During this workshop George Zend, Product Manager at Facebook, answered all key questions about Product Management such as what it means to be an outstanding Product Manager, what a day in the life of a PM actually looks like and how to achieve & maintain a successful PM career. He also talked about the tricks of the trade and nailing it like a PM and how to burst the myths of common misunderstandings and misconceptions.

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7. George Xiang Zeng
Tonight’s Speaker

8. How to be an unusually good
product manager
George X. Zeng
Product Manager, Facebook

9. HOW MANY OF YOU SELF IDENTIFY AS A
HACKER?

12. HACK “UNUSUALLY GOOD” PERFORMANCE

13. Agenda 1. WHAT DOES “UNUSUALLY GOOD” MEAN?
2. WHAT IS AN “UNUSUALLY GOOD” PM?
3. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “EXECUTE”: 10X SPEED
4. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “EXECUTE”: BIOHACKING
5. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
BECOMING A LEARNING MACHINE FRAMEWORK
6. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
INSURMOUNTABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

14. IN ORDER TO OBTAIN UNUSUAL RESULTS,
DO EITHER UNUSUAL THINGS OR
USUAL THINGS IN AN UNUSUAL WAY

15. IN ORDER TO OBTAIN UNUSUAL RESULTS,
DO EITHER UNUSUAL THINGS OR
USUAL THINGS IN AN UNUSUAL WAY

16. Doing unusual things
Doing in an unusual way
Unusual thing,
usual way
Unusual thing,
unusual way
Usual thing,
unusual way
Usual thing,
usual way

17. Doing unusual things
Doing in an unusual way
Unusual thing,
usual way
Unusual thing,
unusual way
Usual thing,
unusual way
Usual thing,
usual way
Many people live their entire lives in the lower left quadrant.
Whenever you find yourself stuck there for too long, be aware that can lead to stagnation

20. Usual thing in the usual way

23. Usual thing in an unusual way

25. Unusual thing in an usual way

27. Unusual thing in an unusual way

28. Agenda 1. WHAT DOES “UNUSUALLY GOOD” MEAN?
2. WHAT IS AN “UNUSUALLY GOOD” PM?
3. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “EXECUTE”: 10X SPEED
4. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “EXECUTE”: BIOHACKING
5. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
BECOMING A LEARNING MACHINE FRAMEWORK
6. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
INSURMOUNTABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

32. MISSION: SURVIVE

33. MISSION: SURVIVE
GOAL: CATCH FISH

34. MISSION: SURVIVE
GOAL: CATCH FISH
PLAN: BRING FISHING POLE TO POND

38. BAD EXECUTE

41. BAD IDENTIFY

46. BAD UNDERSTAND

47. MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN THIS PRESENTATION
ARE THE CONCEPTS/FRAMEWORKS. FOLLOWING
ARE MY EXAMPLES –FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

48. Agenda 1. WHAT DOES “UNUSUALLY GOOD” MEAN?
2. WHAT IS AN “UNUSUALLY GOOD” PM?
3. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “EXECUTE”: 10X SPEED
4. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “EXECUTE”: BIOHACKING
5. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
BECOMING A LEARNING MACHINE FRAMEWORK
6. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
INSURMOUNTABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

49. SPEED AS THE PRIMARY EXECUTION STRATEGY

50. • Speed allows you to experiment, refine, and have a margin of error in your execution
• Speed is also very important because it allows for more time and more output for you
and your team – more time is critical for a PM because we are multipliers for our team
• 10x execution speed allows time for things that otherwise would not be possible
– Processes like continuous roadmapping
– Skunk work products to build high risk ideas
– Continuous dialogue with key stakeholders (customers, advisers, entrepreneurs, etc.)
– Important but non-urgent activities (training, teaching, relationship building, etc.)
Why is speed so important?

53. Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Mon (cont) Tues (cont) Wed (cont) Thur (cont) Fri (cont)
12:00am-
6:30 am
Sleep Sleep Sleep Sleep Sleep 2:00 pm Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings
6:30 am Personal Personal Personal Personal Personal 2:30 pm Meetings Meetings Light Work Meetings Meetings
7:00 am Commute Commute Commute Commute Commute 3:00 pm Meetings Meetings Deep Work Meetings Meetings
7:30 am Commute Commute Commute Commute Commute 3:30 pm Light Work Light Work Meetings Light Work Light Work
8:00 am Commute Commute Commute Commute Commute 4:00 pm Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings
8:30 am Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast 4:30 pm Meetings Light Work Meetings Meetings Meetings
9:00 am Light Work Light Work Light Work Light Work Light Work 5:00 pm Light Work Meetings Light Work Light Work Light Work
9:30 am Deep Work Meetings Meetings Meetings Deep Work 5:30 pm Commute Commute Commute Commute Commute
10:00 am Meetings Light Work Meetings Meetings Meetings 6:00 pm Commute Commute Commute Commute Commute
10:30 am Meetings Deep Work Meetings Light Work Meetings 6:30 pm Commute Commute Commute Commute Commute
11:00 am Light Work Meetings Light Work Deep Work Light Work 7:00 pm Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner
11:30 am Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings 7:30 pm Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner
12:00 pm Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch 8:00 pm Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner
12:30 pm Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch Lunch 8:30 pm Personal Personal Personal Personal Personal
1:00 pm Meetings Light Work Meetings Meetings Meetings 9:00 pm Personal Personal Personal Personal Personal
1:30 pm Light Work Meetings Light Work Light Work Light Work
9:30 pm-
12:00 am
Personal Personal Personal Personal Personal

54. Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Mon (cont) Tues (cont) Wed (cont) Thur (cont) Fri (cont)
10:30 pm-
5:00 am
Sleep Sleep Sleep Sleep Sleep 12:30 pm Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings
5:00 am Personal Personal Personal Personal Personal 1:00 pm Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings
5:30 am Commute Commute Commute Commute Commute 1:30 pm Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings
6:00 am Light Work Light Work Light Work Light Work Light Work 2:00 pm Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings
6:30 am Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 2:30 pm Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings
7:00 am Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 3:00 pm Meetings Meetings Light Work Light Work Light Work
7:30 am Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 3:30 pm Meetings Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work
8:00 am Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 4:00 pm Meetings Light Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work
8:30 am Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 4:30 pm Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work
9:00 am Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 5:00 pm Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work
9:30 am Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 5:30 pm Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work
10:00 am Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 6:00 pm Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work
10:30 am Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 6:30 pm Personal Personal Personal Personal Personal
11:00 am Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 7:00 pm Personal Personal Personal Personal Personal
11:30 am Meetings Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work Deep Work 7:30 pm Commute Commute Commute Commute Commute
12:00 pm Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings Meetings
8:00 pm-
10:30 pm
Personal Personal Personal Personal Personal

55. Category Unoptimized
(Hours)
Optimized
(Hours)
Difference
(Hours)
Optimized /
Unoptimized
Sleep 32.5 32.5 0.0 1.0X
Friction 30.0 5.0 -25.0 0.2X
Meetings 22.5 22.5 0.00 1.0X
Light Work 12.5 4.5 -8.0 0.4X
Deep Work 2.5 35.5 33.0 14.2X
Personal 20.0 20.0 0.0 1.0X
Total 120.0 120.0 0.0 1.0X
Hacking your time allows you to create as much as14x deep work for the team –
a multiplier action with cascading effects on the performance of the entire team

56. Illustrative normal product building process for many
teams Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Start building native interfaces
Start adtech partner alphas/betas (1-2)
Building alpha for a product
Start client API alpha/betas (1-2)
Activity
Building beta for a product
Building 1.0 for a product
Many product teams have a linear approach to building products

57. How can we 10x that execution speed?
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Client API betas (10-20)
FMP betas (5-10)
Building 1.0 for a product
Sales leadership alignment
Start building native interfaces
Co-building with API clients (5)
Co-building with adtech partners (5)
Client native interface betas (100-1,000)
Building alpha for a product
Activity
By instilling a discipline for speed, by the end of a 6 month cycle
we can have >10x the number of customers we otherwise would have

