Why Uber’s CPO delivers food on weekends | Sachin Kansal
Executive Summary
A Lenny's Podcast conversation with Sachin Kansal, chief product officer at Uber, on dogfooding his own products by driving and delivering, shipping fast, advice for early-career product managers, and Uber's strategy for autonomous vehicles. PARTIAL COVERAGE: the episode runs about 82 minutes and the available caption text is cut off during the autonomous vehicle discussion, so later topics are not covered. Company figures and plans are Kansal's own claims and are unverified.
Key Takeaways
Dogfooding in the real world
Kansal says he sets aside half a day once or twice a month to drive and deliver, because features that look good in an office can make no sense in a car at 45 miles per hour.
Ship, ship, ship
The host says colleagues describe his motto as ship, ship, ship, and Kansal says what you ship is code in your product, not documents or brainstorming meetings.
Advice for early-career PMs
He says a great product manager is not defined by five strategic ideas but by the micro decisions, such as where the button goes and what the copy says, and suggests a job that ships many products quickly.
Fix-its
He says teams sign up for about 300 fix-its over six months alongside growth, retention and cost goals, so known problems get resources.
OKRs as stretch targets
He says OKRs are not meant to be hit in full and that Uber celebrates hitting about 75 to 80 percent.
Dogfooding non-consumer products
He says to get as close to the customer as possible, for example product teams standing behind a cafe counter to see orders arrive on the merchant tablet.
Autonomous vehicles
He says Uber took a partner approach after divesting its own self-driving unit, with about 15 partners and a hybrid network of human drivers and autonomous cars to keep vehicles in use.
The Conversation Breakdown
Dogfooding in the real world
⏱ Untimed topicKansal says he sets aside half a day once or twice a month to drive and deliver, because features that look good in an office can make no sense in a car at 45 miles per hour.
Ship, ship, ship
⏱ Untimed topicThe host says colleagues describe his motto as ship, ship, ship, and Kansal says what you ship is code in your product, not documents or brainstorming meetings.
Advice for early-career PMs
⏱ Untimed topicHe says a great product manager is not defined by five strategic ideas but by the micro decisions, such as where the button goes and what the copy says, and suggests a job that ships many products quickly.
Fix-its
⏱ Untimed topicHe says teams sign up for about 300 fix-its over six months alongside growth, retention and cost goals, so known problems get resources.
OKRs as stretch targets
⏱ Untimed topicHe says OKRs are not meant to be hit in full and that Uber celebrates hitting about 75 to 80 percent.
Dogfooding non-consumer products
⏱ Untimed topicHe says to get as close to the customer as possible, for example product teams standing behind a cafe counter to see orders arrive on the merchant tablet.
Autonomous vehicles
⏱ Untimed topicHe says Uber took a partner approach after divesting its own self-driving unit, with about 15 partners and a hybrid network of human drivers and autonomous cars to keep vehicles in use.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Dogfooding - Kansal's practice
Use the product the way your customers do, on every side of the marketplace.
Fix-its - Kansal's practice
Reserve a share of goals for known problems.
Hybrid network - Kansal's strategy
Pair autonomous vehicles with human drivers to balance demand.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Set aside a half day this month to use your product as a customer would.
- ✓List known problems and agree to fix a fixed number this quarter.
- ✓Pick one micro decision, such as button placement or copy, and ship a change this week.
- ✓Check the partner and country figures against Uber's public announcements.
Notable Quotes
“What you ship is code in your product.”
“What makes a great product manager is not five amazing strategic ideas.”
“Go to a job where you can ship multiple products as fast as possible.”
The One Thing to Remember
Kansal says to use your own product in the real world and then ship, because what you ship is code, not documents or brainstorms.