Esteban Contreras shares insights on product leadership, emphasizing the importance of having a clear mission and vision for success. He discusses the distinction between mission-driven work and the pitfalls of execution without validation, highlighting the significance of collaboration and customer understanding. Key takeaways include the need for effective team management, embracing data-informed decision-making, and fostering a culture centered on impact over mere activity.

1. Product
Leadership
THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN A DECADE AGO
IRL

2. PRODUCT LEADERSHIP IRL
Esteban Contreras
Sr Director, Product
Hootsuite
@socialnerdia

3. This is me, a decade ago.

4. Re:
Mission
Re:
Ideas
Re:
Leadership

6. VISION MATTERS

7. VISION MATTERS
Mission
Matters More

8. Mission
Matters More
VISION MATTERS

9. A vision is essential.
But it’s not enough.

10. Vision is about where you’re going.
Mission is about what, how,
and for whom. And why.

11. Vision is about tomorrow.
Mission is about today, and every day.
MISSION VISION

12. The best
entertainment
distribution service
VISION

13. End boredom
& loneliness
The best
entertainment
distribution service
MISSION VISION

14. The most compelling
car company of the
21st Century
VISION

15. Accelerate sustainable
energy & transportation
The most compelling
car company of the
21st Century
VISIONMISSION

16. The Everything Store
VISION

17. Earth’s most
customer-centric
company
The Everything Store
VISIONMISSION

18. Missional by Default

19. Fill a gap: Pinterest, Airbnb, TikTok, Peloton
Fix a broken service: Uber, Netflix, Zoom, Facebook

20. Nintendo | Former playing card
Samsung | Former fish exporter
YouTube | Former Dating App
Shopify | Former snowboard gear site
Twitter | Former podcasting platform
Instagram | Former GeoLocation App
Slack | Former online game

21. Without a vision you drift, end up lost.
Without a mission you tire and give up.
You justify the wrong means.
You lose sight of whom you serve.

22. Greatness is never instantaneous.

23. Teams of Mercenaries
Apathetic
Follow orders
Opportunistic
Individualistic
Competitive
Entitled
Teams of Missionaries
Passionate
Empowered
Strategic
Collaborative
Empathetic
Accountable
>

24. Mission is always on.

25. Mission is always on.
Start of mission
Hodl mission
Hodl mission
Hodl mission
Hodl mission
Hodl
mission
Hodl
mission
Hodl mission
Hodl
mission

26. Experimentation
Prioritization
User science
Process
Hiring
GTM
Etc.
🏆Mission-driven

27. Missional One-Pagers / Project Briefs
MORE THAN A MERE PROJECT
● The Problem / Opp
● Why
● Success Criteria
● Considerations
● Links

28. Missional Job Stories
When ________ I want to ________ So I can ________
Situation Motivation Expected
Outcome

29. Missional Roadmaps
Problem / Opportunity
Problem / Opportunity
Problem / OpportunityProblem / Opportunity
Problem / Opportunity
NOW NEXT LATER

30. Missional Markets
BUYER A BUYER B BUYER C
✅ ✅

31. Missional Decision-Making
Objective data analysisFeature Bias
NO YES
Feature Blackmail
Feature Bloating
Feature Selfishness
Feature Lust
Feature Brownie Points
Wide Reach
Clear impact
Alignment
Competitive Edge
Relevant now + future
✅

32. Missional Objectives
Frequency
Adoption

33. Missional Pursuits
HIGH IMPACT
HIGH EFFORT

34. Missional UX
Delightful
Usable
Reliable
Functional

35. Missional Customer Conversations
Fishing for
Compliments
Hedging in
Fear
Understand
Needs
✅
Justify your
decisions
Seek
Truth
✅
Learn
Specifics
✅

36. Missional Understanding
“No one uses X”
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?

37. ✅ Grow their brand
✅ Deliver great customer experiences
✅ Improve strategies
✅ Increase profits
✅ Mitigate risks
✅ Learn
✅ ROI
Missional Problem Space

38. IMPACT
Satisfaction, Reliability, etc. JTBD, Customer Outcomes ARR + ACV + NRR, etc.
UX Customer-centricity Business Results+ =
Features, Products
Output Excellence +

39. Good signs:
● You have traction, overwhelming demand
● Customers say your product is
“Necessary,” “Strategic,” “A must-have”
● Product has a POV, and guides users
● Retention, Renewals, Expansion
● Teams collaborate seamlessly

40. Bad symptoms:
● Building without validating
● Shipping for the sake of shipping
● Autonomy without alignment
● Vanity metrics
● Bloated, heavy processes
● Shiny objects and one-offs
● Never work on tech debt or only work on tech debt
● Teams avoid hard problems
● Animosity across silos
● Zero urgency

41. Earn your customers
Love your customers
Serve your customers
Respect your customers

43. IDEAS ARE POWERFUL

44. IDEAS ARE POWERFUL
They become platforms,
myths or monsters

45. IDEAS ARE POWERFUL
They become platforms,
myths or monsters

46. “Ideas are cheap,
and execution is everything.”
Yes, and...

