Why your AI product needs a different development lifecycle
In this episode, Aishwarya Reganti and Kiriti Badam introduce a powerful new framework for building AI products: the Continuous Calibration/Continuous Development (CC/CD) framework.If you’ve ever shipped an AI demo that looked magical but struggled to scale, this framework will resonate. The CC/CD framework provides a practical and structured approach to navigating these realities and building AI systems that are stable, intentional, and trustworthy.Listen: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreadsApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypToojNewsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeIn this episode, you’ll learn:• The two core differences every AI builder must account for: non-determinism and the agency–control tradeoff• The six phases of the CC/CD loop• How to scope capabilities across different versions of your product to gradually earn trust and agency• The role of reference datasets in taming unpredictability and guiding evals• How to design application-specific evals that act as the equivalent of tests for AI• Why control handoffs are essential for maintaining user trust• How to transform deployment from a finish line into the start of continuous calibration• Why you should never “jump to full agency” before the system earns it• How to apply the CC/CD loop with real-world examples: customer support, marketing assistants, and coding copilotsReferences:• Beyond vibe checks: A PM’s complete guide to evals: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/beyond-vibe-checks-a-pms-complete• “Building agentic AI applications with a problem-first approach” [Maven course]: https://maven.com/aishwarya-kiriti/genai-system-design• Cursor: https://cursor.com• “Don’t build AI products like traditional software” [Free lightning talk]: https://maven.com/p/88a325/don-t-build-ai-products-like-traditional-software• GitHub Copilot: https://github.com/features/copilot• Why premature pptimization is the root of all evil: https://stackify.com/premature-optimization-evil/• Why your AI product needs a different development lifecycle: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/48e7fb02-1fc1-4bb7-bf85-85f4165e8225 To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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Essential reading for product builders—part 2
If you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comIn this episode, I share another 10 must-read essays that continue to shape how I think about product, startups, and career.Whether you’re scaling a startup, leading a team, or sharpening your thinking, this episode will expand your perspective and give you practical tools you can use immediately.Listen now:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreadsApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypToojSubstack: https://lennysreads.com/In this episode, you’ll learn:• Why solving the right problem for the right audience is obvious - yet essential• Why leaders must take full responsibility for any communication discrepancies• How to use the SCQA (Situation, Complication, Question, Answer) framework for concise, persuasive messaging• Why sales, often overlooked, is critical to your product’s success• A tremendously clarifying way to think about your market• The four types of “fit” every startup needs• What we get wrong about our definition of a startup• How to start giving away your Legos• How reframing what you’re selling can strengthen your positioning• What “Schlep blindness” is - and how founders can avoid itReferences:References:• Building Products: https://medium.com/the-year-of-the-looking-glass/building-products-91aa93bea4bb• Communication is the Job: https://boz.com/articles/communication-is-the-job• Distribution: https://a16z.com/distribution/• Eigenquestions: The Art of Framing Problems: https://coda.io/@shishir/eigenquestions-the-art-of-framing-problems• Executive Communication: https://www.heavybit.com/library/video/executive-communication/• Give Away Your Legos: https://review.firstround.com/give-away-your-legos-and-other-commandments-for-scaling-startups/• How to Work with Designers: https://medium.com/the-year-of-the-looking-glass/how-to-work-with-designers-6c975dede146• Product Management Mental Models for Everyone: https://blackboxofpm.com/product-management-mental-models-for-everyone-31e7828cb50b• Schlep Blindness: https://www.paulgraham.com/schlep.html• Startup = Growth: https://paulgraham.com/growth.html• The Four Fits: https://brianbalfour.com/four-fits-growth-framework• The Market Curve: https://medium.com/sequoia-capital/the-market-curve-44097b626f6d• The Next Feature Fallacy: https://andrewchen.com/the-next-feature-fallacy-the-fallacy-that-the-next-new-feature-will-suddenly-make-people-use-your-product/• We Don’t Sell Saddles Here: https://medium.com/@stewart/we-dont-sell-saddles-here-4c59524d650d• What Makes a Strong Product Culture?: https://www.bringthedonuts.com/essays/what-makes-a-strong-product-culture/ To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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25 proven tactics to accelerate AI adoption at your company
