Your relationship with your manager is often the most crucial one for career success. Most people spend the first year of their new manager relationship setting rules of engagement.

What if there was a way to supercharge this and get to the parts that matter?

Creating a manual for my manager helps me stay organized and on the same page. It outlines how I work, what motivates me, career goals—everything they might need to know in one place!

Good managers have the best intentions for their team, but may lack context or have fragmented information. A manager manual helps prevent this and allows for better decisions.

Here's how to write one - I've found that this helps me supercharge my career, take more control of it...and managers are usually thankful to have a ready reckoner to go to. https://theholykau.substack.com/p/managermanual

If you found this useful, please consider hitting follow on Twitter and subscribing to my newsletter:
https://theholykau.substack.com

How to write a manager manual

Very few people know how apps make money.

Fewer understand that Apple is a piece of shit for pulling the absolutist, crappy move called ATT which crippled the industry.

Here's a simplistic explanation on how millions of app developers monetise in the ~$100B+ app ads market:

Jane opens Candy Crush on her phone. Candy Crush wants serve an ad. Jane's phone sends an ID that's unique to her device (IDFA) to an ad server. Think of an ad server as a traffic policeman who regulates traffic

The ad server sends this to several ad networks like AppLovin or Facebook

An ad network is a collection of advertisers.

This ad network (e.g. Facebook) will match this device ID to their data set. Their data set will tell them that this phone belongs to Jane, she's into fitness and her birthday is coming up. This ad network bids on behalf of MyFitnessPal with a birthday offer to drive installs

The ad server collects bids, and shows the ad of the highest bidder (not as simple, but assume this for now)

Jane sees the MyFitnessPal to level up (rewarded video) clicks on it and installs the app. This is a conversion. MyFitnessPal pays the ad network, the ad network pays the lions share of that to the app developer of Candy Crush

When this device ID is passed, its a safe and relatively anonymous way to target prospective users. MyFitnessPal will have a reasonable CAC, Candy Crush will make money, the ad network will also do so and users can use Candy Crush for free,

When it is not passed, the ad network can't target well. It is effectively blind (as compared to earlier). MyFitnessPal's CAC goes up. CandyCrush doesn't receive as many ads ('no fill') and is not able to monetise. Ad networks are also kind of pointless

The names I used here are for familiarity. The reason why a new app can get $4 CAC is IDFA. The reason why 2 app developers in a flat in a emerging market can get a Nike ad is also because of IDFA

In the garb of privacy, Apple has effectively crippled the ad tech industry. Any app developer who cannot monetise via subscriptions, startups who rely on affordable CACs to drive growth and build good businesses

Why? Privacy? F*ck no. Apple wants to build its own ad network and effectively create a duopoly with Google. Want proof? Check your phone, tap on this

The only way to make money on the internet is to make people pay or serve ads. There's no third way. Unless we want the internet to become Ryan Air, where we pay for everything.

Acquiring users is going to get more expensive, users are going to have shittier experiences and app monetization is going to get harder. Unless, of course, Apple creates its own ad network. Looks like they did! https://twitter.com/sethmills21/status/1532542043565727744?s=20&t=mtsBdgkaMIrGiXHwXN3x-Q

How apps make money

First impressions count but last impressions are forever.

Most people (including me) focus a lot on starting well, but never on how to end well. The tech world is small, and average tenures keep reducing. 

Yet, no one talks about how to quit a job with grace

I've stumbled through leaving 3 wonderful organisations, and over time have developed an algorithm that will help you quit your job with grace, and leave a great last impression. 

This has been developed over a decade, 3 job exits and has resulted in co-investors, return job offers and mainly great friendships with people I enjoyed working with

Here is my 7 step algorithm on how to quit a job with grace, with a plug for the first edition of my newsletter:
http://newsletter.kaushiks.me/archive/1082569

How to quit a job with grace

A great product counsel/lawyer has a significant impact on your product quality, shipping speed, risk profile and ideas. I've read very little about this, but after working with several product counsels (luckily) in highly regulated industries, I've learnt how to spot them (1/9)

Great product counsel: you can do this 10x cheaper and quicker if you frame it like X, and optimise the product/ feature set as such
Good product counsel: you can do this but you'll have to do these other things first
Not so great product counsel: you can't do this (2/9)

Great product counsel: here's a list of your proposals with associated risks, shall we go through the opportunities together?
Good product counsel: Deprioritise A, B proposals as they are quite risky, rest are great!
Not so great product counsel: Your proposals are risky (3/9)

Great product counsel: have you thought of this &lt;creative, new idea&gt; that is legal and would add a lot of user value?
Good product counsel: this idea is great, maybe you can extend it to &lt;more countries, user segments etc.&gt;
Not so great product counsel: where do I approve?
(4/9)

