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

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 • Airtable ProductCentral—Launch to new heights with a unified system for product development • OneSchema—Import CSV data 10x faster — Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-operators-guide-to-product-strategy-chandra-janakiraman — Where to find Chandra Janakiraman: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandramohanj/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/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/good-strategy-bad-strategy-richard • 5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-strategy-roger-martin • VRChat: https://hello.vrchat.com/ • Andrew Chen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmandrewchen/ • Template: Working Backwards PR FAQ: https://www.workingbackwards.com/resources/working-backwards-pr-faq • How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen • 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/making-time-for-what-matters-jake • Identify your bullseye customer in one day | Michael Margolis (UX Research Partner at Google Ventures): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/finding-your-bullseye-customer-michael-margolis • Chandra’s flow chart: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SLmQ0oRFadzJnNM3MJetnLUvB18U4W4GXU4KtJ2ujEQ/edit?tab=t.0 • Chandra’s strategy template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNeYUaMnpicvkpVZO-gj9cCxLeHfWN0xtGm_QoxgemE/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.5d3jz6v86yrs • Zynga: https://www.zynga.com/ • David Foster Wallace’s quote about water: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/97082-there-are-these-two-young-fish-swimming-along-and-they • Oculus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oculus • Elon Musk’s quote: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wf8TadbGYok • Concept car: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_car • Acquired podcast: The Mark Zuckerberg interview: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-mark-zuckerberg-interview • Armand Ruiz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armand-ruiz/ • What is a multi-armed bandit? Full explanation: https://amplitude.com/explore/experiment/multi-armed-bandit • IF on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/IF-John-Krasinski/dp/B0CW19SCVW • Dune: Part 2 on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/dune-part-two/umc.cmc.363aycnv6vy9qgekvew6fveb9 • Dune Prophecy on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/dune-prophecy-2024/57660b16-a32a-476f-89da-3302ac379e91 • Capybara Go on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/capybara-go/id6596787726 • Bluesky: https://bsky.app/ • Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Lost-Interview/dp/B01IJD1BES — Recommended books: • The Art of War: https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/1599869772 • Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors: https://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-Industries-Competitors/dp/0684841487/ • Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-Difference-Matters/dp/0307886239/ • Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X • Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Time-Focus-Matters-Every/dp/0525572422 • Sprint: https://www.amazon.com/SPRINT-Jake-Zeratsky-Knapp/dp/0593076117 • Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination: https://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Triumph-American-Imagination/dp/0679757473 • Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration: https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Expanded-Overcoming-Inspiration/dp/0593594649/ • 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 podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe