Building Products Like the World Depends On It, Powered by AI (How Netflix, LinkedIn, Chime and many others…Are Transforming Product Strategy)

Real Conversations with Product Leaders from Haas Product Con 2024

Thanks to Berkeley Haas Product Management Club for the amazing conference #ProductCon2024

Author: Megi Kavtaradze

“The emperor doesn’t reside at Netflix.”

These words from Todd Yellin, former VP of Product Management at Netflix, set the tone for a day full of inspiration, strategies, and powerful lessons at Haas Product Con 2024. It wasn’t just another product conference — it was a place where ideas took flight, AI met fintech challenges, and leaders shared real-world insights that could shape the future of product management. The event wasn’t about jargon or theoretical frameworks; it was a roadmap for how product managers can win in an evolving world.

Let’s dive into the most impactful themes of the day.

To dive deeper into Netflix’s product management approach and insights from Todd Yellin’s framework, let’s break down the key themes and strategies with more detail:

Netflix’s Secret Sauce: Innovation Through Bold Risks and the Informed Captain Model

Todd Yellin captivated the audience with Netflix’s journey from a DVD rental company to a streaming giant. At the heart of this transformation was a culture of experimentation and the Informed Captain Model — a framework where domain experts lead the charge, not just the loudest voices.

“The loudest voice shouldn’t control the conversation; the most informed voice should guide the direction.”

Netflix’s success lies in taking calculated risks, such as pivoting to streaming long before the world was ready. Yellin stressed that perfection can stifle progress and that even small wins — like a 0.5% improvement in engagement — can drive major outcomes over time.

Key Takeaway: Innovation isn’t just about chasing trends — it’s about disrupting yourself before someone else does.

Experimentation as the Core Strategy

· Data-Driven Decision Making:

o At Netflix, every major product feature and innovation is tested through A/B testing before being rolled out.

o Experimentation touches everything from user interfaces, recommendations, subscription models, pricing, to content thumbnails.

o Netflix’s test-and-learn culture ensures that ideas are validated with user data, which minimizes the risk of subjective decision-making.

· Iteration over Perfection:

o Todd emphasized that perfection is the enemy of progress. At Netflix, product teams focus on incremental improvements instead of waiting for a perfect solution.

o A small 0.5% improvement in user engagement, identified through multiple experiments, adds up to significant business outcomes over time.

· “Fail Fast, Learn Fast” Philosophy:

o Yellin stressed that failures are celebrated as long as they come with lessons. Teams are encouraged to quickly abandon ideas that don’t work, allowing more room for successful experiments.

2. The Power of Personalization

· Recommendation Engine:

o Netflix’s recommendation system is one of the most complex AI-powered engines in the industry. It is powered by collaborative filtering algorithms, which analyze users’ preferences and align them with viewing behaviors of similar users.

o Thumbnails and Micro-Targeting: Netflix also uses dynamic thumbnail testing to determine which visuals increase the likelihood of users clicking on certain content. These experiments are personalized to each viewer.

· User Segmentation:

o Yellin explained that Netflix personalizes not just at the individual level but also across micro-segments of users based on viewing habits and regional preferences.

o This segmentation strategy ensures Netflix’s platform resonates across diverse user profiles globally, increasing engagement and retention.

Balancing Growth and Retention Metrics

· Growth Mindset with Retention Focus:

o Todd mentioned that Netflix emphasizes both user acquisition and retention in product strategies. The goal isn’t just to attract new users but to keep them engaged and reduce churn through personalized experiences.

o Metrics like time spent per session, number of watched hours per week, and user satisfaction scores (e.g., NPS) guide product improvements.

· Content Discovery as a Retention Lever:

o Many users abandon streaming platforms due to decision fatigue. Netflix combats this by ensuring that content discovery is seamless and enjoyable, thanks to curated lists and AI-powered suggestions.

o Even small innovations, such as the Skip Intro feature or Next Episode countdown, are designed to maximize engagement.

Trust in Data, But with a Human Element

· AI Augmented, Not Replacing Humans:

o Yellin emphasized the importance of using AI as a tool, not a crutch. Netflix relies on data to inform decisions, but content curation also involves human creativity.

o Cultural nuances play a critical role when recommending content in diverse regions. This ensures that the platform respects regional tastes and sensitivities.

