Ian McAllister

Guest: Ian McAllister - Senior Director of Product and Tech for Vehicles at Uber. Ian has extensive experience in product management, having managed over 100 PMs and led significant projects at Amazon, Airbnb, and now Uber. Key Takeaways: Focus on Impact: Prioritize having the biggest impact over politics or promotions. This mindset is crucial for both new and senior PMs. Communication and Prioritization: For new PMs, mastering communication, prioritization, and execution is essential. These skills form the foundation of effective product management. Think Big and Earn Trust: Senior PMs should focus on thinking big, building trust, and driving impact. Trust is the currency of a product leader, and thinking beyond your immediate role can lead to greater success. Working Backwards: The core of Amazon's working backwards process is starting with the customer problem, not the solution. Many teams fail by retrofitting problems to solutions they want to build. Continuous Improvement: Embrace a mindset of continuous improvement and learning from feedback to grow as a product manager. Topics Covered: Attributes of top PMs, communication skills, prioritization, execution, thinking big, earning trust, Amazon's working backwards process, continuous improvement, leadership lessons from Jeff Bezos and Jeff Wilke.