learn, unlearn and relearn. 📚 For more on our philosophy, please read our latest blog entry. 🚀

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4 CRAFTs launched
 80+ NPS (industry leading) 3,000+ members impacted 10,000+ proofs of work created A small and driven team impacting revenue Learning that is applied by top founders & operators Plus, the only learning experience that is bragged about We don’t want to work with a lot of people. But, with the ones we do, we have 3 non-negotiables: 1️⃣ Be obsessed about member experience, their outcomes & how they transform 2️⃣ Extreme curiosity to change orbits 3️⃣ Ambition to do the best work of your life. Just to be clear, your work will impact thousands of leaders & operators and the revenue they create for their companies. We’re looking for bar-raiser learning & ops interns to join the Learning Experience team at GrowthX®. The link to apply is in the comments👇🏽

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Some quick REAL TALK ... creating your resume, portfolio, etc means revisiting previous roles, managers, projects, etc – and that can be hard to process. That's why we do weekly Mindset Calls in Career Strategy Lab, and I believe they're truly one of our superpowers ⚡️ 🧠 At the open house last week, our 3 alumni shared how the Mindset Calls helped them process negativity and doubt and shift their perspectives: "Reflecting on past successes during the Mindset calls truly helped me build the confidence I needed during my job search." "The Mindset calls shifted my perspective on my career gap, helping me to own my story and be proud of my unique journey." "Engaging in the Mindset calls was transformative — they helped me move beyond just listing technical details and become a better storyteller." (Full transparency → The Mindset Calls are not a replacement for therapy. So if you have things in your career or life that you know you need to process with a professional, please know we are not therapists!) If you'd like to experience one of the Mindset Calls, you can listen to one in episode 50 of the Career Strategy Podcast. 🎧 Listen to a weekly Mindset Calls here: https://lnkd.in/gyah2wpy ⭐️ Curious about Career Strategy Lab and how it can help you in your career? Check out our website or send me a DM here on LinkedIn! . #uxdesigner #productdesigner #productdesign #uxresearch #uxresearcher #uxwriting #uxjobs #uxportfolio #productdesigner #uxcareers #ux #uxdesign #careermindset

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Disclaimer - No Gen AI involved in the creation of the following post. TL;DR: Well written lines of relevant product thoughts are the measure of a product manager's output just like well-written lines of code are for an engineer. Long version: Q. As a Product manager, (PM) what is one (of a few other ways) way you know you did justice to your role? A. It's simple. Measure and compare words spoken Vs written by you in your day. Drawing useful visuals is an acceptable option to words written. Why? Words spoken >> are often ignored, not grasped, not recorded and ephemeral. They rely heavily on the audience to have noted, interpreted and acted upon. They are also not the most organized form of communicating. Words written (or a drawing) >> are near-permanent if chosen to be recorded on a searchable, publicly available medium like your internal Confluence, Sharepoint or a Slack broadcast that gets pinned. They can be iterated upon, reviewed often, referenced in the future and analyzed in greater depth faster than listening to a recorded meeting repeatedly. PMs can create a lasting, noticeable and wider impact by writing things down, even if its just in a meeting chat. Even if no one else read them, the writer themselves reaps the benefit of more thoughtful, organized and durable structuring of their ideas. Humble confession: Being vocally self-critical, I just went by for 1.5 "busy (meetings)" days without writing anything meaningful besides meeting notes and action items, and felt the need to share this. Rant: At every place I have worked, I have seen at least a few Product Managers never putting pen to paper and thinking their job is done when they show up to a meeting, provide lackluster opinions or worse yet, simply nod in shallow agreement or recap the standard procedural statements like "this needs additional prioritization discussion". #writemore #beabetterpm #whatdoesaproductmgrdoanyway #nongenaipost

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GPT-4o, the next-level large language model that's shaking things up in the design world. You meticulously craft your PRD (product requirements document), outlining every feature and function. Then, with a sprinkle of AI magic, GPT-4o transforms your text into initial Figma designs! Here's why GPT-4o is a game-changer: 👉 Boost your design speed: GPT-4o can generate wireframes and layouts based on your PRD, giving you a head start and freeing up valuable time for iteration and refinement. 👉 Break the communication barrier: Ever feel like your PRDs get lost in translation between you and your developer comrades? GPT-4o can bridge the gap by using your PRD to create designs that are not only visually appealing but also technically feasible. 👉 Spark endless creativity: Let's be honest, sometimes staring at a blank screen can stifle inspiration. GPT-4o can introduce unexpected design elements based on your PRD, sparking new ideas and pushing the boundaries of your initial concept. The future of design is collaborative, efficient, and driven by powerful AI tools like GPT-4o. What are your thoughts? Share your take in the comments! Credit: Eric Vyacheslav __ 👋 Join The AI Journal community! 🚀Subscribe to the newsletter: https://lnkd.in/ex9mu2hM 🎤 Get involved in the AI conversations on X: https://lnkd.in/ew6E-ZtP #GPT4o #designrevolution #AIpowereddesign #futureofdesign #Figmamagic