If you're a premium subscriber, get the full episodes in your podcast feed by visiting https://add.lennysreads.comRead the full post: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/c674cb15-93c5-44f0-9a11-33ca626b8179Peter Yang interviewed leaders at six of the most AI-forward companies—Zapier, Ramp, Duolingo, Shopify, Intercom, and Whoop—to uncover 25 real-world tactics for driving employee AI adoption. If your team is still struggling to get value from AI tools, this episode is packed with practical advice, internal playbooks, and strategies you can use right away.In this episode, you’ll learn• The five steps to driving AI adoption at your company• Why vague AI-first mandates don’t work—and what to do instead• How to track and reward adoption, usage, and outcomes• How to cut through red tape and unblock company-wide access• How to turn AI power users into internal teachers• Which high-impact tasks top companies are automating first• What separates real AI adoption from flashy demo theaterReferences• Gallup poll: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/691643/work-nearly-doubled-two-years.aspx• Hilary Gridley’s 30 days of GPT: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zJ4rbi9YcQuGqGxc6-AQD0-44oT9l4Eyono0AdpgJbA/edit?gid=0#gid=0• How Zapier measures AI fluency: https://x.com/wadefoster/status/1930680089651425452• Tobi Lütke’s AI memo: https://x.com/tobi/status/1909251946235437514?lang=en• Zapier’s code red playbook: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zbkjL0d-ev87PO0yKJBBMlliByVaUIREKNQfvtVwXbg/ To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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Build your personal AI copilot
If you're a premium subscriber, get the full episodes in your podcast feed by visiting https://add.lennysreads.comRead the full post: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/build-your-personal-ai-copilotTal Raviv went from an AI skeptic to teaching over 20,000 tech workers how to use AI to move faster at work. In this episode, he shares a step-by-step guide to building your own AI copilot using ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or M365 Copilot. If you're still wondering how to leverage AI, start here.In this episode, you'll learn• How AI copilots become thinking partners that know you and your work inside out• Why Tal prefers the term context engineering• The four-step framework for building a useful copilot• Dozens of example prompts for strategic thinking, learning, and productivity• How to output structured documents, prototypes, and automations• How to create a copilot that gets smarter with every project• What's next: AI copilots that push you to be betterReferences• A guide to AI prototyping for product managers: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/a-guide-to-ai-prototyping-for-product• Becoming a super IC: Lessons from 12 years as a PM individual contributor | Tal Raviv: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFhurV1l6Jk&t=975s• How Experienced Growth PMs Analyze Data with AI: https://maven.com/p/eddc27/how-experienced-growth-p-ms-analyze-data-with-ai• How to book Tal for one-day team workshops: https://talraviv.co/• Make product management fun again with AI agents: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/162096097/ai-agent-builder-prompt• Oleksii Monchyk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oleksii-monchyk-91ba09171/?originalSubdomain=de• OpenAI researcher on why soft skills are the future of work | Karina Nguyen: https://youtu.be/DeskgjrLxxs?si=4boISMhdv6pSkiOc&t=3071• Product manager is an unfair role. So work unfairly: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/151079492/get-a-head-start-on-discovery-with-product-scrapbooking• Student Example #1: Career development copilot for women: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sblODeX-FGk• Student Example #2: Onboarding copilot for new PMs: https://darshen.substack.com/p/the-pm-onboarding-copilot• Tal’s “Build Your Personal PM Productivity System & AI Copilot” course in September: https://maven.com/tal-raviv/product-manager-productivity-system?promoCode=LENNYSLIST (use code LENNYSLIST for $100 off)• Tal’s free guide and live demos of advanced copilot use cases: https://talraviv.co/• Tal’s upcoming free lightning lesson on how to use Cursor as a PM copilot: https://maven.com/p/0a96cb/cursor-isn-t-just-for-coding-how-ai-native-p-ms-workListen: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads | Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693 | Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj | Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribeFollow Lenny: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ | Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastFollow Tal: Twitter/X: https://x.com/talraviv | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsravivWelcome 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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Essential reading for product builders—part 1
If you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comI share seven timeless essays that have shaped how I think about product, startups, and career. These are the pieces I quote often, revisit regularly, and think about long after reading. You likely haven’t come across most of them—but they’re must-reads for any … To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
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