Succeeding as an Introvert, Building from Zero to One, and Why You Should PM Your Career Like You PM Your Product

Listen now Apple, SpotifyAnd YouTube.

—

Offered by:

• Hanging—The only all-in-one product experience platform for every type of application
• WorkOS—Modern Identity Platform for B2B SaaS, Free up to 1M MAUs
• Webstream—The Web Experience Platform

—

Deb Liu is the CEO of Ancestry and a former longtime VP of Product at Facebook. At Facebook, Deb led the creation of Facebook Marketplace, developed the first mobile advertising product for apps, built the company’s games business, and launched Facebook Pay. She has also held leadership roles at PayPal and eBay, serves on the board of directors of Intuit, and is the author of Take back your powerIn our conversation we will discuss:

• Why You Should PM Your Career Like You Would PM Your Product

• Strategies for Incubating New Products Within Large Companies

• Creating a Successful 30-60-90 Day Plan When Starting a New Job

• The Pitfalls of Perfectionism

• The Challenges Introverts Face in the Workplace and How to Overcome Them

• The value of resilience and turning failures into stepping stones

• How to use coaching in your career development

The transcript can be found here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/succeeding-as-an-introvert-deb-liu

Some conclusions:

1. Treat your career like a product roadmap. Start by defining your long-term career goals and visualize where you want to be in 5 or 10 years. Break these goals down into smaller, actionable milestones, similar to setting quarterly goals for a product. Develop a career plan with key skills to acquire, roles to target, and metrics for success. Review and adjust this plan regularly based on your progress and any new opportunities or changes in your industry. A person who is constantly learning will outperform those who are currently experts. To balance learning and impact in your career, alternate between roles where you are the expert and roles where you acquire new skills.

2. Introverts need to learn to speak up. Like it or not, the business world favors extroversion. So if you’re not sharing your opinions and promoting your successes, you’re limiting your career development. If you’re a leader, focus on creating an inclusive environment where your entire team has the opportunity to speak up, not just those who are naturally confident in a group setting.

3. If the idea of ​​self-promotion makes you uncomfortable, consider shifting your perspective on what this process accomplishes. Think of it as a way to advocate for your team’s needs and resources, or to share key metrics that you’ve all achieved. When we shift the focus from “This is about me” to “This helps everyone,” the value of self-promotion becomes much clearer—and much more palatable.

4. When you start a new role, create a structured plan for 30-60-90 days:

   1. 30 days (listening and learning): Talk to as many team members and stakeholders as possible (aim for 50 to 60 people) to understand their perspectives, challenges, and wish lists.

   2. 60 days (coordination and planning): Based on your learnings, identify one or two areas where you can make a tangible impact in the short term. Develop a plan to address these areas and present it to your team.

   3. 90 days (implementation and impact): Begin implementing the plans and changes that have been agreed upon. Focus on delivering quick wins to build credibility and demonstrate value. At the end of the 90 days, review your performance and feedback received.

Where to find Deb Liu:

• Topics: https://www.threads.net/@debliu

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahliu

• Sub-stack: https://debliu.substack.com/

In this episode we discuss:

(00:00) Introduction to Deb Liu

(02:18) Deb’s career path and key advice

(09:45) Navigating new roles and challenges

(11:27) Overcoming adversity and failure

(15:07) Building Billion Dollar Companies at Facebook

(19:33) Strategies for zero-to-one innovation

(23:40) PM your career as a product

(33:53) Challenges and Strategies for Introverts in Business

(39:19) Redesigning Self-Promotion

(42:25) The power of accountability

(46:15) Growth: A Game of Inches

(50:52) The 30-60-90 Day Plan

(56:52) Contrarian angle: career and marriage

(58:57) Latest nuggets of wisdom

(01:03:09) How do you find a coach?

(01:04:47) Lightning round

Referred to:

• Katherine Woo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinewoo/

• Tim Wenzel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timwenzel/

• The Paypal Mafia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal_Mafia

• Amy Klement on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyklement/

• Lessons from a two-time unicorn builder, 50-time startup advisor, and 20-time company board member | Uri Levine (co-founder of Waze): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-uri-levine

• Fall in love with the problem, not the solution: a handbook for entrepreneurs: https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Love-Problem-Solution-Entrepreneurs/dp/1637741987

• PM your career like you PM your product: https://debliu.substack.com/p/pm-your-career-like-you-pm-your-product

• David Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/telebears/

• Mike Wu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewu1/

• Stephanie Tilenius on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanietilenius/

• The Bias No One Talks About: https://debliu.substack.com/p/the-bias-no-one-talks-about

• Silence: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking: https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352153

• Greg Packer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregpacker/

• Boz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-bosworth-8247a01/

• Make meta | Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth (CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-meta-andrew-boz-bosworth-cto

• Newsletter from Ami Vora: https://amivora.substack.com/

• Making an impact through authenticity and curiosity | Ami Vora (CPO at Faire, ex-WhatsApp, FB, IG): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/authenticity-and-curiosity-ami-vora

• Make the first 90 days count: A simple 30-60-90 day plan: https://debliu.substack.com/p/make-the-first-90-days-count

• Quote from Charles Swindoll: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/charles_r_swindoll_388332

• Listen: Five Simple Tools to Tackle Your Everyday Parenting Challenges: https://www.amazon.com/Listen-Simple-Everyday-Parenting-Challenges/dp/0997459301

• Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Some-People-Have-Others/dp/0061789089/

• 7 Rules of Power: Surprising But True Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career: https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Power-Surprising-but-True-Advice-Advance/dp/1637741227/

• The Paths to Power: How to Increase Your Influence and Advance Your Career | Jeffrey Pfeffer (author of 7 Rules of Power, professor at Stanford GSB): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-paths-to-power-jeffrey-pfeffer

• The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth About Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations: https://www.amazon.com/Conversation-Radically-Transform-Individuals-Organizations/dp/0593238567

• Fallout on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN4HV16N

•Fallout 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_4

• Topics: https://www.threads.net/

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/For questions about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.