· Balance Between Machine Learning and Editorial Choices:

o While the algorithm suggests content, Netflix employs human editors to ensure that certain culturally significant content is featured appropriately.

o This approach fosters empathy in product design while benefiting from the efficiency of machine learning.

The Future of Innovation: Moving Beyond Streaming

· Interactive Content and Gamification:

o Yellin hinted that Netflix is exploring interactive content (like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch). This new form of storytelling merges product design with entertainment.

o Future growth areas include gaming elements integrated into the platform, creating immersive experiences for users beyond passive consumption.

· Globalization and Localization:

o Netflix’s strategy includes investing in local content across different markets (e.g., Korean dramas, Spanish thrillers), reinforcing that product innovation isn’t just about features but also about content relevance.

o Netflix optimizes its platform with localized UX elements to cater to diverse regions, enhancing accessibility and satisfaction for global audiences.

Monetization vs. User Experience: The Ad-Free Model

· Subscription-Only Strategy:

o Yellin underscored that Netflix’s product decisions have historically avoided advertisements to preserve the user experience.

o The product team’s challenge is ensuring sustainable growth while resisting monetization practices that may dilute user satisfaction.

· Subscription Tiers and Testing:

o Netflix has experimented with different subscription tiers, testing which features resonate with specific demographics (e.g., HD vs. non-HD streaming).

7. Cultural Takeaways: Building with Purpose

· Informed Captain Model:

o Netflix empowers product leaders (like Yellin himself) to act as “captains” of their initiatives, making decisions backed by data but without needing approval from top management.

o This decentralized decision-making structure fuels faster innovation and enhances ownership within teams.

· Inclusive and Diverse Design Principles:

o Yellin advocated for inclusive product management, ensuring that decisions reflect a diversity of voices. Netflix’s platform is designed to be accessible to a broad audience, including people with disabilities (e.g., captioning and audio descriptions).

Final Message: Innovation is a Journey, Not a Destination

· Todd Yellin concluded by emphasizing that the journey of innovation never stops. Even after disrupting the entertainment industry, Netflix must continuously evolve to stay ahead.

· His message: “Complacency is the biggest threat to innovation.”

LinkedIn and Inclusive Design: Building for Everyone, Everywhere

A highlight of the event was Laura Teclemariam’s session on inclusive design. As the Director of Product at LinkedIn, Laura emphasized the importance of designing accessible products from day one, rather than as an afterthought.

She challenged the audience to rethink Product-Market Fit (PMF), explaining that many products leave behind users with disabilities or temporary impairments. Her message was clear — inclusive design isn’t just ethical; it’s a business imperative.

Example: Laura pointed out the limitations of pulse oximeters, which often misread oxygen levels for people with darker skin, illustrating how exclusion in design can have life-threatening consequences.

“Build products like the world depends on it — because it does.”

1. Redefining Product-Market Fit (PMF): Beyond the “Average User”

Traditional product development often centers on finding PMF for a hypothetical “average user,” overlooking significant portions of the population. Laura highlighted how this approach marginalizes critical user segments, including those with disabilities, the elderly, and individuals with temporary impairments.

Key Insight:“Designing for accessibility isn’t just good ethics — it’s good business.”

By embedding inclusivity from the outset, companies can expand their market reach and strengthen brand loyalty. A broader user base translates into increased sales, heightened customer trust, and a stronger market presence. The message was clear: companies that ignore inclusivity not only miss out on business opportunities but also risk falling behind in an evolving marketplace.

2. Inclusive Design as a Catalyst for Innovation

Innovation flourishes when diverse perspectives are integrated into the product development process. Laura challenged teams to think beyond conventional assumptions, urging product leaders to leverage inclusive design as a tool for creative problem-solving.

Microsoft’s Adaptive Controller was one such example, where accessibility wasn’t an afterthought but a driving force. Designed for gamers with limited mobility, the controller opened up Xbox to new audiences, underscoring the value of designing for edge cases to uncover solutions that benefit everyone.

Principles of Inclusive Design:

1. Recognize Exclusion: Identify biases and mismatches between users and the experience.

2. Learn from Diversity: Involve diverse voices throughout development for meaningful insights.

3. Solve for One, Extend to Many: Build for individuals with specific needs to create solutions that benefit a broader audience.

   
   

3. Growth Through Accessibility: A Market Imperative

Building accessible products is no longer just a moral obligation — it’s becoming a competitive advantage. As global regulations around accessibility evolve, companies that embrace these principles early mitigate risks and gain a head start in compliance. This proactive approach also enhances brand reputation, fostering trust and loyalty among customers.

