Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
01:08:31 · Lenny Rachitsky, Oji Udezue
[01:08:31] S1: There's also a TV series of Foundation now, which I can't say recommend absolutely, but, it's it's a beautiful show. [01:08:39] S0: Yeah. No. I... I've... I haven't watched Foundation yet. I I I just felt like... I just felt super weird watching it after reading it. And I I could only make it through, three quarters of Dune version... You know, part one, but I will make it through them. I don't expect them. The books are glorious. If you love prose, the books are, man, crazy. But, I will get through them eventually. [01:09:04] S1: I've not actually read Dune, but the movie was incredible. I played the video game Dune where you're just mining spice all day and just stuck in my brain forever. Okay. Next question. What is a favorite interview question that you like to ask candidates that you're interviewing?
01:09:04 · Lenny Rachitsky, Oji Udezue
[01:09:04] S1: I've not actually read Dune, but the movie was incredible. I played the video game Dune where you're just mining spice all day and just stuck in my brain forever. Okay. Next question. What is a favorite interview question that you like to ask candidates that you're interviewing? [01:09:18] S0: I try to ask two... I feel this feels... I feel like it's gonna give people a cheat sheet when I interview them. But I I I try to ask two questions. So I'm not... I... I'm not a person who does favorites, so it's it's hard for me to pick favorites. But I ask people to introduce themselves, and I think it tells me a lot about them, how they tell about themselves, what they say about themselves, and the content of it. I ask people about the things they think they're truly great at. And then I ask people about the things they think they need to learn. About... In the... For for... The latter two is about their professional skill, their craft. I think it tells me a lot about how they communicate. It tells me a lot about how thoughtful they are. It tells me a lot about what they're proud of and what they lead into. And those kinds of things are very important to me. [01:10:10] S1: What is a favorite product you recently discovered that you love?
01:10:10 · Lenny Rachitsky, Oji Udezue
[01:10:10] S1: What is a favorite product you recently discovered that you love? [01:10:13] S0: I have been optimizing my workspace a lot. So I'm on a kick right now where I use Windows, you know, I I I was in Windows PM, and I still have my Windows box. But a lot of people use Macs at work, and I've used Macs for the last few years. So even though I switched between them, I've been spending a lot more time on Mac, and my Windows experience is completely optimized. Like, it is perfect. But Mac, I'm like, the windowing sucks. There's all these gaps I see. So I've been trying to figure out how to dial in my Mac experience. I've been... You know, I hate the activity monitor sucks. Like, what's a replacement? You know, the sound, It doesn't support, sound through HDMI or sound through... I don't know. Just some weird setup. So I've been optimizing that. One particular product that I like in the context of that is Unlox. It's a, like, one man product that allows me to just look at my phone and log into my Mac when I walk up and then locks it when I walk away. And it actually detects my proximity, it'll start the logging process while I get close. I think that's incredible. And I feel like it improves my productivity. [01:11:25] S1: Very cool. Sounds like a lot of hater raid for Macs over here. [01:11:29] S0: Well, for someone who uses it a lot. No, I think, you know, pros and cons. I'm not... I'm no longer paid by Microsoft, so I have things I don't like, but there are also things that, you know, the Mac isn't perfect either.
01:11:29 · Oji Udezue, Lenny Rachitsky
[01:11:29] S0: Well, for someone who uses it a lot. No, I think, you know, pros and cons. I'm not... I'm no longer paid by Microsoft, so I have things I don't like, but there are also things that, you know, the Mac isn't perfect either. [01:11:42] S1: Yeah. Indeed. What is a favorite life motto that you repeat to yourself or share with other people, either in work or in life, that you find valuable? [01:11:52] S0: I've taken to saying that there's more knowledge outside my head than inside it. And this is a plea for curiosity. I have three main things that that are my North Star personally, but also, obviously, when I say personally, mean everything, including professionally, which is originality, curiosity, and wisdom. And so this thing about there's more knowledge outside my head than inside my head is a plea for curiosity. It's a plea for skepticism. It's a plea to be humble about what you know no matter how old you are about the world around you and always be listening for more. Even when you know something, let other people speak because they might add 10% more to the 90% you know. And so being an active listener is very important. [01:12:48] S1: Beautiful. Last question. You are from Nigeria. What is a Nigerian food that you think people need to find and get ASAP? [01:12:57] S0: I will recommend two, depending on how familiar you are. So if you've never had fried plantain with beef stew [01:13:06] S1: Oh, man. That sounds great.
01:13:06 · Lenny Rachitsky, Oji Udezue
[01:13:06] S1: Oh, man. That sounds great. [01:13:08] S0: Then you should stop what you're doing. Stop work. Whatever you're doing, find your next Nigerian friend and go get some. Okay? This is the food that most Nigerians would basically trade years of life to have access to. Okay? So that's what I would say. And then the the second thing is, if you really wanna go, you know, if you wanna be in the in club in Nigeria, as we call it, you gotta try pepper soup. Pepper soup. Now if you're not into spicy stuff, I'm sorry. The door is close to you. But pepper soup is really in, and it is amazing. It'll make you sweat when it's delicious, and you should give it a shot. [01:14:04] S1: Oji, I think we've solved many people's sharp problems. I really appreciate you making time being here. Two final questions. Where can folks find you online they wanna reach out? And how can listeners be useful to you?
01:14:04 · Lenny Rachitsky, Oji Udezue
[01:14:04] S1: Oji, I think we've solved many people's sharp problems. I really appreciate you making time being here. Two final questions. Where can folks find you online they wanna reach out? And how can listeners be useful to you? [01:14:16] S0: I publish on Substack when I have time. You should check it out. It's usually all about things that are beneath the surface, what's behind the thing. I believe that's how you'll find it. I'm on Twitter as well, so you can follow me because I will talk about products. How you can be useful to me is go follow me on Twitter, sign up for updates on the book. If you do, I will draw from that audience to help name the book, to help design the cover for the book. The book is intended to have a freemium because I want this book to be available to people in Africa and India across the world. So there'll be a free version of it. And there'll be premium versions with more tools, more, help, and maybe even, like, interviews with luminaries that you care and love as well. And so that... Hopefully, that will fund the free side of it as well. So come in, become part of the party, maybe join a preread, an early early draft read. That is the best way you can help. So it's a call to all PMs and people of, goodwill. [01:15:29] S1: Amazing. What a great answer to that question. I'm gonna go get some Pepe soup and some plantain beef meals. Thank you so much for being here, and, I'm gonna go get some food. [01:15:41] S0: Alright. Thank you, Lenny. It was super enjoyable, and love hanging out, and, godspeed.