47. The RIGHT ideas.
The BEST ideas.
The MOST ACTIONABLE ideas.

48. “WE ARE AN
ENABLER”

49. “WE ARE AN
ENABLER”
of Customer Value

50. How we work*
* On our good days; these are some of the principles we aspired to live by
Customers
First
Outcomes
Over Outputs
Collaboration
By Design
Always-On
Learning
We understand and
solve problems for
customers
We chase customer
and business
impact
We work together,
and we
uplift
each other
We continuously
validate, ship,
iterate and learn

51. Platforms Myths Monsters
IDEAS AS

52. Platforms Myths Monsters
“We need to measure the
voice of the customer”
“NPS is the one and only
number to grow”
“VOC scores are useless
and irrelevant for us”
IDEAS AS

53. Platforms Myths Monsters
“The customer is
always right”
“Customers don’t know
what they need”
“Customers just want us
to be order-takers”
IDEAS AS

54. Platforms Myths Monsters
“The agile manifesto” “To be agile we need
methodology X”
“If we don’t do X,
we will fail”
IDEAS AS

55. Platforms Myths Monsters
“APIs open up
new possibilities”
“No one uses our APIs, so
let’s avoid them”
“APIs are a complete
waste of time”
IDEAS AS

56. Platforms Myths Monsters
“B2B user expectations
are higher than ever”
“We invested in UX before,
but it doesn’t do much”
“In enterprise software,
UX not a top priority”
IDEAS AS

57. “Horrible. The
interface is
terrible.
“Hard to search
for anything.
“It just feels off.
“Revisit your
design. It’s a bit
tired.
“Messy and
convoluted. Too
much.
“Visually
unorganized.
“Too
complicated.
Ugly to use.
“Not
user-friendly.
Not intuitive.
“Difficult. A
cluttered,
jumbled mess.
😟

59. “Hootsuite
changed the UX.
I’m loving this!
“Great new UI.
Nice launch too.
“We are so
happy.
#Accessibility
“I’m really
feelin’ the new
UI guys. Bravo!
“Check out the
new feathers 🦉.
Great job owly
friends 🙌 🙌
“Re: New look…
I *LIKE* it,
I *LIKE* it 😘
“I LOVE the new
user interface.
Worth the wait.
“Social media
managers
geeking over it...
“I was absolutely
thrilled when I
logged in.

61. Ideas → Feelings → Mental Models → Beliefs

63. EVERYTHING IS FINITE

64. EVERYTHING IS FINITE
People always
leave

65. EVERYTHING IS FINITE
People always
leave

66. Role of the product leader
Guide Ship
Product strategy &
direction
Product
execution
Empower Facilitate
Team
& culture
Customer
success

67. You don’t need to know everything

68. You’re always managing up and down,
sideways and inwards -
at the same time.

69. You are there to cultivate:
1/ Team
2/ Product
3/ Customers

70. You’re a producer of talent.
Not a consumer.

71. Help them.
Hear them.
Support them.
Challenge them.
Believe in them.
Appreciate them.
Expect the best from them.
Give them permission to disagree.

72. How you treat others is a mental model

73. FYI:
People will leave
You will get brutal feedback
You will hire the wrong person
You will have to let someone go
You will feel impostor syndrome
You will fail (and not always fast)

74. Be honest. And kind.
Be humble. And self-critical.
Be decisive. And committed.
Be helpful. And action-oriented.
Be selfless. And grateful.
Learn. And ask for help.
Earn respect.

75. Don’t make excuses.
For yourself or your team.

76. Hire the best, most diverse, most
complementary group of people
you can find. Seek them out.

77. Partner with Engineering, Design,
Marketing, Success, Sales & Finance

78. Resourcing Budgets.
Error Budgets.
Chaos Budgets.
Learning Budgets.

79. Process is your friend.

80. Culture eats process for breakfast.
100% WHOLE GRAIN PROCESS
ENRICHED WITH PROGRAM MGMT

81. Culture of
Impact > Activity
Outcomes > Outputs
Honesty > Secrecy
Passion > Duty
Urgency > Complacency
Collaboration > Division
Facilitation > Blocking
Courage > Fear
Anticipation > Reaction
Understanding > Opinion
Innovation > Status Quo
Vulnerability > Disingenuous
Learning > Arrogance
Customer Success > Customer Support

82. Product leadership:
Growing product leaders,
crafting a leading product

83. Be on a mission to create lasting impact,
for your customers and your company
Remember that ideas are powerful platforms;
beware myths and monsters
Leadership is ultimately about growing others,
and establishing your product as a leading product
TL;DR

85. Thank you :)
@socialnerdia

86. BLURB:
PRODUCT LEADERSHIP IRL: THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN A DECADE AGO
Product leaders guide product strategy, empower teams, and ease go-to-market strategies.
They have to be customer-obsessed. And data-informed. Definitely outcomes-oriented. Plus,
they need to know who knows what. And be credible and sufficiently likeable. All while
ensuring the product doesn’t go off a cliff and the team doesn’t quit for greener pastures. In
this talk, Esteban will share candid insights and advice he would give his younger self - if only
he could. Like being mission-driven, understanding ideas, and taking the time to lead well. His
tips and stories may help you watch out for mistakes and identify areas to double down on.