An operator’s guide to product strategy | Chandra Janakiraman (CPO at VRChat, ex-Meta, Headspace)

Chandra Janakiraman is the chief product officer, executive vice president, and a board member at VRChat. Previously, he was a product leader at Meta, where he led Facebook’s social experience interfaces and Reality Labs’ growth; served as CPO at Headspace, where he helped relaunch the platform, driving a 4x subscriber boost; and was a GM at Zynga, delivering massive hit games that reached hundreds of millions. In our conversation, Chandra shares: • His playbook for developing a product strategy • The difference between “small s” and “big S” strategy • How to run strategy sprints • Who should be involved in strategy work • Common pitfalls in strategy development • The role of AI in future strategy development • More — Brought to you by: • Eppo—Run reliable, impactful experiments: https://www.geteppo.com/ • Airtable ProductCentral—Launch to new heights with a unified system for product development: https://www.airtable.com/lenny • OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster: https://oneschema.co/lenny Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an... Where to find Chandra Janakiraman: • LinkedIn:   / chandramohanj   Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X:   / lennysan   • LinkedIn:   / lennyrachitsky   In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Chandra’s background (04:47) The importance of strategy (12:40) Defining product strategy (15:42) Developing a winning strategy: an overview (18:51) The preparation phase (30:46) The strategy sprint process (45:51) The design sprint (51:19) Document writing (57:39) Rolling out your strategy (01:01:28) Resourcing and roadmapping (01:04:42) Strategy lessons from Zynga (01:11:34) Strategy lessons from Meta (01:15:55) Big S strategy (01:26:58) AI in strategy formulation (01:38:12) Final thoughts and lightning round Referenced: • Headspace: https://www.headspace.com/ • Good Strategy, Bad Strategy | Richard Rumelt: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/go... • 5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/th... • VRChat: https://hello.vrchat.com/ • Andrew Chen on LinkedIn:   / pmandrewchen   • Template: Working Backwards PR FAQ: https://www.workingbackwards.com/reso... • How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ho... • Making time for what matters | Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky (authors of Sprint and Make Time, co-founders of Character Capital): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ma... • Identify your bullseye customer in one day | Michael Margolis (UX Research Partner at Google Ventures): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/fi... • Chandra’s flow chart: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S... • Chandra’s strategy template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i... • Zynga: https://www.zynga.com/ ...References continued at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an... Recommended books: • The Art of War: https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tz... • Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors: https://www.amazon.com/Competitive-St... • Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-... • Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-St... • Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Time-Focu... • Sprint: https://www.amazon.com/SPRINT-Jake-Ze... • Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination: https://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Tr... • Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration: https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc... • The Ten Faces of Innovation: Strategies for Heightening Creativity: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385512074 Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.