LLenny's Podcast
← All resources
company

Pragmatic Institute

2 recommend/use · 3 sourced episodes

Every sourced reference

Short attributed excerpts only. Timestamps are approximate.

Related frameworks

Strategy3 steps

Escaping the Low-Impact PM Death Spiral

Low-impact work begets low-impact work until layoffs — break the cycle by proactively claiming high-impact work.

Read →
Strategy4 steps

Growth Team as a Rigor Forcing Function

Hire a growth leader early — the second-order effect is that it exposes everything you haven't measured.

Read →
Productivity3 steps

Impact Estimation in the Unit of Your Goal

Prioritize by estimating each option's impact in the exact same unit as your team goal, not an abstract score.

Read →
Innovation4 steps

NLX: Designing the Natural-Language Interface

Conversation is an interface with real constructs — design it, don't just let the model lead

Read →
Strategy3 steps

One-Step-Away Team Goals

Set your team's goal exactly one why-statement or one math operator away from a company goal.

Read →
Self-Mastery4 steps

Optimize for Learning: The Impedance-Match Career Test

Choose roles by where you'll learn most and whether the mission truly matches how humans are wired.

Read →
Communication3 steps

Options-With-A-Recommendation Pushback

Never say yes or no to stakeholders — present options, trade-offs, and one clear recommendation.

Read →
Productivity4 steps

Prompt Sets Are the New PRD

Communicate product ideas by building the prototype, not writing the doc — demos before memos

Read →
Strategy4 steps

Solve Before Scale

Run in a distinct 'solve' mode before you ever switch to 'scale' mode

Read →
Strategy4 steps

Systems-First Scaling (One to 100)

Once you have product-market fit, go slow to go fast: build the systems before you hyperscale.

Read →
Innovation4 steps

The AI Startup Moat: Data Flywheel + Crafted Workflow

Defensibility for AI apps comes from a proprietary data flywheel and a deeply crafted vertical workflow.

Read →
Leadership3 steps

The CEO Funding Test

Ask 'if I were CEO, would I fully fund my own team?' to expose whether your work is survivable.

Read →
Leadership6 steps

The Five PM Archetypes

Hire and compose product teams by five distinct thinking styles, not one generic ideal PM.

Read →
Leadership3 steps

The Painful-Mistake Growth-Mindset Interview

Screen only for growth mindset by asking for the most painful mistake and what changed because of it.

Read →
Communication3 steps

The Say-Do-Said Loop

Say you'll do the thing, say you're doing it, say you did it — to align, adjust, and close the loop.

Read →
Leadership3 steps

The Six-Month Autonomy Razor

If you're still telling a hire what to do six months in, you hired the wrong person.

Read →
Productivity3 steps

The Subtractive Goal-Shrinking Exercise

Make a bloated set of goals smaller and more concise each round until one specific, urgent number survives.

Read →
Innovation4 steps

The Three Dimensions of an Agent

Score any 'agent' on autonomy, complexity, and natural interaction — each a spectrum

Read →
Innovation4 steps

The Two-of-Three Inflection Test

Only build a new zero-to-one product when at least two of three inflections line up

Read →
Mindset4 steps

Update Your Priors: The AI Capability Arbitrage

Re-test what AI can do today and demand more of it — old scar tissue is leaving alpha on the table

Read →

People in these episodes

Related resources

Spot an error or want this page removed? Request a correction or removal.