58. Speed Hacks Description Benefits
Batch process
meetings
Many PMs have a lot of meetings – batch processing allows for free
time with less context switching and time to do more deep work
Less context switching;
more deep work
Optimize for
deep work
Deep work takes ramp up time (~30 min), but propels team forward
(strategy work, product architecture, analysis, brainstorming, etc.)
Allows team to position itself
correctly; build right products well
Co-develop products
Build the right products for the right customer and
obtain quick adoption
Makes sure you build right product
for right customer; adoption
Time-shift schedule
Saves a tremendous amount of time on commuting
(for me 3 hours a day)
20-30% more productive time/day
Using Windows and
Mac machine
Use Windows for Outlook/Powerpoint/Excel; use Mac for coding
20-30% more productive for
Windows/Mac specific apps
Intermittent fasting Saves 1-2 hours/day 10-20% more productive time/day
Miscellaneous hacks
Using 2-3 monitors; automated email rules; utilizing Powerpoint and
Excel macros; invest in relationship building, etc.
Miscellaneous
Utilizing speed hacks often is a game of testing and stacking more and more speed hacks
over time; hundreds of single digit productivity increases can make you significantly faster

59. Agenda 1. WHAT DOES “UNUSUALLY GOOD” MEAN?
2. WHAT IS AN “UNUSUALLY GOOD” PM?
3. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “EXECUTE”: 10X SPEED
4. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “EXECUTE”: BIOHACKING
5. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
BECOMING A LEARNING MACHINE FRAMEWORK
6. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
INSURMOUNTABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

60. “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.”
The software is your mind. The hardware is your body
An introduction to biohacking

61. • Career are endurance sports – decades long marathon broken down into sprints
• First rule of high performance is never lapsing into poor performance
• Maintaining 10x speed high level performance across decades may be
impossible without biohacking
• Biohacking may enable you to:
– Avoid disease and injury that will affect performance (soft tissue injury, heart
disease, inflammation, chronic disease, carpal tunnel/RSI, etc.)
– Obtain optimal mental performance (memory, analysis, etc.)
– Obtain optimal physical performance (energy, strength, cardio, etc.)
• Biohacking is unusual/controversial: do your own research and A/B testing. Also
wise to find a good doctor specializing in functional/integrative medicine
Why is biohacking so important?

64. For Gut Cleansing:
Saccharomycs boulardii, Multi-
strain probiotics, Tricycline,
Digestive enzymes, and
Monolaurin
For Mitochondrial Metabolic
Therapy:
Organic plant based protein shake,
Flax/chia seeds, Astaxanthin, Krill
oil, Ubiquinol, Magnesium, and
Vitamin D-3
For Ketogenic Monitoring:
Ketonix ketones monitor

65. • Before chronic disease, there is inflammation. Before inflammation, there is gut
dysfunction. Gut repair corrects this problem from a first principles basis.
• Remove toxic substances like mytoxins, bacteria, yeast, heavy metals, chlorine, etc.
• Replace nutrients like magnesium, vitamins, proteins, fats, fiber, complex carbs, etc.
the body needs to function at its peak
• Reinoculate gut’s intestinal flora with probiotics and prebiotics like lactobacillus
acidophilus, lactobacillus thermophilous, etc.
• Repair the intestinal mucosa, the cells that form the intestinal wall- their division and
growth can patch up a leaky gut
• To learn more and implement, read Dr. Junger’s book “Clean Gut”
• Personally, lost 10 lbs on this, had my energy increase, and decrease inflammation
Gut repair – reducing inflammation in the body
Source: Junger, Alejandro. Clean Gut: The Breakthrough Plan for Eliminating the Root Cause of Disease and Revolutionizing Your Health. HarperCollins.

66. • Mitochondria generate ATP, control apoptosis, and are prime sites for free radical
damage
• How to manufacture ATP efficiently and sidestep the problems that arise from a lifetime
of eating food that produces an excess of free radicals when metabolized
• Mitochondrial metabolic theory boils down to (1) eat high quality, organic, toxin
minimizing foods – calories from good fats, moderate protein, and minimizing carbs, (2)
use ketones for energy creates significantly fewer free radicals than sugar
• Benefits include mental performance, no cravings, anticancer, microbiome changes,
weight loss, energy, increased insulin sensitivity, and reduced inflammation
• To learn more and implement, read Dr. Mercola’s book “Fat for Fuel”
• Personally, lost 15 lbs, much stronger overall health, better endurance, improved
concentration, increased energy and focus.
Mitochondrial metabolic theory – eat well for optimal
nutrition
Source: Mercola, Joseph. Fat for Fuel: A Revolutionary Diet to Combat Cancer, Boost Brain Power, and Increase Your Energy. Hay House, Inc.

