Maven

Most leaders and executives have no training in how to do their jobs. Maven just launched an Executive Track and I am honored to have my class front and center in their curriculum. https://lnkd.in/gEJUVvpG Many of the classes are new offerings they have collected to create this training guide. I am teaching Breaking Though to Executive for the fifth time on Maven in just ten days, on September 7th and 8th. The class has maintained a 4.7 out of 5.0 start rating across more than five hundred students. Jump in now so that you can watch the recorded video portions of the course before the live sessions next weekend. Direct Link: https://lnkd.in/gJ-HgWdk If you are not seeking executive education, I am also doing an hour class and Q&A on Impostor Syndrome tomorrow at 5 PM US PT for Newsletter Subscribers: https://lu.ma/uoch5vaj All of us have self doubt and feel in over our head at times. I'll address ways to combat this. My thanks to Gagan Biyani, Mickey Slevin, Runqiu (Rachel) Cai and the whole team at Maven for their ongoing support of our classes. Alumni - please chime in if the course help you!

𝗡𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺'𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 ✨ 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 Prep • Brief key stakeholders on product direction before the formal review. You need the xfn input in order to compile all relevant information and incorporate it to your doc. ✨ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹 • Make sure to clarify the purpose of the review, is this for decision-making or more of an opportunity to discuss with leadership? I recommend the 3 options strategy where you present recommended, conservative, and innovative approaches with pros and cons and also your recommendation (needs to be well-justified in terms of trade-offs). ✨ 𝗔𝗜-𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 • For AI specifically, obviously add in metrics to the review but also define AI proxy KPIs like accuracy, efficiency gains and so on. Also mention how you plan to mitigate risk - address data privacy, bias, and explainability concerns but also outline your approach to responsible AI development and deployment. Always be clear about AI capabilities and limitations. ✨ 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 • Frame the discussion on impact, show how the proposal supports broader company goals, emphasize how the product addresses user needs and pain points, discuss competitive landscape and unique value proposition and perhaps also demonstrate potential for growth and evolution. ✨ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 • Present milestones, launch phases, GTM plan and Identify potential obstacles and mitigation strategies ✨𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 • End with specific next steps or decisions, and make sure to send out a summary to all parties involved/relevant. 𝗧𝗶𝗽: Approach the review as a collaborative discussion rather than a one-way presentation. I never liked the word 'review'. This fosters engagement and can lead to valuable insights and stronger buy-in from leadership and xfn. Interested in a product review template? I am hosting a FREE 30 min webinar on this topic on Maven! Join us https://lnkd.in/gaDPkXj6

Just launched: The Exec Track on Maven. 🚀 Breaking through to the most senior roles requires more than just being great at your job. Explore the collection and become a stronger leader: https://bit.ly/exec-track.

Thank you for the care package, Maven! It’s been a blast building my course with your team.

I'm part of Maven's upcoming free High Performing Teams series! I’ll be sharing ways product teams can get more done in less time. Tools help product teams be more productive, but they can also be a hindrance. In this session, I’ll cover: ⚡️ The upsides of processes and tools. ⚡️ When to focus on processes and tools with your team. ⚡️ How to make less plans for plans. Join with your colleagues on Sep 13, 2024 at 12pm ET (it's free): https://lnkd.in/eEC5uvYi

Hill I'll die on: Most companies need more conflict. Not less. In our effort to avoid unproductive clashes, we also throw away the fuel that drives high-performing teams. What's the difference? Unproductive Conflict ❌ Political ❌ Personal ❌ Persistent This toxic conflict depletes all involved and doesn't advance our mission. Productive Conflict ✅ Diverse ✅ Data-driven ✅ Decided This type of creative conflict blends multiple perspectives into our irreplaceable competitive advantage. From two good ideas emerges an even better third. Does it take more effort to help your team... - Separate good conflict from bad? - Develop a language to resolve disagreement? - Celebrate the differentiated outcomes produced by dissent? Absolutely. But as leaders, that's what we do. The hard things. If you found this helpful, please repost ♻️ it and follow me at Dave Kline. Even better, why not bring your team to my free 30-minute workshop on Creating More Productive Disagreement? https://lnkd.in/eKCeBPpp On Tuesday, September 10th at 1 pm ET, we'll cover... - 3 Rules That Separate Healthy Debate from Destructive Chaos - 2 Tactics For Nudging Nice People To Disagree Productively - 1 Framework To Resolve Any (Good or Bad) Conflict