Great product counsel: We should proactively work with the regulator to frame this policy paper
Good product counsel: &lt;Government body&gt; is asking for experts to join, are you available?
Not so great product counsel: we should avoid proactive engagement 
(5/9)

Great product counsel: Gets added to PRD/proposal when its just the title on the doc
Good product counsel: Gets added to the PRD/proposal on V0
Not so great product counsel: Gets sent the PRD/proposal for 'approval'
(6/9)

Great product counsel: I'll do the commercial, regulatory, and policy counsel chats
Good product counsel: Here are the commercial, regulatory and policy counsels you should speak to
Not so great product counsel: Have you spoken to commercial, regulatory and policy counsels?
(7/9)

Ultimately, it comes down to:
Great product counsel: proactive, creative, flexible partner who informs you of risks and helps you tradeoff 
Good product counsel: collaborative partner who guards you from risks
Not so great product counsel: approval authority (8/9)

Hope this was useful - have you worked with amazing product counsels also? What are some of the traits you've seen in them? (9/9)

Back to the top:
https://twitter.com/TheHolyKau/status/1493894925913632769?s=20&t=g9u2o8OUKCIvnQx_pIworw

Good product counsel vs Great product counsel

Bad feedback: No one likes hearing it, but it can be a massive growth vector if you know how to channel it, and act on it. I've  Here's what I've learnt re: feedback, and how to get better at taking hard, raw feedback that made me feel awful (1/n)

1/ Listen hard, it's high fidelity signal: Thinking of feedback is hard, and a lot of work on behalf of the feedback giver - its very high ROI to listen to it. Limit yourself to two phrases 'Thank you' and 'Tell me more'. Do not react in any way. If it helps, force a smile.

2/ Separate understanding feedback from addressing it: It's tempting to jump straight into addressing feedback. Avoid doing that - listen, reflect, internalize and see if it's feedback worth taking. You don't have to 'close the loop' on feedback

3/ Getting zero feedback is not the goal: Early in my career I thought no feedback = I'm doing well. If you aren't getting any feedback, you're being as unobjectionable as possible and succumbing to the pull to the mean. Thats means you were not bold enough to take a stance

4/ Keep probing for more feedback: When people start delivering feedback, they're uncomfortable. Smile, say 'tell me more', and egg them on. The best feedback will come through if the giver feels comfortable and can continue talking for 5-7 minutes. Ask for examples if required

5/ Proactively seed the hardest feedback: Sometimes you know you've messed up or done wrong. In such situations, proactively seed the hardest feedback such as 'Hey I heard X, do you think so too?' This will help people open up, diffuse an awkward situation and help you grow.

If you found this useful, do subscribe to my upcoming newsletter at http://newsletter.kaushiks.me  I'd love to hear other tips anyone might have re: receiving hard feedback!

Good feedback vs Bad feedback

The big shiny thing problem: Ever wondered why there are so many obvious, lucrative use cases that megacorps never build? Why did it take so long for Facebook to build commerce or Amazon to do ads? Why hasn't Twitter built even one of the 20,000 obvious features it can build?

I call this the big shiny thing problem. Here's a thread on why this happens, and how you can avoid/mitigate this🧵

#1: Everyone has an opinion: Since these opportunities are obvious, everyone can understand it and has an opinion on how to do something. How to mitigate: State your opinion with high conviction early. This encourages people to agree or disagree, and drives clarity

#2: People think of the opportunity as a big monolith that must be done all at once How to mitigate: Break it down into small pieces and then land - no one will object to a small, digestible project, but most might to a large scary beast

#3: What about my scope: Everyone wants to do the big project, but not now. This varies by company but generally the big, sexy opportunity is the one no one wants to let go of. How to mitigate: Be non threatening, collaborate rather than compete, and have low/0 ego

#4: Such a complex problem: A big purpose of any product job is to reduce ambiguity. The monolith might seem hard to solve/ambiguous, but if you reduce ambiguity bit by bit and keep repeating messages, it might land better

#5: We can do this next half: Everyone will agree that these opportunities are important, what most will not realise is the urgency. By driving the urgency of 'we need to do this now', land a different message + be able to mobilise folks to solve rather than intellectualise

Does this resonate? What are some other reasons you have seen?

The big shiny thing problem

Meetings are one of the few *controllable* events in your career (especially in a LargeCo context). Having a framework to think about what to do for each type, can help you get a disproportionate advantage in your career. A framework and a thread to go with it 🧵 

First, identify what kind of meeting you're looking at. I classify meetings into four types:
1. Career defining where you want to reach a decision (e.g. should we build A or B): for this type, overprepare, and scenario model. What different directions can this go?

What are the edge cases? Who might derail this meeting? Think carefully and solve for this ahead of the meeting. Doing so (and addressing in the pre read) will help you get that decision in limited time

2. Career defining where you give updates (e.g. Leadership update saying you crushed goals): Be a show pony - make a shiny, happy document and present with as much fan fare as possible. Key in this meeting is to be remembered

3. Career limiting meetings where you want decisions to be taken (e.g. bad news meetings with decision on next steps): Pre align. No one likes the combination of bad news + surprise. Lay the groundwork, so that the meeting is an FYI and not an OMG moment (in a bad way)

4. Career limiting meetings with updates (e.g. we didn't meet goals): Send an email. There's no point of this meeting

This becomes especially important during WFH, when there are more meetings than one can handle. I hate meetings as much as the next person, but the reality is that in (most) LargeCo's there isn't a better way of bringing people together. Hope you found this helpful!

How to always have great meetings

Influence without authority: A lot of jobs (especially product ones) are dependent on influencing people or driving alignment without authority. I think it boils down to data, emotion and ego. Here's what I've learnt so far, and some best practices to do so:

1. Have zero ego: 'I'm the expert' or 'I think this is right' is bad. Irrespective of who you're talking to, go with 'I don't know, but this is what I have learnt so far'. With ego, the discussion is finished before it even begins. Talk about the 'why'; which brings me to

2. Explain the why as deeply as possible: Data is the best way to do this, if you don't have data, use a proxy and build arguments and ladder up on the basis of this data and first principles. Sometimes you don't have facts, which brings me to

3. Appealing to emotion: If you don't have data, appeal to emotion. Its counter-intuitive, but it might be helpful to frame arguments against yourself, until you get to 'that's right' from the other person. This will precisely identify the bit of your argument they disagree with

4. Don't disagree and commit: I personally do not like it, as it festers over time. Some folks wear it as a badge of honour though. If you and your stakeholders absolutely cannot agree on something, *respectfully* escalate or get a 3 P view; which brings me to the last one

5. Do not threaten or accuse: 'I will talk to your manager'/'Why don't you ever understand'/'Why are you so difficult' are garden variety accusations that are full of biases, bad intent and should not be done. 
Any other tips I should know of?

Influence without authority

I've learnt a ton about metrics in my time in consumer, tech and speaking to a number of early stage companies. Great metrics form goals which incentivise behaviour, so they are important. Here's what I've learnt about metrics, and some principles to remember (1/9)

1. A good metric should be real, tangible and easily measurable. Seems obvious, but we don't always do it. Everyone on your team should intuitively understand and be bought into the metric (2/9)

2. A good metric should be wholly controlled by the team that uses it; where possible. For e.g. if you have a metric on churn, you should ideally have a team working on churn.  (3/9)

3. Your grandmother should understand the metric. Not really, but you get the drift. If you can't explain your metric to someone then its not a good metric (4/9)

4. A good short term metric should be able to be tracked daily. A good long term metric should not change daily (5/9)

5. A great metric will have an anti-metric, where you can see the halo effects of what that metric is driving. Sometimes this anti metric tells you more than what the metric does (6/9)

6. A good metric should be non gameable, otherwise you're incentivising bad behaviour (7/9)

7. A good metric should be the sum of parts; and you should be able to break it down and identify which part is causing the movement of the metric or the lack thereof (8/9)

Anything that you folks would like to add? (9/9)

Metrics

Strategy is such a loosely used word. In my experience, most of the time (esp in big companies) when some says 'we need a strategy' all they need is 'narrative framing'. Not enough is said about narrative framing, and how to get good at it. Read on... (1/6)

What is narrative framing? Its telling a story within a story, or providing a frame of reference. In a lot of companies there will be separate efforts to achieve impact in a certain area, and they'll all come together in nice story. That story is actually narrative framing (2/6)

Narrative framing is almost considered 'bad' when you call it out, but as a leader its one of your most powerful tools to bring together topics and influence teams. Most of what great politicians, successful entrepreneurs and what any leader does is narrative framing (3/6)

How does one get better at it? Personally, this is where I feel anyone professionally trained in non STEM topics excels. However for us STEM folks, read! Read as much as possible and pay special attention to story structures. How would you move this story to your situation? (4/6)

Second, become the writing assistant to any leader you can find. Most will be super happy to have someone do the work. What will happen is that you will learn to write at a level of abstraction that you won't get exposure to until the later stages of your career (5/6)

Third, for us STEM people bad at writing stories, learn 'how to write'. This is a skill and there are several techniques to it (e.g. The hero's journey). I used to suck at writing - but learning the theory behind it has helped me immensely. Do you have any other tips? (6/6)