Disagree With the Founder Via the Spirit
Never say no to the idea — say yes to the spirit and come back with a better path
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 91%
Zhang's method for pushing back on a leader who is emotionally bought into a solution. You do not attack the solution head-on. You first test your own conviction, then reflect back the spirit of what they're trying to achieve for users and the business, get aligned on that, and only then present concrete alternative options with the data and thinking behind them. Smart, motivated people rarely defend a failing solution when handed a better path to the same goal.
Origin
Zhang's practice as a product leader at Airbnb, tested against Brian Chesky's conviction on Airbnb Plus; she cites Airbnb colleague Mike Lewis's realization that the head of product's job on a new bet is to be the person who says no.
Core principles
- 01The PM has almost no true authority — you manage no one, so everything runs on influence.
- 02If you have genuine conviction the idea is wrong and you don't say so, you are not doing your job.
- 03Conviction and 'still learning' are different states — know which one you're in before you escalate.
- 04You cannot win by removing something; you win by replacing it.
- 05Very few smart people will defend a solution once you've shown a better route to their actual goal.
How to run it
- 1
Test your own conviction
Ask honestly: do I actually have conviction this is a bad idea, or am I personally still learning? If you're still learning, keep learning. If you have conviction, saying no is now your obligation.
- 2
Name the spirit of what they're trying to accomplish
Identify what the founder or manager is actually trying to achieve for the user and for the business — beneath the solution they've fallen for. Go back to them with that spirit stated in their own terms.
Pro tip Phrase it as agreement: 'I understand the spirit — we're trying to get people who previously wouldn't consider us to use the product.'
- 3
Get explicit alignment on the spirit before touching the solution
Remind them of the goal and confirm you are both aligned on it. This converts the conversation from a fight about their idea into a joint search for the best route.
Watch out Skip this and any alternative you present is heard as an attack on their idea, not a contribution to their goal.
- 4
Come back with actual options, data, and the math
Present concrete alternative solutions that serve the same spirit more cheaply or more scalably, with the data and the reasoning behind them — including whether the original path could ever be a business that makes money.
- 5
Vote with your own effort
If you believe the scalable path is elsewhere, go build it. Zhang moved off the Airbnb Plus team onto the review system precisely because reviews were the scalable route to the same spirit.
In the wild
Rather than arguing that inspecting homes was a bad idea, Zhang reframed around the spirit — getting people who wouldn't previously consider Airbnb to trust the platform — and argued the route was more granular, automatable checks at listing upload and a stronger guest review system, not time-intensive human inspection.
→ She moved off the Plus team to work on the review system, which she describes as the actual scalable way to achieve the same goal.
A fellow Airbnb product head leading one of the new bets realised, mid-programme, that he was the person who should have been saying 'no, we shouldn't do this now'.
→ Zhang treats this as the definition of the role: if the head of product has conviction and stays quiet, nobody else in the room will stop it.
Common mistakes
Attacking the solution instead of serving the spirit
Telling a founder their idea is bad triggers defence of the idea. Aligning on the goal first turns the same message into help.
Escalating on doubt rather than conviction
If you're still learning, you have no case yet, and burning influence on a half-formed objection costs you the trust you'll need when you do have conviction.
Is it for you?
Best for
PMs and product leaders who need to reverse a founder's or executive's pet solution without authority and without a fight
Not ideal for
Genuinely ambiguous calls where you have no data and no alternative path to offer — you have nothing to trade with
From the transcript
“I think first it comes down to your conviction like do you actually have conviction this is a bad idea or are you still are…”
“it's understanding the spirit of what they're trying to achieve right”
“what is it that there trying to accomplish for the user and for the business remind them of that like get get aligned on that…”
From the episode
Building minimum lovable products, stories from WeWork and Airbnb, and thriving as a PM
Jiaona Zhang (Webflow, WeWork, Airbnb, Dropbox)