67. Biohacks Description Benefits
Intermittent fasting Eating 8 hours/day; fasting 16 hours/day
Lose weight, increase energy,
increase longevity
Ketosis Keeping body burning ketones as main fuel
Lose weight, increase energy,
decrease systemic inflammation
Vitamin supplements Vitamin D, Krill Oil, Magnesium, Ubiquinol, Astaxanthin
Increase energy, decrease systemic
inflammation
High fat, medium
protein, low carb diet
Helps keep your body running on ketones
Lose weight, increase energy,
decrease systemic inflammation
Organic protein and
raw greens solutions
Raw Organic Protein Powder with probiotics, etc. and Raw Greens
(Garden of Life) to stay full and your body running on good nutrients
Decrease light damage
Smart drugs Aniracetam, phenylpiracetam, etc.
Increase mental performance
(memory, etc.)
Other biohacks
Cold therapy (cold showers, ice, etc.), grounding (decrease free
radical count in body), light (Iris or f.lux), HIIT, etc.
Increase energy, lose weight,
decrease free radical damage
Biohacking is a diverse and deep field; I highly recommend Dave Asprey’s book “Head
Strong”
and experimenting to find with what works for you

68. These ideas are backed by a plethora of research
Biggest impact on lowering exposure to oxidative
damage comes when you keep your blood glucose
levels low
- T. N. Seyfried, Nutrition and Metabolism Journal
[FN1]Overindulging on sugar and grains eventually leads to
neural impairment and damage
- R. Agrawal, The Journal of Physiology [FN2]
Removing processed foods, sugars, etc. from your diet
deprives cancer cells of their preferred metabolic fuel
- G. D. Maurer, BMC Cancer 11 [FN3]
Low carb diets tend to reduce levels of systemic
inflammation in the body
- C. E. Forsythe, Lipids, 43 No. 1 [FN4]
Shifting to a fat-burning diet spurs mitochondrial
biogenesis in rodents
- K.J. Borough, Annals of Neurology [FN5]
Increasing mitochondrial ATP production can enhance
performance of neurons
- Z. Sheng, Journal of Cell Bio; X. Zhu, Neuorimage
[FN6]
Cancer unlikely in people with healthy mitochondria;
Mercola expanded this concept to chronic diseases
- T. N. Seyfried, Cancer as a Metabolic Disease [FN7]
Eating diet high in good fats has been shown to
increase memory and cognition
- A. Paturel, Cleveland Clinic [FN8]

69. • [FN1] J. J. Meidenbauer, P. Mukherjee, and T. N. Seyfried, “The Glucose Ketone Index Calculator: A Simple Tool to Monitor Therapeutic
Efficacy for Metabolic Management of Brain Cancer,” Nutrition & Metabolism, vol. 12 (2015): 12. DOI: 10.1186/ s12986-015-0009-2.
• [FN2] R. Agrawal and F. Gomez-Pinilla, “‘ Metabolic Syndrome’ in the Brain: Deficiency in Omega-3 Fatty Acid Exacerbates Dysfunctions in
Insulin Receptor Signalling and Cognition,” The Journal of Physiology, 590, no. 10, (2012): 2485, DOI: 10.1113/ jphysiol. 2012.230078.
• [FN3] G. D. Maurer, et al., “Differential Utilization of Ketone Bodies by Neurons and Glioma Cell Lines: a Rationale for Ketogenic Diet as
Experimental Glioma Therapy,” BMC Cancer 11 (2011): 315, DOI: 10.1186/ 1471-2407-11-315.
• [FN4] C. E. Forsythe et al., “Comparison of Low Fat and Low Carbohydrate Diets on Circulation Fatty Acid Composition and Markers of
Inflammation,” Lipids, 43, no. 1 (2008): 65– 77, DOI: 10.1007/ s11745-007-3132-7.
• [FN5] K. J. Bough et al., “Mitochondrial Biogenesis in the Anticonvulsant Mechanism of the Ketogenic Diet,” Annals of Neurology, 60
(2006): 223– 35, DOI: 10.1002 /ana. 20899.
• [FN6] Zu-Hang Sheng, “Mitochondrial Trafficking and Anchoring in Neurons: New Insight and Implications,” Journal of Cell Biology 204, no.
7 (March 31, 2014): 1087, doi: 10.1083/ jcb. 201312123. 2. Xiao-Hong Zhu et al., “Quantitative Imaging of Energy Expenditure in Human
Brain,” Neuroimage 60, no. 4 (2012): 2107– 17. 3. R. Steven Stowers et al., “Axonal Transport of Mitochondria to Synapses Depends on
Milton, a Novel Drosophila Protein,” Neuron 36, no. 6 (2002): 1063– 77, doi: 10.1016/ S0896– 6273( 02) 01094– 2.; Xiufang Guo et al.,
“The GTPase dMiro Is Required for Axonal Transport of Mitochondria to Drosophila Synapses,” Neuron 47, no. 3 (2005): 379– 93; Huan
Ma et al., “KIF5B Motor Adaptor Syntabulin Maintains Synaptic Transmission in Sympathetic Neurons,” Journal of Neuroscience 29, no. 41
(2009): 13019– 29.
• [FN7] Thomas N. Seyfried New Jersey: Wiley. 2012. ISBN: 978-0-470-58492-7. Cancer as a metabolic disease: on the origin,
management, and prevention of cancer.
• [FN] Amy Paturel, “Good Fats— Boost Brain Power with Good Fats,” Cleveland Clinic Wellness, September 8, 2009, http://
www.clevelandclinicwellness.com/ food/ GoodFats/ Pages/ BoostBrainPowerwithGoodFats.aspx.
With plenty of citations in case you want to dive in further

