The definitive guide to mastering product sense interviews
Ben Erez is a former PM at Meta, the first PM at three different startups, and now a full-time interview coach and educator. In this episode, Ben shares the five-part framework he developed after studying dozens of mock interviews, interviewing 50+ candidates at Facebook, and coaching hundreds of PMs through their job searches. It’s designed to help you master one of the most misunderstood stages of the PM interview loop: the product sense interview.If you’re a premium subscriber:Add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.com: https://add.lennysreads.com/Subscribe: • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypToojIn this episode, you’ll learn• Ben’s five-part framework for acing product sense interviews• How to set assumptions and lead with structure• How to define a clear mission that guides every decision• A process for segmenting users and developing strong personas• How to map user journeys and surface high-impact problems• A method for brainstorming, prioritizing, and scoping solutions• Lessons from mock-examples (Claude, Meta, and Netflix)• Common pitfalls to avoid, and how to practice effectivelyReferences• AI Practice Copilot for Product Sense & Analytical Thinking Interviews: https://payhip.com/b/LCkbr• Attentive: https://www.attentive.com/• How to Ace Product Sense PM Interviews: https://maven.com/p/af5908/how-to-ace-product-sense-pm-interviews• Lewis Lin’s PM Question Bank: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rz10oEeLx-eGnilahKczYPhGfCUzIEKL-xRnjoQ-SX4/edit?gid=1024620532#gid=1024620532• Product Sense Interview Template: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1-jdZAVtLuk8dUnf9peUKlNkguSOuAk5VdMPTmgr9Kns/edit• Recorded Mock of PS Response: https://grain.com/share/recording/be7899c9-f09e-4a18-93ec-ef40e7a26fac/Sex5ycmtyfFMOytY9K16yYQAx5p7lEn7X8D0fy2b and the Completed Template: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WV2kQNdM_kKHvr6Wsq0Znx7-r1gLK0qTOcuZg3LPqwo/edit?usp=sharing• The Definitive Guide to Mastering Analytical Thinking Interviews: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/8fe3dc12-1ed3-4876-a73d-2be943f18204Follow Lenny: • Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastFollow Ben: • Twitter/X: https://x.com/ViableBen• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/• Newsletter: https://benerez.substack.com/AboutWelcome to Lenny’s Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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The definitive guide to mastering analytical thinking interviews
If you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comBen Erez is a former PM at Facebook, the first PM at multiple startups, and now a full-time interview coach and educator. In this episode, he shares the five-part framework he’s used to help hundreds of PMs land roles at top companies. It’s the most practical, e… To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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An AI Glossary
If you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at https://add.lennysreads.comYou’ve probably heard terms like LLM, transformer, and hallucination, but do you really know what they mean?In this episode, I walk through 20 of the most common AI terms with dead-simple explanations you can actually understand (and use).In this episode, you’ll learn• What a “model” actually is• The difference between pre-training, fine-tuning, and RLHF• What transformers are—and why they changed everything• How prompt engineering and RAG improve model outputs• What AGI and ASI really mean• The difference between LLMs, GenAI, and GPT• Why models hallucinate (and how to prevent it)• What synthetic data is—and why it matters• How vibe coding works and what agents can actually do• What MCP, inference, and tokens are in plain EnglishReferenced• A complete guide on RLHF• AGI vs ASI• Andrej Karpathy on LLMs• Andrej Karpathy on vibe coding• Anthropic’s guide on building effective agents• Anthropic’s guide to reducing hallucinations• Fine-tuning vs RAG vs prompt engineering• Guide to model context protocol (MCP)• How LLMs work• How fine-tuning works• How top models tokenize words• How training and pre-training works• Ilya Sutskever on AGI• Ilya Sutskever on next-word prediction• Lenny’s Podcast on prompt engineering• Make product management fun again with AI agents• RLHF explainer• Sam Altman on synthetic data• Technical deep dive on transformers• What are transformers?Subscribe: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyFollow Lenny: Twitter/X | LinkedIn | PodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny’s Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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How tech’s most resilient workers handle burnout
If you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comThree weeks ago, Noam Segal and I shared data showing that 84% of tech workers feel burned out. That left one big question: Who are the 16% who aren’t?This episode is their playbook. We analyzed 175 follow-up surveys and spoke with 15 “burnout conquerors” to understand how they’ve cracked the code.In this episode, you’ll learn• The five-part “ARMOR” framework for burnout protection• The habits, systems, and beliefs that keep burnout at bay• How to set boundaries that actually hold• How to prioritize mental and physical wellbeing, without guilt• Early warning signals that most people miss• How to take rhythmic, reflective, and restorative breaks• How to choose roles based on energy, not ego• Why relationships, not perks are your best defenseReferences• Conversations online about the first sentiment survey• How tech workers really feel about work right now• Make product management fun again with AI agents• Managing up• The burnout check• The “How I Work” templateSubscribe: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyFollow Lenny: Twitter/X | LinkedIn | PodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny’s Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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How to get your entire team prototyping with AI
If you’re a premium subscriber• Add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comAboutColin Matthews was a longtime PM and is the creator of my favorite AI prototyping course, AI Prototyping for Product Managers. He already has two posts in my all-time top 10 — and I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes his third.In this post, Colin shares his hands-on playbook for turning AI prototyping from scattered experiments into a repeatable, team-wide workflow.In this episode, you’ll learn• Colin’s go-to template prompt for rapid prototyping• A six-step guide for shipping fast• How to build reusable component libraries for high-quality mocks• Three tactics to generate better components• What “baselines and forks” are and how they streamline workflows• Where prototypes fit into the product development lifecycle• Common mistakes teams make with AI tooling• Plus: time-saving prompts, tool comparisons, and a better way to add your logoReferenced• Read this post• AI prototyping for product managers• A guide to AI prototyping for product managers• Become a more technical product manager• Bolt• Book a place in Colin’s free 45-minute live online class, coming up on July 8th• Book a place in Colin’s AI Prototyping for Product Managers, which kicks off again on June 30th (use code LENNYSLIST to get $100 off)• Book Colin for one-day team workshops• Cursor• Figma’s MCP• Magic Patterns• Unsplash• v0Subscribe: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyFollow Lenny: Twitter/X | LinkedIn | PodcastFollow Colin: LinkedIn To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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