Chandra Janakiraman is the chief product officer, executive vice president, and a board member at VRChat. Previously, he was a product leader at Meta, where he led Facebook’s social experience interfaces and Reality Labs’ growth; served as CPO at Headspace, where he helped relaunch the platform, driving a 4x subscriber boost; and was a GM at Zynga, delivering massive hit games that reached hundreds of millions. In our conversation, Chandra shares:
• His playbook for developing a product strategy
• The difference between “small s” and “big S” strategy
• How to run strategy sprints
• Who should be involved in strategy work
• Common pitfalls in strategy development
• The role of AI in future strategy development
• More
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-operators-guide-to-product-strategy-chandra-janakiraman
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Where to find Chandra Janakiraman:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandramohanj/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Chandra’s background
(04:47) The importance of strategy
(12:40) Defining product strategy
(15:42) Developing a winning strategy: an overview
(18:51) The preparation phase
(30:46) The strategy sprint process
(45:51) The design sprint
(51:19) Document writing
(57:39) Rolling out your strategy
(01:01:28) Resourcing and roadmapping
(01:04:42) Strategy lessons from Zynga
(01:11:34) Strategy lessons from Meta
(01:15:55) Big S strategy
(01:26:58) AI in strategy formulation
(01:38:12) Final thoughts and lightning round
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Referenced:
• Headspace: https://www.headspace.com/
• Good Strategy, Bad Strategy | Richard Rumelt: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/good-strategy-bad-strategy-richard
• 5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-strategy-roger-martin
• VRChat: https://hello.vrchat.com/
• Andrew Chen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmandrewchen/
• Template: Working Backwards PR FAQ: https://www.workingbackwards.com/resources/working-backwards-pr-faq
• How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen
• Making time for what matters | Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky (authors of Sprint and Make Time, co-founders of Character Capital): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-time-for-what-matters-jake
• Identify your bullseye customer in one day | Michael Margolis (UX Research Partner at Google Ventures): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/finding-your-bullseye-customer-michael-margolis
• Chandra’s flow chart: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SLmQ0oRFadzJnNM3MJetnLUvB18U4W4GXU4KtJ2ujEQ/edit?tab=t.0
• Chandra’s strategy template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNeYUaMnpicvkpVZO-gj9cCxLeHfWN0xtGm_QoxgemE/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.5d3jz6v86yrs
• Zynga: https://www.zynga.com/
• David Foster Wallace’s quote about water: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/97082-there-are-these-two-young-fish-swimming-along-and-they
• Oculus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oculus
• Elon Musk’s quote: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wf8TadbGYok
• Concept car: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_car
• Acquired podcast: The Mark Zuckerberg interview: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-mark-zuckerberg-interview
• Armand Ruiz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armand-ruiz/
• What is a multi-armed bandit? Full explanation: https://amplitude.com/explore/experiment/multi-armed-bandit
• IF on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/IF-John-Krasinski/dp/B0CW19SCVW
• Dune: Part 2 on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/dune-part-two/umc.cmc.363aycnv6vy9qgekvew6fveb9
• Dune Prophecy on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/dune-prophecy-2024/57660b16-a32a-476f-89da-3302ac379e91
• Capybara Go on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/capybara-go/id6596787726
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/
• Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Lost-Interview/dp/B01IJD1BES
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Recommended books:
• The Art of War: https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/1599869772
• Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors: https://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-Industries-Competitors/dp/0684841487/
• Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-Difference-Matters/dp/0307886239/
• Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X
• Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Time-Focus-Matters-Every/dp/0525572422
• Sprint: https://www.amazon.com/SPRINT-Jake-Zeratsky-Knapp/dp/0593076117
• Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination: https://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Triumph-American-Imagination/dp/0679757473
• Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration: https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Expanded-Overcoming-Inspiration/dp/0593594649/
• The Ten Faces of Innovation: Strategies for Heightening Creativity: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385512074
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.