What it takes to become a top 1% PM | Ian McAllister (Uber, Amazon, Airbnb)
Ian McAllister, former Amazon and Airbnb PM, discusses what separates top 1% product managers, for both new and senior roles. He also delves into Amazon's "working backwards" process, detailing common pitfalls and effective implementation.
Deep Dive Analysis
12 Topic Outline
Introduction to Ian McAllister and his career
Impact of writing online on career trajectory
Attributes of top 1% Product Managers
Top three essential skills for new PMs
Strategies for strengthening communication and prioritization
Key skills for senior PMs to level up
The importance of earning trust as a product leader
Reasons for long tenure at Amazon
Lessons learned from Jeff Bezos and Jeff Wilke
Common pitfalls in implementing the Working Backwards process
The core concept and mechanisms of Working Backwards
Lightning Round: Books, podcasts, movies, and more
5 Key Concepts
Working Backwards Process (Amazon)
This process is fundamentally about starting and obsessing with the customer problem before moving to a solution. The press release and FAQ are mechanisms Amazon uses to enforce this problem-first approach, ensuring the solution is truly grounded in customer needs rather than being retrofitted to a pre-conceived idea.
Earned Trust
Considered the currency of a product manager or leader, earned trust is built by consistently setting and meeting expectations. It involves being honest, owning mistakes, and actively working to understand and align with the goals of others, which is crucial for gaining resources and support.
Operator Mindset
This mindset, prevalent at Amazon, focuses on continuous improvement not just for new builds, but for how well existing products are run. It involves diligently monitoring product performance to identify opportunities for doubling down on successes or preventing negative outcomes.
Thinking Big (PM Skill)
For PMs, especially senior ones, this means taking a broad view of product success that extends beyond typical product or tech boundaries. It involves identifying and addressing any constraints or barriers to success for the product or customer, regardless of which function 'owns' them.
Impact-Driven Mindset
This approach prioritizes waking up daily with the goal of having the biggest possible impact on the company or business, rather than focusing on politics or personal promotion. This focus on impact naturally correlates with career growth and the ability to take on bigger challenges.
7 Questions Answered
New product managers should primarily focus on developing strong communication, prioritization, and execution skills. These three are considered core building blocks essential for success at any stage of a product career.
A practical tip is to answer questions directly first, then provide explanations, or sometimes simply answer and stop talking. Consistently reflecting on and grading your own communication after interactions can also help identify areas for continuous improvement.
Prioritization is highlighted as the number one key skill, encompassing not just selecting projects but also sequencing, defining scope, and managing time effectively. A strong ability in prioritization can lead to a fivefold increase in impact.
Senior PMs should continue to refine communication, but also prioritize thinking big, earning trust, and being driven by impact. These attributes become increasingly vital for leadership and for securing resources for larger initiatives.
Many individuals stay at Amazon for a long time due to its structured thinking, focus on metrics, and a culture of continuous learning. Mechanisms like the Weekly Business Review (WBR) foster constant growth and the development of new skills.
The most common mistake is failing to truly start with and obsess over the customer problem. Instead, teams often begin with a desired solution and then attempt to retroactively fit a problem to it, undermining the core principle of working backwards.
Jeff Bezos's criteria for investment are: 1) Is it a big idea? 2) Is it something Amazon should be doing? 3) Is there a legitimate plan to succeed? All three conditions must be met for an idea to move forward.
18 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Impact for Growth
Wake up daily aiming to have the biggest impact possible, or as a leader, use your team to maximize company impact, letting this guide your daily actions, as it naturally leads to growth and promotion.
2. Build Trust Through Consistency
Earn trust by repeatedly setting and meeting expectations, consistently telling the truth, owning your mistakes, and actively seeking alignment with others’ goals to forge alliances.
3. Expand Scope of Ownership
Consistently challenge initial ideas to make them bigger and more impactful, taking a wide view of product success beyond just product or tech, and actively remove any constraints or barriers to achieve it.
4. Master Direct Communication
When communicating, especially with senior people, answer questions directly first (e.g., a date for “when”), then explain, and continuously seek feedback to improve.