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I've been a bit behind on responding to messages, comments, and emails lately. A lot of positive changes and new beginnings have kept me busy, but I wanted to share a quote from Haruki Murakami's “Kafka on the Shore” that perfectly captures what I've been going through: “Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step. There's no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That's the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine. And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You'll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others. And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.” ——————————————————————————- This quote resonates with me because life has felt like a storm lately, full of challenges and unexpected twists. I've come to understand that those who stay and support you through the storm are the ones who truly matter. Those who leave were always meant to leave. It’s part of learning to choose ourselves and attract the right people into our lives. Stay true to yourself, even when your voice is shaky, even when you feel like nobody understands, even when it seems pointless. Stand tall, shoulders back, perfectly imperfect. Maybe the storm is just the beginning - us becoming who we once dreamed of being. Trust the process and dream big; it doesn't hurt anyone. Yes, there is only up from certain points in life, but the views sure are marvelous. Keep your standards high. You MUST know your own worth. With love, Jovana

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Today's market and expectations are pretty tough. From my conversations, I see that experienced product managers within companies are often under immense pressure, grappling with additional responsibilities, less senior support, and the need to demonstrate clear impact. It's also tough for folks trying to secure their next role, and it's clear that even the most seasoned professionals need robust support, more confidence, and advanced skills to get where they need to be. That's why I'm glad to lead another Advanced Product Management Cohort out of London, starting on June 11th. We have 6 spots left. Here’s what we cover: 1️⃣ Product Discovery & Strategic Thinking 2️⃣ Experimentation & Prioritisation 3️⃣ Product Leadership & Communication 4️⃣ Career Growth Framework - my personal favourite When you join Colab, you not only gain access to one live cohort (such as this one) but also to a comprehensive knowledge base, a library of tools, on-demand recordings and snippets, and bi-weekly career coaching on our platform. If you are interested, check out the full program details. https://lnkd.in/gCXka-D9 💰 Affordable payment plans are also provided. Feel free to DM me if you'd like to chat to see if it's right for you or how else Colab Cohorts can support you.

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90% of startups and 70% of projects Fail. A common problem product teams, startups and even global enterprises fall into is overestimating the importance of the specific problem they're focusing on solving. Shreyas Doshi's Guide to Validating & Prioritizing Ideas provides an insightful assessment of why this happens and how to approach it using something called “Customer Problems Stack Rank” (CPSR) https://lnkd.in/gtEyVten

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Question for those of you ML/AI leaders who engage with UX design or research teams/vendors/contractors/colleagues: Is there 1 thing you wish UX professionals knew or understood more about ML/AI such that they could add more value to the team or the resulting products that were created? What's been hard in the past? Ex: constraints or opportunities with leveraging AI, working effectively with a data science or product team/leaders, all the data governance/quality/privacy issues that exist beyond adding an “AI feature”, or whatever.

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Interesting thing I've learned about building a benchmarking tool is that what a lot of early adopters actually want is an influencing tool. Completely reframes product features. Example: Old feature: Auto generated board reports 1. Choose metrics 2. Generate Graphs 3. Download as pdf/ppt New feature: Show me the stories I could tell with my data. 1. Here are the stories you can tell 2. Choose story 3. Generate metric benchmark graphs that help tell that story 4. Suggest narrative 4. Download Excited to see where peoplemetrics.fyi goes :-)

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During my interview process at Asana, I made a mistake that I thought would cost me the role. It was during the product design question, where I was asked to design a “YouTube for kids”. My training for this question was pristine. I could do it my sleep. The Why, the Who, the prioritization. All was going great until they asked me about the success criteria. What was the exact action I wanted to use to measure engagement? I opened my mouth and said: “Reproduction count”. Everyone in the room looked at me, puzzled. What I had just said made no sense whatsoever. You see, English is not my first language. In Spanish, we use the word “Reproducción” to refer to a video view count. My answer was good, only that for my American audience, I had used the word for "making babies”. Great. That threw me off, so I tried to finish the exercise the best way I could. I gave myself a hard time for days, convinced that I had bombed the exercise with my crappy English. But I hadn’t. I got the offer. Years later, talking to my manager at Asana, we recalled that moment. I told her I was mortified at the time. She looked at me and shrugged: “No biggie, your process was great, so that didn’t matter”. Mistakes are amplified 10-fold when you are the one making them. It’s called the “spotlight effect”. Remember that and carry on. No biggie. Learn strategies to land a Product Manager job, for free ➡️ arijanover.com #productmanagement #jobsearch #aspiringpms #productmanagers #interview #jobinterview

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We all know the struggle: meetings that drag on in silos, failing to capture the bigger picture. I'm on the hunt for ways to make our team huddles more engaging and impactful. Interestingly, even a 1976 Harvard Business Review article https://lnkd.in/dFBynnqx tackles this challenge. Seems ineffective meetings have been a pain point for a while (imagine caveman debates on the best mammoth hunting tactics!). So, I turn to you, the LinkedIn hivemind! Share your experiences: What are the best team meetings you've been a part of? Any killer tips for running engaging discussions? Should we ditch meetings altogether?  All ideas welcome, from radical to practical! Help me make those meetings meaningful. **Update: While sprint planning and task allocation meetings are crucial, I'm looking for tips to improve meetings meant for fostering team alignment, discussing broader strategic issues, and sharing updates across different workstreams. **

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