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The Product Briefing

The Product Briefing

By: Steve Saper
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After 20 years building products at Google, Sony, Facebook, and NBC Universal, and several successful startups, Steve Saper breaks down what it actually takes to build better products and drive growth in the age of AI.

Frameworks. Expert conversations. Practical how-to's.

2026 Steve Saper Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • S1 E2: What Makes Great Product Managers in 15 minutes

    S1 E2: What Makes Great Product Managers in 15 minutes
    Feb 11 2026
    76% of product managers hit a career ceiling within 2-3 years. They ship features, work hard, get positive feedback - and don't get promoted. Here's what actually gets PMs promoted: Research from 400+ top product managers via Lenny Rachitsky's podcast. 📋 Career Self-Assessment: [Google Form link] 📊 Full Research Report: [Blog link] 🎙️ Lenny's Podcast: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com --- TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - The Product Briefing / Lenny Series Intro 0:08 - Hook: The Career Ceiling (76% of PMs) 0:50 - Research Methodology (6,413 chunks, 42 themes) 1:40 - The Problem: Why Most PMs Get Stuck 3:10 - The 3 Capabilities Framework 3:45 - Capability #1: Strategic Articulation (Can you explain WHY?) 5:15 - Capability #2: Cross-Functional Orchestration (Lead without power?) 7:00 - Capability #3: Outcome Ownership (Can you talk about money?) 8:45 - Enterprise Context: Different Language, Same Capability 9:30 - How to Apply This Tomorrow (4 Steps) 10:15 - Closing + Resources --- RESEARCH CREDITS: • Data Source: Lenny Rachitsky (@lennysan) - Lenny's Newsletter & Podcast 321 episodes analyzed, 400+ PM interviews Twitter: @lennysan Newsletter: lennysnewsletter.com • Analysis: Steve Saper & PM33 AI Research Pipeline 6,413 content chunks processed 42 discovered themes about PM careers --- RESOURCES: • Career Self-Assessment Scorecard (Google Form): https://pm-33.com/career-assessment • Lenny's Podcast (All episodes): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/podcast --- ABOUT THE PRODUCT BRIEFING: The Product Briefing is a video series synthesizing insider knowledge from the world's leading product minds. The Lenny Series analyzes 321 episodes of Lenny's Podcast to extract patterns, frameworks, and career insights that create unfair advantages for product managers. ABOUT STEVE: Steve Saper is the founder of PM33, a PMO intelligence platform for product managers. Previously led product at Accenture, Sony and RedBull, transforming RedBull TV from cost center to revenue generator. Currently building PM33 in public and sharing product frameworks learned from 15 years in product management. Follow Steve: Twitter: @ssaper LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ssaper Website: pm-33.com Follow Lenny: Twitter: @lennysan Newsletter: lennysnewsletter.com #ProductManagement #CareerAdvice #ProductManager #LennyRachitsky #PMCareer #ProductLeadership #PMPromotion #ProductFrameworks #PM33 #TheProductBriefing ``` Tags: product management, career advice, product manager, Lenny Rachitsky, PM career, how to get promoted, product leadership, PM skills, product frameworks, PM promotion, strategic thinking, cross-functional leadership, outcome ownership, PM33, Steve Saper, The Product Briefing, product manager skills, career growth, PM research

    Takeaways

    • Product management skills
    • Promotion criteria

    Chapters

    • 00:00 Introduction to Product Briefing
    • 07:19 Reality of Product Managers
    • 15:01 Capability Two: Cross-Functional Orchestration
    • 24:04 Application and Self-Assessment
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    15 mins
  • S1 E1: 3 Questions for Product-Market-Fit

    S1 E1: 3 Questions for Product-Market-Fit
    Feb 7 2026

    CREDITS:
    • Framework: Todd Jackson - Partner at First Round Capital
    LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/toddj0
    Twitter: @tjack
    • Interview: Lenny Rachitsky - Lenny's Newsletter & Podcast
    Twitter: @lennysan

    ---

    RESOURCES:

    • PMF Survey Template (Google Forms): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Y2efNHOKliqWjpVs6CWjM-RwNRpp9BDDvG7SiwEdOuA/edit (PLEASE MAKE A COPY)

    • First Round PMF Method (Free Program): https://pmf.firstround.com

    ---

    ABOUT STEVE:

    Steve Saper is the founder of PM33, a PMO intelligence platform for product managers. Previously led product at Sony and client, transforming client TV from cost center to revenue generator. Currently building PM33 in public and sharing product frameworks learned from 15 years in product management.

    Follow Steve:
    Twitter: @ssaper
    LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ssaper
    Website: pm-33.com

    #ProductMarketFit #PMF #ProductManagement #Startups #ToddJackson #LennyRachitsky #FirstRoundCapital #PMFTest

    Chapters

    * 00:00 The Product Market Fit Framework
    * 07:17 Question 1: How Disappointed Would You Be? (Contd.)
    * 12:22 Question 2: Percentage of Users Returning (Retention Curve)
    * 19:21 Iterating Based on Results
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    16 mins
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