Products, Politics, Eyes, Networks, oh my

Five fun threads for the price of one newsletter email!

Welcome to the second edition of Weekly Essays in the Form of Twitter Threads.

As Shreyas Doshi, Grandmaster of Wise Product Tweets once told me, Twitter is a great medium for learning! Easy on the eyeballs, quick on the reshareability. And like some kind of chemist, you’re forced to distill what you know into its simplest essence. How to make it not fortune-cookie obvious, but not so complex that you repeatedly slam into the cold stone wall of the 280-character limit while trying to coax out a nuanced discussion until you give up to look at NFT art instead? (This is, of course, purely hypothetical.)

The way I write tends to shape the way I think. Will I be spouting short, spicy statements by the end of the year? Time will tell.

What is “Product Thinking” and How Do You Get It?

Julie Zhuo @joulee

Great designers are strong at "product thinking." This is a key aspect of many design interviews, as well as many PM or VC ones. But what exactly is product thinking? And how does one get good at it? Thread below 👇

Managers, ICs, and the Honing of One’s Design Eye

Julie Zhuo @joulee

A frequent question I get when talking with senior designers: Will my growth as a designer stall if I start managing? There is often a second question underneath that, which is: Will I no longer be respected as a design leader if I can't keep up as a designer? Thread below👇

Dealing with Office Politics

Julie Zhuo @joulee

Do you struggle with "office politics," like when Colleague got a promotion because they seem to have the same hobbies as the boss? Do you have no idea how to play the game? Do you recoil at the very word? Then this thread is for you 👇

Build your Network without “Networking”

Julie Zhuo @joulee

Do you feel you should "build your network?" Do you wonder why everyone says you should? Does the idea of 'networking' make you die a little inside? Do you wonder how you can continue to network in this remote, socially-distanced era? Then this thread is for you. 👇

Diagnose with Data. Treat with Design.

Julie Zhuo @joulee

My co-founder Chandra Narayanan's quote has become something of a product-builder's mantra for us: Diagnose with data and treat with design. There is so much packed into those sentences! Thread going deeper 👇 (1/15)

Have a lovely week,

~Julie