4 Pillars of Accessible Growth:

1. Market Expansion: Tap into overlooked customer segments and drive sales.

2. Unlock Innovation: Diverse perspectives unlock creative solutions, improving product performance for all users.

3. Strengthen Brand Reputation: Brands that prioritize accessibility foster trust and demonstrate ethical leadership.

4. Mitigate Legal Risks: Proactive compliance reduces the risk of lawsuits and costly redesigns.

   
   

4. The Emotional Responsibility of Product Design

“In healthcare, we’re not trying to capture more attention than necessary. We’re trying to help people get better and get on with their lives.” This principle, echoed by Trishna Patel from Hinge Health, aligns closely with Laura’s philosophy on ethical product design.

Designing with empathy means recognizing that users interact with products in varied emotional states. For example, in healthcare apps, gamification can motivate users, but it must be balanced with sensitivity. Patel emphasized that competition should be used to foster community and support rather than rivalry.

5. The Intersection of AI and Inclusive Design: Building for the Future

Laura also touched on the disruptive potential of Generative AI (GenAI) and the importance of building inclusive solutions in this evolving space. As industries like healthcare, education, retail, and finance increasingly adopt AI-driven platforms, ensuring these tools are designed for diverse users is crucial.

AI in Healthcare:Generative AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by transforming diagnostics, personalizing medicine, and enhancing virtual assistance. However, the adoption of AI must come with governance frameworks that ensure these tools serve everyone, not just the tech-savvy few.

Closing Thought: Build Products That Matter

Laura’s mantra — “Build products like the world depends on it, because it does” — serves as both inspiration and a challenge for today’s product leaders. Whether it’s designing for accessibility, leveraging AI responsibly, or fostering empathy in every touchpoint, product management is no longer just about features or metrics. It’s about creating meaningful impact through thoughtful, inclusive, and innovative design.

Key Takeaways for Product Leaders:

• Think Beyond the Average User: Design products that reflect the diversity of real-world users.

• Embrace Accessibility: It’s both an ethical responsibility and a business strategy.

• Foster Innovation Through Inclusion: Leverage diverse voices to unlock creative solutions.

• Prepare for GenAI Disruption: Build AI-powered solutions with inclusivity at their core.

• Balance Innovation with Empathy: Design experiences that respect the emotional and physical states of users

  
  

As product managers and designers, the challenge is clear: We are building more than just products — we are building the future. And the future belongs to those who design with purpose.

Fintech: Balancing Fraud, Compliance, and Seamless User Experiences

In the fintech panel, the conversation revolved around the delicate balance between security and usability. With real-time fraud detection engines becoming more sophisticated, fintech companies must embed compliance and security into their product DNA without compromising user experience.

AI + Product Development in Fintech: Rekha Venkatakrishnan’s Journey from Amazon to Chime

In her insightful session, Rekha Venkatakrishnan shared her unique experiences transitioning from roles at Amazon to Chime, underscoring the distinct challenges of building products in fintech. Unlike tech companies where speed and product experimentation are prioritized, fintech product development demands a much deeper engagement with regulations, compliance, and risk management.

AI Isn’t a Silver Bullet: Finding the Right Use Cases

A significant part of Rekha’s talk was dedicated to demystifying the role of AI in fintech. While AI can bring tremendous value to internal tools and customer-facing applications, she emphasized the limitations of relying solely on AI for complex tasks like fraud detection:

1. AI’s Strengths:

2. Internal Tools: AI can enhance operational efficiency, automate repetitive tasks, and provide insights into internal processes.

3. Customer Sentiment Analysis: AI-powered analytics can gauge customer behavior trends, enabling more personalized engagement and proactive service.

4. Workflow Automation: In areas like customer service, chatbots and automated workflows can improve response times and scalability.

5. AI’s Limitations in Fintech:

6. Fraud Detection Requires Human Oversight: Rekha emphasized that while AI can flag suspicious activities, fraud detection can’t be fully automated. Financial institutions need human review processes to validate decisions and reduce false positives.

7. Regulations and Legal Constraints: AI must comply with stringent compliance frameworks, which adds complexity to its implementation in financial services.

8. Data Bias Risks: AI models are only as good as the data they are trained on. If biased data is fed into fraud detection systems, it can result in inaccurate outcomes that hurt customers

   
   

💡 “AI works well for automating internal processes and sentiment analysis, but you can’t trust it to handle everything — especially fraud detection, which requires, 99,999% accuracy, human judgment and careful oversight.”