5. Prioritize for Maximum Leverage
Develop strong prioritization skills across roadmap themes, project sequencing, scope, and personal time management to focus resources on projects with the greatest leverage for impact.
6. Drive Team Execution
Mold desired features into simple, high-impact packages and actively support your team (designers, data scientists, engineers) in improving their work and resourcefulness, as PMs are the motive power behind project execution.
7. Start with Problem, Not Solution
Avoid retrofitting problems to pre-existing solutions; truly work backwards by obsessing over the customer’s problem first, and let that guide the solution, rather than starting with something you want to build.
8. Apply Bezos’s Investment Criteria
When evaluating new ideas, apply three criteria: Is it a big idea? Is it something your company should be doing? And is there a legitimate plan to succeed? All three must be present for investment.
9. Cultivate Continuous Improvement
Apply a continuous improvement mindset to every aspect of your work—roles, experiences, projects, and communications—by regularly reflecting on what could have gone better and striving to improve next time.
10. Implement Rigorous Business Reviews
Adopt a rigorous weekly business review (WBR) format where leaders are expected to be prepared to speak to variances and trends in key business metrics, fostering a culture of operational rigor and continuous improvement.
11. Teach the “Why” of Decisions
As a leader, take moments to teach the “why” and the underlying mental models behind decisions, rather than just giving prescriptive advice, to foster deeper understanding and lasting impact.
12. Prioritize Core PM Skills Early
As a new PM, focus primarily on mastering communication, prioritization, and execution, and stress less about “thinking big,” “technical trade-offs,” or “good design” as these become more critical later in your career.
13. Choose “Offense” Projects
If given a choice, opt to work on “offense” projects that directly drive revenue, customers, or significant business growth, as these tend to capture executive attention and offer greater impact potential.
14. Select a Strong Manager
When possible, choose to work for managers who excel at core PM skills like prioritization, as they will serve as better teachers and role models for your own development.
15. Write to Clarify Thinking
Engage in writing online, even if just to summarize thoughts you want to crystallize in your own head, as it helps organize and clarify your thinking.
16. Sharpen Thinking Via Writing
Practice business writing to become a clearer thinker and communicator, as the act of organizing thoughts for external sharing helps sharpen your skills.
17. Use PR/FAQ Template
Utilize the Amazon “working backwards” mechanism by writing an internal press release (problem, solution, customer quote) and an FAQ to ensure a legitimate plan to succeed, especially if your team lacks this muscle.
18. Leverage YouTube for Learning
Utilize YouTube as a powerful resource for continuous learning and skill development, from woodworking to complex topics, by watching others demonstrate and explain.
5 Key Quotes
If you simply wake up every day trying to have the biggest impact you can, or if you're a leader, trying to use your team to have the biggest impact you can in the company, how you do every part of your day, that's a really good guiding light.
Ian McAllister
Trust is just built by repeatedly setting and meeting expectations.
Ian McAllister
Remember this process doesn't have to be efficient because the prerequisite for efficiency is knowing where you're going.
Jeff Bezos (quoted by Ian McAllister)
If you don't have a problem paragraph, there's not really a problem.
Jeff Bezos (quoted by Ian McAllister)
I don't know what I've thought until I've written it down.
Lenny Rachitsky (attributing to Mark Twain/Hemingway)
2 Protocols
Amazon's Working Backwards Mechanism (Press Release & FAQ)
Ian McAllister- Write a press release that includes a paragraph defining the customer problem.
- Write a solution paragraph describing the proposed product or feature.
- Include a customer quote to illustrate the customer's perspective and benefit.
- Create an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document to detail the legitimate plan to succeed, addressing internal components, finances, and key technical hurdles.
Amazon's Weekly Business Review (WBR) / Consumer Business Review
Ian McAllister- Leaders prepare to speak to the variances or trends in their business's key metrics, demonstrating deep knowledge of their operations.
- A senior leader (e.g., Jeff Wilke) leads the meeting, probing and asking challenging questions about the business performance.
- Attendees, potentially up to a hundred people, are expected to be prepared to answer questions about their specific business areas.
- This rigorous review process cascades throughout the organization, with leaders applying similar scrutiny to their own teams to build operational muscles.