Organizing a design system's variables within Figma can be a biiiig challenge! Not only do we have to decide what to name them, but we have to think about where to create and store them, all to make the correct variable to use the easiest to find. Several projects I've taken on within the last few months have involved creating, organizing, and maintaining variables for product teams, and I'd love to share everything I've learned with you! How I approach variables in Figma may be different from how you decide to, but that's the best part about how the design system works. There are many ways to arrive at the best spot for you and the team. If you want to learn more about how I create and organize variables within Figma, I'm hosting a free 45min. workshop with a Q&A through Maven on this topic, and I would love to see you there! 😊👋 🗓️ RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gjs5JHa5

Many stakeholders don't understand Design's value, because many design teams *aren't allowed* to show how valuable they can be. They: • Are told to push pixels—not participate in strategy • Report to Product Management—instead of having our own voice • Aren't given time to do good work—even though the business would benefit That's why I'm doing a live interview on Maven with Airbnb's former Chief Design Officer, Alex Schleifer. I learned career-changing lessons from Alex when I was at Airbnb. And, thanks to him, I got to feel what it's like when Design is unblocked. But I never asked him exactly how he built a design team with so much clout. Here's my chance—and yours! On Sep 10, bring your whole team as we jump into: • Why Design teams should have more influence • What holds Design teams back from being more impactful • What role every designer can play in building your team's influence See you there. #design #ux #productdesign #airbnb https://lnkd.in/gvC68xNS

The Maven team is working like magic right now. 18 people and shipping constantly. Most have been here 2+ years, so we all know each other and how to work together. This was hard-fought… The first year is always great because everything is shiny and new, but year 2-4 is a reckoning point for all teams. You expand your hiring so you get people who don’t quite fit. You start to see conflicts amongst team members. You ship features that don’t work. We had to work hard to keep things magical. We expect team members to resolve conflicts quickly and amicably. We restructured teams based on new business realities (and let some people go). We helped grow our key ICs and pushed them by expanding their responsibilities. We reminded folks that the team is more important than any one individual. There are many learnable skills involved in creating great teams. That’s why we’re bringing a free series on High Performing Teams to Lightning Lessons on Maven. We’ve got some amazing instructors lined up to share hands-on lessons on how teams can work better together: - Joey Banks, former Product Designer at Webflow, Twitter, Figma - Kate Syuma & Viktoria Kharlamova, ex-Miro growth leaders - Marily Nika PhD, AI Product Lead at Google - Dave & Marsden Kline, former execs at Bridgewater & Goldman Sachs - Yan Wang PhD, Staff Applied Scientist at Samsara - Ryan Scott, former design leader at Airbnb & Doordash - Catt Small, Staff Product Designer at Dropbox - Hamza Farooq, Lecturer at Stanford, founder of Traversaal Sign up for free here: https://bit.ly/4dEjHXq. Bring your teammates!

The secret to earning respect as a leader isn’t what you think. It’s not about your title or your years of experience. And it’s definitely not about barking orders or flexing authority. That often erodes trust, damages team morale, and weakens your influence. To truly command respect: ✅ Listen more than you talk ✅ Empower your team rather than micromanage ✅ Lead with empathy, not ego ✅ Consistently follow through on promises Respect isn’t given to those who demand it — it’s earned by those who deserve it. If you want to learn how to command respect and exactly what to say, I’m hosting a free live lesson on Maven with the incredible Lorraine K. Lee, who helps leaders supercharge their professional presence. Come join us on August 15th at 2:30p.m. EST. We already have over 400 leaders signed up to join. Can’t wait to see you there! Sign up to join us: https://lnkd.in/eFsv8NZf