Fintech vs. Tech: The Complexity of Navigating Regulations and Compliance

Rekha shared powerful insights into how different fintech is from traditional tech companies like Amazon, where the focus is on speed and product innovation. At Amazon, teams are encouraged to build, experiment, and ship products quickly — with updates rolling out as frequently as twice a week. However, in fintech, the development process is much more deliberate and cautious.

Key Differences Between Tech and Fintech:

• Building for Compliance: In fintech, products must align with regulatory laws from the outset. Unlike tech, where building first and iterating later is possible, fintech requires regulatory approval before launch.

• Sitting with Legal Teams: Rekha emphasized that product leaders in fintech spend considerable time with legal, compliance, and risk teams, navigating complex frameworks and regulations. This collaboration ensures that products are not only innovative but also compliant.

• Risk of Penalties: Missing regulatory requirements can result in significant fines and reputational damage, making compliance non-negotiable in product planning.

  
  

Product Leadership in Fintech: A Balancing Act

Rekha highlighted the critical role that product managers (PMs) play in balancing innovation with compliance. Her experience illustrated that fintech isn’t just about building great products — it’s about understanding the legal, regulatory, and technological landscapes that shape them. PMs need to become experts in business processes, regulations, and technology to succeed in this space.

Key Skills for Fintech PMs:

1. Regulatory Knowledge: Product managers must stay updated on changing regulations to avoid non-compliance issues.

2. Cross-Functional Collaboration: PMs need to enable smooth communication between product, engineering, legal, and compliance teams.

3. Build vs. Buy Decisions: PMs must weigh the benefits of developing in-house solutions versus leveraging third-party tools, keeping cost, time-to-market, and control in mind.

4. Process-Oriented Thinking: Unlike tech companies focused primarily on features, fintech PMs must think in terms of processes and systems, ensuring that the entire user journey is compliant and secure.

   
   

   

This section captures Rekha’s unique perspective on how AI can complement but not replace human judgment in fintech, the complexities of product management in highly regulated industries, and the importance of strategic decision-making in balancing innovation with compliance.

Growth Product Management with Nitin Bandaru: Driving Metrics with Precision — Samsara

In an engaging session, Nitin Bandaru, Group PM at Samsara, explained the nuances of growth product management. Growth PMs focus on optimizing metrics — like acquisition, activation, retention, and monetization — through rapid experimentation and shorter iteration cycles.

Key Characteristics of Growth PMs:

• Data-Driven Experimentation: Constantly testing small changes to discover what works.

• Shorter Horizons: Moving fast to capture opportunities before competitors.

• Metrics-Focused: Success isn’t measured by usability alone but by key outcomes like conversion rates and lifetime value (LTV).

• GTM Alignment: Working closely with go-to-market teams to ensure smooth product launches and marketing campaigns.

  
  

Nitin’s insights showed that growth PMs aren’t concerned with long-term visions but are laser-focused on delivering measurable outcomes today.

The AI Product Management panel discussed how AI is embedding itself across industries, from healthcare to retail and education. Companies like Samsara are leveraging AI-powered platforms to optimize supply chains, drive customer engagement, and create real-time solutions. But the conversation didn’t just stop at innovation — it also touched on the responsibility that comes with AI.

Key AI Predictions:

• Healthcare: AI will transform diagnostics and personalized medicine.

• Education: Platforms will enhance personalized learning through AI-generated content.

Retail: Inventory management will become predictive, and shopping experiences will be personalized at scale.

1. What is Growth Product Management?

   Nitin explained that Growth PMs have a laser focus on specific metrics rather than just building general value. This role revolves around growing key funnel metrics like acquisition, activation, engagement, retention, and monetization. Growth PMs are less concerned with long-term product visions and more focused on rapid experimentation and optimization.

   
   

2. Characteristics of Growth PMs:

o Data-driven experimentation: Constantly testing small changes to discover what drives growth.

o Shorter horizons: Faster iteration cycles to capture opportunities before competitors.

o Metrics-focused: The success of a Growth PM is defined by metrics, not just product usability. For example, optimizing conversion rates, customer lifetime value (LTV), and reducing churn.

o GTM Alignment: Growth PMs work closely with go-to-market (GTM) teams to ensure smooth alignment between product launches, marketing campaigns, and user activation efforts.

3. How Growth PMs Differ from Traditional PMs:

o Traditional PMs focus more on vision, roadmap planning, and product-market fit. They define long-term goals and build products that address customer needs.

o Growth PMs, however, focus on short-term optimization and fine-tuning. Nitin emphasized that growth teams are all about driving measurable outcomes at each stage of the funnel.

4. The Role of B2B Growth vs. B2C Consumer PMs:

o B2B Growth PMs focus on improving engagement with key enterprise clients, increasing feature adoption, and expanding existing accounts.

o B2C Growth PMs concentrate on user engagement, upsells, and retention strategies, ensuring seamless user experiences that encourage repeated product usage.

5. Balancing Business, Tech, Design, and People:

o Nitin highlighted that Growth PMs need to work at the intersection of tech, business, design, and people. In practice:

§ Tech: Ensure rapid experimentation is technically feasible.

§ Business: Align metrics with the company’s financial objectives.

§ Design: Create user flows optimized for engagement and conversions.

§ People: Collaborate effectively with sales, marketing, and customer success teams.

6. Growth PMs at Samsara:

o Nitin shared specific examples from his work at Samsara, where B2B growth involved driving higher product adoption and tracking key operational metrics across customers’ IoT ecosystems.

He discussed how growth experiments in IoT contexts demand seamless coordination between hardware, software, and business partners.

7. Specialization in Growth PM:

o Growth PMs are specialists who zoom in on optimizing specific areas, such as onboarding flows or upsell funnels. Nitin emphasized that they succeed by running multiple experiments across the funnel to drive measurable growth outcomes.

8. Growth PM’s Unique Skills and Mindset:

o Nitin described the need for a bias toward action, emphasizing fast execution and cross-functional collaboration.

o The role requires comfort with ambiguity since success is defined by numbers, which can change rapidly, requiring constant adaptation.

Closing Thought:

Nitin Bandaru’s presentation offered a rich understanding of Growth Product Management as a specialized field focused on metrics, optimization, and rapid iteration. He highlighted how this role stands apart from traditional PM roles by prioritizing experimentation over vision and metrics over intuition.

His insights help aspiring PMs understand how different contexts — like B2B IoT growth at Samsara versus consumer product growth — shape the role of a PM, requiring specialized skills for sustainable product and business growth.

Healthcare Engagement through Gamification: Building Sustainable Habits with Sensitivity

Speaker: Trishna Patel, Group Product Manager at Hinge Health

During her insightful session, Trishna Patel emphasized how gamification in healthcare goes beyond simple entertainment. It’s about using behavioral psychology to create engaging solutions that improve patient outcomes while being sensitive to users’ emotional needs.

Nuances in Healthcare Products

Product Design

Creating products for healthcare requires a unique balance between engagement and empathy. Patel outlined five key principles to keep in mind when designing healthcare products:

1. Inclusivity is Non-Negotiable: Healthcare products must serve everyone, addressing diverse physical and mental needs.

2. Extrinsic Rewards Should Be Limited: The goal is to foster sustainable, healthy habits that users can maintain long-term, even without rewards.

3. Balance Fun and Sensitivity: Managing chronic conditions is emotional and challenging. Gamification should offer light engagement without trivializing the experience.

4. Encourage Friendly Competition: While competition can boost motivation, intense rivalry may alienate users. A collaborative, supportive environment works better.

5. Reduce Distraction: The purpose of healthcare apps is to help users recover and move on, not to demand continuous attention.

   
   

What Does Gamification Look Like in Healthcare?

Patel shared how Hinge Health applies gamification principles drawn from behavioral psychology and other industries. Their approach integrates:

• Tiny Habits: Users are more likely to stay engaged when goals are broken into small, achievable steps.

• Surprise Elements: Personal touches, like unexpected encouragements, foster emotional connection.

• Subtle Rewards: Rewards are designed to reinforce positive behavior without becoming addictive or intrusive.

• Gentle Competition: Encouraging friendly challenges and collaborative progress through non-threatening leaderboards.

• Commitment Mechanisms: Public accountability — sharing progress with loved ones — can strengthen motivation.

  
  

Addressing Engagement Barriers

Patel also explored why engagement in healthcare can be difficult and provided practical solutions to overcome these barriers:

• Self-Efficacy: Users need to feel capable of success. Clear expectations help build confidence.

