Today's guest: Julie Zhuo, Former VP of Product Design at Facebook, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of "The Making of a Manager," and now AI product leader at Sundial "Is the product designer role going to exist in 10 years? Is the product manager role going to exist in 10 years?" That's Julie Zhuo asking the existential questions every product leader is thinking but afraid to voice. Julie spent 13 years at Facebook, starting as an IC designer and rising to VP of Product Design. She wrote the Wall Street Journal bestseller " The Making of a Manager. " Today, she's building AI products at Sundial and working with companies like OpenAI. In our conversation, she breaks down: * How AI is killing traditional product roles * The timeless management principles that still matter * What makes a great AI product leader * How to build product taste when AI gets better than you This isn't just about adapting to new tools. It's about reimagining what product development looks like when one person can do what used to take a whole team. ---- Check out the conversation on Apple , Spotify and YouTube . Mobbin: Discover real-world design inspiration Jira Product Discovery: Build the right thing, reliably Product Faculty : Product Strategic Certificate for Leaders (Get $550 off) The AI Evals Course for PMs & Engineers : You get $800 with this link ---- Timestamps 00:00 Intro 02:30 The Death of Product Development 08:42 Learn The Craft 15:02 ADS 17:00 Definition of a Managers's Job 21:12 Julie's Thoughts on AI Agents 28:12 Blindspots While switching from IC to Manger 30:40 ADS 35:48 The Three Levers That Never Change 41:20 What is Feedback 46:43 How AI is Changing the Domain 52:49 What Makes Great AI Product Leaders Different 1:00:55 Essential AI Tools Every Leader Should Master 1:09:15 Lessons from OpenAI's Product Team 1:15:55 Outro ---- Key Takeaways 1. Stop Thinking in Roles, Start Thinking Skills. The future belongs to builders who combine unique strengths with AI capabilities, not people attached to traditional job titles like PM or designer. 2. Taste Becomes the Critical Differentiator. When AI can do many things well, your ability to recognize exceptional work versus average output becomes your most valuable skill. 3. The Three Management Levers Still Apply. People, process, and purpose remain the core levers. AI agents just add new tools within the "people" lever you need to manage. 4. Face Reality to Build Trust. Create environments where teams can confront what's really happening. Thank messengers who bring problems instead of shooting them. 5. Conviction + Humility Balance. Have strong conviction in your process and vision, but stay humble enough to accept feedback and iterate based on what you learn. 6. Be a Beginner Again. Even experienced product leaders need to earn their stripes in the AI era. The willingness to learn matters more than past success. 7. Lead Through Experimentation. This isn't a playbook era. Try new team structures, new workflows, new approaches. Nobody has all the answers yet. 8. Master AI Tools in Your Workflow. Don't just use ChatGPT occasionally. Actively disrupt your old systems and use AI throughout your daily work processes. 9. Learn from OpenAI's Approach. They work seven days a week, obsess over understanding user behavior data, and maintain rigorous weekly metrics reviews for alignment. 10. Focus on What Remains Human. The joy of creation, learning processes, and meaning we derive from building things we're proud of can't be automated away. ---- Related Content Podcasts: Full Roadmap: Become an AI PM Complete Course: AI Product Management How to Become, and Succeed as, an AI PM | The Marily Nika Episode Newsletters: How to become an AI Product Manager How to Write a Killer AI Product Manager Resume How to Become an AI Product Manager with No Experience ---- P.S. More than 85% of you aren't subscribed yet. If you can subscribe on YouTube , follow on Apple & Spotify , my commitment to you is that we'll continue making this content better. ---- If you want to advertise, email productgrowthppp at gmail. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe
