Sachin Narula’s Post

I've shipped 10+ products. Here are 4 PATTERNS that repeat across every successful launch: 1. Clear Outcome Bad teams start with "what to build" Good teams start with "what will this change?" When the outcome is crisp → decisions become obvious. 2. Fast Feedback Loops Launch half backed features in 3-7 day cycles. Get reactions. Adjust. Good product comes from tight iteration. Every extra week without user feedback = assumptions become expensive. 3. Minimal Features Success didn't come from adding more. It came from protecting less. We always removed 40-60% of ideas. Kept the 3-4 things that actually moved the business metric. 4. Ownership The products that won always had one single owner. One human who guards decisions → and brutally says no. Most people think product success comes from "building fast". It actually comes from: knowing which 90% not to build. I share these because I see teams repeat this mistake The market rewards clarity. If you're building something right now - reread the 4 patterns. DM me "SHIP" if you want help getting your first version live in 4 weeks. #ProductManagement

The Hardest Part of Building a Product Isn’t Code...It’s Alignment Everyone loves to talk about building a "perfect" product. Few talk about aligning people, technology, and strategy. Code is predictable. People aren’t. The hardest part of leading a build isn’t pushing features, it’s getting engineers, marketers, sales, investors, etc. to see the same target and move toward it without losing momentum. Every day, I balance three competing languages: business outcomes, technical reality, and user value. If even one gets lost in translation, progress stalls. Leadership isn’t just setting vision. It’s constantly realigning it while everything shifts around you. Some days, alignment feels impossible. Other days, it’s magic. But the truth is, the alignment is the product. You can’t scale chaos. Lesson Learned: Don’t chase faster. Chase clearer. Speed follows clarity every single time.  What’s the hardest alignment challenge you’ve faced leading a team #leadershipdevelopment #productstrategy #teamalignment #startuplife #businessexecution

𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭, 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 In product management, we talk a lot about building; building MVPs, building features, building teams. But the truth is, before you build anything, you have to build yourself. If you’re trying to transition to product management, you need to understand that it isn’t just a technical role. It’s emotional work. It’s learning to stay calm when the deadline shifts again. It’s having difficult conversations, being firm without losing empathy. It’s translating chaos into clarity, over and over again. And that kind of strength doesn’t come from any tool boards or frameworks. It comes from within. ✨ You can’t manage stakeholders if you can’t manage your own emotions. ✨ You can’t prioritise a roadmap if you’ve never learned to prioritise your own peace. ✨ You can’t inspire a team if you’ve never learned to stay inspired yourself. So before you chase the next certification or big launch; pause. Do the inner work too. Because every great product reflects the mind that built it. ……….. I’m Linda Umegboro; researcher, product builder, and founder of CheckInAI where we’re building emotionally intelligent tools that prioritise people, not just processes. ➡️ Please follow CheckInAI to stay updated on our mission to bring emotional well-being into research and tech spaces, because tech should care, too. 💜 #productmanagement #careerdevelopment #leadership #growthmindset #selfmastery

Curious about what top Product Leaders are reading right now? Here are the top 5 pieces of content shared this month: 1/"Maximizers vs. Focusers" — John Cutler: Some teams chase optionality; others chase clarity. John contrasts “maximizers” who keep doors open with “focusers” who close them to move faster, and shows why great leaders learn to switch modes with intention. https://lnkd.in/dyK4UKws 2/When to Hire Your First PM — Saumil Mehta: The first PM hire sets the tone for how product is done. Mehta breaks down the moment founders should hand off ownership, what great early PMs actually do, and why “fit before process” remains timeless advice.   https://lnkd.in/d-qwcKey 3/"Vibe Engineering" — Simon Willison: AI isn’t just about outputs; it’s about how they feel. Willison coins “vibe engineering” to describe shaping tone, rhythm, and micro-UX cues that build trust in human-AI collaboration. Interaction design now extends to the invisible. https://lnkd.in/dVrc9YmV 4/ Team Plan & Option Plan — Index Ventures: Two data-rich tools for founders and heads of product shaping growth and equity strategy. Team Plan maps how world-class orgs scale product and design orgs; Option Plan benchmarks equity norms across rounds, roles, and geos.  Team Plan: https://lnkd.in/d4fT2wQV  Option Plan: https://lnkd.in/dpNjFjq8 5/ "Post-AI and Productive Residue" — Cory Doctorow: Doctorow reframes “post-AI” as the world automation leaves behind. The residue—shifts in labor, ownership, and agency—is the real story. A provocative read on reclaiming the human layer as systems scale. https://lnkd.in/dqTHBYJw What other great content did you read this month? For context, I run Supra, a private community of high-caliber product leaders. Our members share fantastic pieces via our Slack channel.

Clear Requirements = Faster Execution. Here’s Why. If your team keeps circling back with questions… If sprint planning feels like chaos… If engineering, design, and product are “interpreting” the same idea differently… The real problem usually isn’t talent. It’s clarity. Well-defined product requirements create alignment. Alignment unlocks speed. Speed reduces cost, stress, and endless rework. A strong PRD isn’t paperwork, it’s the single source of truth that makes execution predictable. Clear goals, precise acceptance criteria, unambiguous scope = fewer surprises and fewer “what did you mean by this?” conversations. Want to build trust in your team? Start by removing confusion. Start with clarity. Learn how by scheduling a complimentary Strategy Session 👉 https://lnkd.in/gNbUXE4P #ProductManagement #ProductDevelopment #MVP #StartupLife #ExecutionExcellence #ProductRequirements #BuildBetter #TeamAlignment #ProductLeaders #TechLeadership #SmartwareAdvisors #PDBuilder

Before strategy, I spent years building products without clear principles. It taught me something no framework ever could - How to connect vision to action without losing the team along the way. Good product strategy starts with principles, not just priorities. Teams don't always need more features on the roadmap. Sometimes they need clarity on why they're building, alignment on what matters, or simply a bridge between aspiration and execution. Strategy equals principles plus decisions. When those principles are specific, actionable, and concise, every ticket in your backlog can trace back to your mission. That's when execution feels inspired, not just required. How does your team connect daily work to broader vision?

The 3 Foundations of Every Successful Product After working across multiple products and diverse teams, I’ve realized one thing — a great product isn’t the result of luck or even innovation alone. It’s built on three silent foundations: 1️⃣ Deep understanding of user pain – Empathy before efficiency. 2️⃣ Relentless prioritization – Every feature has a cost; focus is currency. 3️⃣ Team belief in the “why” – When teams understand purpose, alignment becomes natural. These three elements transform any team from builders to problem solvers. Remember — products don’t fail because of bad ideas; they fail because teams forget why they started building in the first place. 🔖 #Innovation #Teamwork #ProductLeadership #AgileThinking #ProductOwner #Strategy #DesignThinking #CorporateGrowth

🎯 Your roadmap is not your vision. Read that again. 👀 Too many Product teams confuse a list of features with a direction for impact. A roadmap tells you what you’ll build. A vision tells you why it matters. 💡 The best teams don’t just manage backlog items — they rally around purpose. 💡They use vision to say no as confidently as they say yes. 💡Because alignment > activity. 💡And clarity > speed. If your roadmap doesn’t inspire, it’s just a timeline. If your vision doesn’t guide decisions, it’s just words on a slide. So as you plan the next quarter, ask your team: 👉 Can everyone explain why we’re building this in one sentence? 👉 If the answer isn’t crystal clear… it’s time to reconnect your roadmap to your vision before execution turns into chaos. ✨ Revisit. Refocus. Reignite your “why.” ✨ #ProductVision #RoadmapStrategy #AgileLeadership #ProductManagement #TeamAlignment #Innovation #BuildWithPurpose

The Power of Small Steps in Building Great Products. I was reflecting recently on how tiny drops of water, left under a running tap, can fill up a whole bucket over time. That simple thought made me think about product development — and how every little step in the process matters more than we often realize. Picture this, you place a bucket under a tap, and the water begins to drip slowly. At first, it seems like nothing is happening, just a few drops, barely noticeable. But come back the next day, and the bucket is full. That’s exactly how product management works. When I started out, I used to get impatient wanting big results fast. But over time, I learned that every phase of the product lifecycle adds its own drop of value. Each user research session, design review, sprint, or retrospective may seem small, but together they fill the bucket, creating something meaningful and impactful. 📍 Discovery adds a drop of clarity. 📍 MVP testing adds a drop of insight. 📍 Iterations add drops of improvement. 📍 User feedback adds drops of direction. And one day, you look back and realize; the “bucket” is full. Your product is working. Users are happy. The team is aligned. Whether you’re building a product or growing your career, remember: Progress is built drop by drop, not all at once. © D_Creative PM #ProductManagement #GrowthMindset #AgileDevelopment #Leadership #ProductStrategy #BuildingInPublic #PMCommunity #ContinuousImprovement #CareerGrowth #ProductLifecycle

Product ownership isn’t about managing tasks. It’s about managing value. Every decision, from backlog prioritization to roadmap planning, should tie back to one thing: impact. Over the years, I’ve learned that the difference between busy teams and effective teams often comes down to 3 principles: 1️⃣ Define the problem deeply before designing the solution. 2️⃣ Measure outcomes, not output. It’s not about how much you deliver. It’s about how much difference it makes. 3️⃣ Empower teams to say “no.” Focus is leadership. When strategy, design, and engineering rally around a shared goal, everything changes velocity, morale, and clarity. Building products is hard. But building the right product? That’s where real leadership shows up. 👇 What’s one thing you wish more product teams would stop doing?