Scaling product outcomes through a product-led growth approach is both a thrilling and challenging endeavor. To implement PLG effectively, most CEOs will have to level up their product leadership.
We had the privilege of speaking with Tapan Kamdar, a distinguished product leader renowned for his growth mindset and remarkable track record at companies like Meta, GoDaddy, Yahoo, and eBay. Tapan has been instrumental in creating some of the world’s most beloved and frequently visited websites, impacting billions of users globally.
His expertise spans a broad spectrum, from discovery and personalization to monetization and team development. He is also an author, sharing his insight and experiences through his LinkedIn newsletter, Building Blocks, aimed at helping new and existing leaders build their careers and teams one brick at a time.
In this insightful interview, Tapan shares his CORE framework for setting up a product organization that achieves impactful outcomes, discusses when it might be time for a CEO to level up their product leadership, and reveals often-overlooked nuances when evaluating product leaders from global organizations. Let’s dive in…
For the CEO trying to achieve scale through product-led growth motions, what are the core fundamentals of setting up a product organization that achieves impactful outcomes?
Scaling outcomes through product-led growth is a thrilling yet challenging journey for any CEO. I have been in the trenches, leading teams at Meta, GoDaddy, and eBay, to drive angle-change in value for our users, leading to uncommon outcomes for the business.
I distilled my learning into a framework called CORE.
CORE Framework
- C for Clarify Vision: Ensure everyone understands and buys into the vision.
- O for Organize Teams: Give teams the autonomy and accountability to innovate and lead.
- R for Research and Validate: Use data to validate hypotheses and guide your decisions.
- E for Empathize with Users: A user-first strategy that delivers user-first outcomes.
Clarify Vision
Vision matters! Having a clear, compelling vision is non-negotiable. The vision needs to ladder up to the company’s mission. At Meta, my organization’s vision was to connect our communities through meaningful conversations, which laddered up to Meta’s mission of bringing the world closer together. When everyone is aligned with the vision, it is easier to inspire and motivate, no matter how uphill the undertaking is.
Organize Teams
Empowering teams requires a CEO to define the following: Ensure the core team and their dependencies are aligned, clarify the RACI to establish the roles and responsibilities of the team, and provide this group with the autonomy and accountability to solve the problem. When teams are not bogged down by red tape, they go the extra mile to experiment and innovate.
Research and Validate
Data is your best friend. Use user research to validate your hypothesis and ensure that you are solving your users’ pain points, and delivering a solution they would be willing to pay for. At eBay, data was at the heart of everything we did – analyzing user behaviors, understanding evolving trends, and using performance data to guide our strategy. This approach eliminates HIPPO decisions and enables pivoting when necessary.
Empathize with Users
A user-first strategy that prioritizes understanding and addressing user needs, while focusing on outcomes they value is core to driving impactful outcomes. By placing the user at the heart of all decisions, you can ensure products resonate deeply and delight them. When you create more value for users than the value they pay you, users will come back to buy more or renew.
What indicators suggest it’s time for a CEO to “level up” their product leadership?
What got you here, will not get you there! Knowing when to level up your team is crucial for a CEO aiming to scale their business. Let’s explore the signs and a framework to help you make this decision.
- Slowing Momentum: Are you seeing growth plateau? Despite a strong and capable product team, are you seeing small incremental growth vs the leaps you anticipated? When these incremental improvements do not add up, it might be time for fresh leadership at the product helm.
- Market Feedback: Are your competitors solving problems faster and better than you are? If your product seems to be always falling behind, that is a wake-up call to reignite innovation and align the product with the evolving market needs.
- Internal Dynamics and Feedback: Do you notice that the cross-functional teams are consistently misaligned on the “what” they need to solve? Are these relationships cracking and collaboration faltering? Are your product teams providing anonymous feedback that indicates that the leader might not be meeting their evolving needs? These highlight the need for a stronger product leader to unify and drive the teams.
As the General Manager of the Productivity business unit at GoDaddy managing a >$500M P&L, I saw some of these symptoms first-hand and had to act to ensure that the team was continuing to drive large outcomes.
I used the FOCUS framework to help determine which candidate would be the “level-up” candidate:
- F for Future vision: Ensure that the product leader has a compelling, forward-thinking vision and a track record for reigniting the path to the North Star.
- O for Operational Excellence: Leaders should be building rigor in executing and optimizing processes.
- C for Customer Obsession: Level-up product leaders invest time in understanding users and finding ways to delight them.
- U for Unified Team: Leaders foster collaboration and cohesion across functions at all levels.
- S for Strategic Agility: Level-up leaders know when to adapt and pivot in response to changes. They do not shy away from making bold changes.
Leveling up your product leader is not just about finding someone new; it is about finding someone who can drive your company forward. By recognizing these signs, you can ensure that your product leadership is always aligned with the company’s ambitions and is willing to make those bold moves to make uncommon outcomes possible.
What might a CEO not know to qualify or consider, when evaluating product leadership talent who have worked for global organizations operating at scale?
When evaluating product leaders from global organizations, CEOs often miss crucial nuances.
Scale is the dimension most CEOs understand but overlook. At Meta, we were building experiences for billions of users. Ensuring that the product creates value for millions of users and does not degrade the experience for non-users is an art. A product leader from such a background understands how to handle combinations of user segments and markets, complex infrastructure, and leading through influence across many layers to make outcomes possible. These leaders bring a level of craft that will up-level your products and deliver finesse.
Adaptability is another dimension often overlooked. Product leaders at global organizations are “swiss-army knives” at problem-solving across various domains, and can understand a new domain quickly. Most CEOs look for product leaders with a deep understanding of their industry and miss out on bringing a fresh perspective to a product team that potentially already has domain experts.
The most important dimension beyond these is being a culture fit. Global experiences often bring a diverse perspective with the ability to balance global insights with local relevance, ensuring that the strategies resonate across different markets. These leaders have seen beyond the corner you are yet to discover, and can help you navigate those corners while leveling up your culture for the next stage of the company’s growth.
The right product leadership can transform potential into reality, driving your organization to new heights.
Thank you to Tapan Kamdar for his insights that offer a compelling roadmap for CEOs aiming to scale their businesses through effective product leadership. Tapan’s wisdom underscores the importance of visionary leadership and adaptability when navigating the complexities of today’s tech ecosystems.