70. Agenda 1. WHAT DOES “UNUSUALLY GOOD” MEAN?
2. WHAT IS AN “UNUSUALLY GOOD” PM?
3. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “EXECUTE”: 10X SPEED
4. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “EXECUTE”: BIOHACKING
5. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
BECOMING A LEARNING MACHINE FRAMEWORK
6. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
INSURMOUNTABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

71. OUR JOBS INVOLVE CONSTANT LEARNING AND
OUR COMPETITIVE EDGE IS OUR IDEAS:
THE BEST PMS ARE LEARNING MACHINES

72. Many years ago, I realize that learning things quickly and
deeply can be boiled down into a recursive algorithm
Strength of this approach is in the order of the steps, the steps themselves, and the
recursion
1. Reading
2. Conversations
3. Doing
4. Synthesizing

74. • Reading top 3–4 books on a topic rapidly is enough to usually give people a
decent handle on a new topic
• Reading blogs, periodicals, wikipedia, podcasts are also alternative ways of
learning similar material from different sources
• Reading consistently over time becomes an insurmountable advantage
• Reading doesn’t just teach you knowledge; it improves your model of the world
on a subconscious level. Reading helps to improve your compiled mental
software, even if you don’t have access to the source code
• Case study example: At one point in time, I became interested in the oil
OPEC’s policy and the historical low prices of crude oil. I found out about this
trend from the Economist. I came up to speed on the industry by reading the top
3–4 books on oil from Amazon
Best first step and most self reliant way of learning is by
reading

75. • Speaking to experts in the field has the benefit of synthesizing large amounts of
information and distilling it into a pure, digestible form for you —it’s by far the most
efficient way of learning information quickly
• It’s limited by being less self reliant and needing to know people who understand the
topic
• In addition, it’s difficult for experts to separate fact from opinion when onboarding new
people. People learning this way run the risk of copying opinions wholesale
• An alternative to copying wholesale is sifting facts from opinions in conversations with
experts; valuing facts and crafting your own opinions based on first principles thinking
• This requires much more work — but is a much better way of creating original thinking
• Case study example: I spoke with my friends who are traders, investors and
engineers in the oil industry; I took the research reports I read and called up the
relevant analysts to learn facts and carefully evaluate opinions
After reading, often times the next best step is to speak
to people, which is the most efficient way of learning

76. • The deepest way of learning is by interacting within the realm of whatever
topic you want to learn
• In the entrepreneurial world, there’s an adage that the best way to learn how to
become an entrepreneur is by becoming an entrepreneur
• You’re more likely to uncover your unknown unknowns: working in an area
will teach you to ask better questions to uncover more questions you don’t have
answers to
• The lean startup movement of doing / building quickly to learn deeply is a perfect
embodiment of this philosophy
• Case study example: I devised several trading strategies to capitalize on
uncertainty in the oil market, including utilizing ETFs, options, and taking long
and short positions in different oil companies.
After conversations, and the deepest way of learning, is
by doing