• Ability Constraints: Personalization and clinical rigor reduce the burden on users who may struggle physically.

• Psychological Barriers: Coaching and health literacy tools help alleviate fear and anxiety associated with physical activities.

• Perceived Barriers: Lack of time or motivation can be addressed through gamified tools like habit trackers and streaks.

  
  

The biggest challenge in healthcare is that rewards are slow — users don’t see immediate results like in traditional apps. Patel emphasized that product teams must build systems that keep users engaged long enough to experience meaningful health outcomes.

A Thoughtful Approach to Design: Less Is More

Patel’s parting thought resonated with everyone in the room: “In healthcare, we’re not trying to capture more attention than necessary. We’re trying to help people get better and get on with their lives.” This encapsulates the essence of healthcare product design — engage with empathy, support users through their journey, and empower them to achieve their goals independently.

Product Strategy and Differentiation: Insights from @Shreyas Doshi

One of the most thought-provoking sessions came from Shreyas Doshi, who emphasized the importance of strategic differentiation.

“The main purpose of strategy is to convey how you’re going to differentiate.”

Shreyas warned about the trap of business jargon masquerading as strategy and challenged PMs to go beyond checklists and templates. His actionable advice? Align your product roadmap with a clear strategy that answers not just what you’re building, but why it will win.

Shreyas’s Recommended Reading List:

1. Understanding Michael Porter by Joan Magretta

2. Playing to Win by Roger Martin

3. Follow the Blogs of: Roger Martin & Rory Sutherland

Key Takeaways from Shreyas Doshi’s Session: Differentiation and Strategic Product Thinking

1. Strategy is About Differentiation, Not a Checklist

· Shreyas emphasized that true strategy is about identifying what sets your product apart from the competition. His memorable line:

“The main purpose of strategy is to convey how you’re going to differentiate.”

· He cautioned against getting trapped in templates or business jargon, which often masquerade as strategy but are no more than to-do lists.

o Templates are useful frameworks, but they can’t replace real product vision and competitive insights.

· Strategic clarity is essential: if you can’t articulate how your product wins, you’re merely executing tasks without clear purpose.

2. The Trap of “Business Speak” and Execution Bias

· Shreyas warned that PMs can easily fall into the trap of business speak, using jargon to sound strategic while losing sight of what matters — solving real customer problems in unique ways.

o Instead of focusing on buzzwords or complex frameworks, he advocates for practical differentiation.

· His message was a powerful reminder that:

“Strategy isn’t just a plan, it’s how you WIN.”

· Actionable Insight:

o Take a step back and ask not just what you’re building, but how it wins.

o Be clear on why customers will choose your product over others — beyond features, focusing on the unique value it brings to the table.

3. Avoiding Execution Overload: Balancing Strategy and Action

· While PMs often focus heavily on execution and delivery, Shreyas emphasized that execution without strategic focus is meaningless.

o Don’t get lost in ticking boxes. Execution is important, but without a clear strategy, all you’re doing is moving without direction.

· Practical Framework:

o Use product roadmaps not as a task list but as a living document of strategic intent.

o Regularly revisit and validate if what you’re working on still aligns with your product’s unique strategy.

“Detach from FRAMEWORKS!”

4. How to Implement Shreyas’s Approach in Your Work

· Align Roadmaps with Strategy: Make sure your product roadmap reflects not just what you are building but how it differentiates your product in the market.

· Challenge Yourself with “Why?” Constantly ask, “Why will this feature or product win?”

· Balance Execution with Strategy: Ensure you’re not just building to build — build to win.

Summary

Shreyas Doshi’s session was a refreshing call to focus on meaningful strategy, rather than getting lost in templates, buzzwords, or execution. His insights challenge product managers to prioritize differentiation over everything else, as strategy is about winning, not just looking productive.

His practical advice:

1. Think beyond tasks — focus on how your product wins.

2. Don’t let business speak replace clarity and insight.

3. Use frameworks and templates only as tools — not as strategy itself.

In short, strategy without differentiation is just noise. Shreyas’s insights are a vital reminder that real success lies in clarity of purpose, strategic focus, and practical differentiation.

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Editor’s Note: This blog post captures key insights from Haas Product Con 2024. All quotes and insights are attributed to their respective speakers, and any errors or omissions are my own.

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Megi Kavtaradze

Berkeley Haas MBA 25’

Product Manager

Ex-Adobe PMM Intern