Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconventional product advice | Alex Komoroske (Stripe, Google)
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career
Lenny Rachitsky
5 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 3 October 2024
⏱️ 85 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Alex Komoroske is a strategic leader who merges the practice, theory, and mindset necessary to tackle complex problems. He spent 13 years at Google, where he worked on Search and DoubleClick and led Chrome’s Open Web Platform. He also spearheaded Augmented Reality in Google Maps and developed toolkits to align companywide strategy from the ground up. After serving as Head of Corporate Strategy at Stripe, he is now co-founding a startup aimed at reimagining the web for the AI era. Alex created the popular “Slime Molds” deck, which offers fresh insights into organizational dynamics. He is also the author of the widely read “Bits and Bobs,” a collection of thought-provoking reflections.In our conversation, we delve into:
• “Organizational kayfabe”
• “Gardening” vs. “building”
• How AI will soon change how we build product
• How and why to embrace the adjacent possible
• The power of reflection and how to build it into your workflow
• How to create emergent properties in organizations
• How to run effective “strategy salons” or “nerd clubs”
• Much more
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Find the transcript and show notes at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unconventional-product-advice-alex-komoroske
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Where to find Alex Komoroske:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-komoroske-6597336/
• Website: https://www.komoroske.com/
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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) Introduction to Alex
(01:53) Alex’s Bits and Bobs document
(06:20) The Compendium and note-taking process
(10:10) The impact of AI and LLMs on product development
(14:24) Skills to lean into as a product manager
(19:02) How AI makes us better as individuals
(23:04) Organizational kayfabe
(31:48) Gardening vs. building
(34:46) Emergence-oriented thinking
(41:55) Slime molds and organizational structure
(45:15) Identifying resonant ideas
(47:05) The power of metaphors
(48:02) Strategy salons and nerd clubs
(52:30) Building and sustaining communities
(55:59) Productivity hacks and self-control
(01:01:04) Life philosophy and personal insights
(01:07:52) The adjacent possible
(01:15:56) Lightning round
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | So much of the way that we tackle problems and build products is this builder mindset. |
| 0:04.5 | It's like, I have a plan, I then manipulate things to match my plan and make it happen, |
| 0:09.1 | and this is a way you can create tons of value. |
| 0:10.8 | Part of the problem though is it can't possibly create more |
| 0:13.0 | value than the effort that you put into it. What I look for instead are things that can be |
| 0:16.2 | gardens, things that can grow on their own and that you can sort of direct or maybe give a little bit of |
| 0:21.0 | extra energy to you or curate over and is a totally |
| 0:24.0 | different mindset for it. If you do this properly, it looks like magic. I've been told |
| 0:28.0 | that this is completely against all the advice that people get, building products |
| 0:31.9 | nowadays, but I think it's a very powerful |
| 0:33.8 | approach that works in a lot of different contexts. |
| 0:37.0 | Today my guest is Alex Komarowski. |
| 0:42.1 | Alex is one of the most original, articulate, and first principal thinkers on the future |
| 0:47.5 | of product and tech that I've ever come across. |
| 0:50.0 | This conversation will get your brain buzzing in all kinds of ways. |
| 0:53.6 | Alex spent 13 years at Google, where he worked on search, double click, he led Chrome's |
| 0:57.7 | Open Web Platform team for eight years, led augmented reality within Google Maps, |
| 1:02.0 | and developed a new toolkit to line company-wide strategy from the bottom up. |
| 1:06.0 | After a stint at Stripe as head of corporate strategy, he's currently founding a startup that aims to reimagine the web for the AI era. |
| 1:13.0 | In our wide-ranging conversation, we cover how |
| 1:15.4 | LLLMs and Gen-AI will impact how we build product in the coming years. |
| 1:19.4 | What skills will matter most as AI becomes a bigger part of our lives, what companies can learn from |
... |
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