77. • Synthesizing is a way of refining concentrated ideas from the past— it allows all of
us to pick up pieces from our past, discards the bad parts, transmute lesser materials
into great ones, and leave with something much more valuable than we started off with
• Superficial learning does us no good if we don’t synthesize and refine
• I personally find the most independent way to synthesize is with a regular journal; an
excellent but less self reliant way of synthesizing is through teaching other people
• After completing a loop, restart the loop on new unknown related topics
• Case study example: I journaled my entire investment thesis formulating process,
which lead to a post on Medium (FN) as well as my presentation of this thesis to several
hedge fund manager friends. After finishing my first loop, I started reading more books,
talking to more people, and experimenting more with fracking
Lastly, the best step to crystallize what you think you’ve
learned is to synthesize it by writing/journaling or
teaching
[FN] https://medium.com/@georgexzeng/how-to-become-a-learning-machine-aba04f4245ad

78. Agenda 1. WHAT DOES “UNUSUALLY GOOD” MEAN?
2. WHAT IS AN “UNUSUALLY GOOD” PM?
3. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “EXECUTE”: 10X SPEED
4. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “EXECUTE”: BIOHACKING
5. UNUSUAL WAYS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
BECOMING A LEARNING MACHINE FRAMEWORK
6. UNUSUAL THINGS TO “IDENTIFY”/“UNDERSTAND”:
INSURMOUNTABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

79. AS A PM, YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IS YOUR
IDEAS. HOW DO YOU BUILD AN INSURMOUNTABLE
EDGE IN YOUR IDEAS?

80. • My current hypothesis and anecdotal experience is that the smartest people in this world take
reading to an extreme; they’re reading monsters
• My baseline for best in class is reading 3 books/week. I get a lot of questions on how.
• Tactical ideas on how to read 3 books/week:
– Read books on many different platforms (paper books, Kindle hardware device, Kindle for
iPhone, Android, PC, Mac, iPad, etc., iBooks, PDFs, etc.) whenever you can (commute, buying
groceries, laundry, eating, before bed, early in the morning, etc.)
– Utilize Audiobooks (Audible) at 2-3x speed
– Utilize Podcasts (Overcast) at 3x speed
Reading: a hacker’s guide
Median American
4 books/yr X 70 yrs = 280 books
~4 bachelor degrees
Unusually Good
3 books/wk X 52 wks/yr X 70 yrs = 10,920
books
~156 additional bachelor degrees

81. • To a certain extent, knowledge and intelligence can be
commoditized
• A broad and deep network is one of a few truly
competitive advantages
• Without a broad and deep network and the proprietary
this provides, parsing matters less
• Be kind and thoughtful in how you build out your
network. Don’t build “connections” – built true
friendships
• Adam Grant (Wharton professor) has done
groundbreaking research – read his book “Give and
Take” to understand more of the sociological
elements behind why being a Giver is important
Conversations: your network is a competitive advantage

82. • Always be making and creating things - this
will give you a maker’s view into evolving
fields
• List of projects I’ve hacked on:
– JS game about polar bears running away
from global warming (Polar Bear Panic)
– Crowd sourced healthcare research
platform
– Multi strategy hedge fund
– SMB automated adtech platform
– Cryptocurrency products
– Healthcare tech remote monitoring and
telemedicine (Aircare)
Doing: always be hacking

83. • There are many ways to synthesize – I keep a regular journal to help me better
understand and refine my own thinking and feelings
• I strongly believe in teaching as a way of giving back
• This talk about how to be an unusually good PM is an example of me
synthesizing and reinforcing a lot of things I’ve learned
– I hope you’ve learned something valuable; I will also come out with a stronger
understanding of what it means to be an unusually good PM
• Kindness and giving back are important. I wouldn’t be here without many
mentors who took a chance on me and who took the time to teach me
• Share this with people who can benefit from this as well and also take the time
to teach what worked for you. Pay it forward
Synthesis: give back

84. THANK YOU

85. Part-time Product Management Courses in
Silicon Valley, New York and Los Angeles
www.productschool.com