Introducing the GAIN framework for feedback: an evidence-based approach to giving feedback that people love, appreciate, and act on
If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comIf feedback is a gift, why does it often feel so difficult?In this episode, we break down executive coach Jack Cohen’s evidence-based GAIN framework - a simple, memorable way to give feedback that actually lands.Whether you manage a team or want to nudge a peer, this is a step-by-step playbook for feedback that strengthens relationships, drives behavior change, and leaves people feeling supported and motivated to change.In this episode, you’ll learn:• Why we struggle to give tough feedback• How “start with the Goal” flips defensiveness into motivation• Why great feedback names Actions and Impacts, not judgments• How acknowledging your contribution disarms resistance• Scripts that make tough conversations feel collaborative• A framing that helps preserve ambition and psychological safety• A Stanford-tested “wise feedback” sentence that boosts follow-through• The 3 Ws framework to lock in change• A live case study: a VP uses GAIN to unwind a founder’s micromanaging habitReferences:• Amy Edmondson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amycedmondson/• “Breaking the cycle of mistrust: Wise interventions to provide critical feedback across the racial divide”: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-28213-001• Brian Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-e-martin-50575a2b/• Carol Dweck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-dweck-4618236/• Cycle of conflict or cycle of connection?: https://speakerdeck.com/jackcohen/cycle-of-conflict-or-cycle-of-connection• FeedbackGPT: https://maven.com/p/6f79f8/feedback-gpt-give-feedback-people-thank-you-for• “Framing for Learning: Lessons in Successful Technology Implementation: https://www.notion.so/27d43d3a2709810a9f8de040eea2b01a?pvs=21”• How to become a supermanager with AI: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-become-a-supermanager-with• How to motivate your team for free: https://actionablewisdom.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-motivate-your-team-for-free• Jack Cohen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackadamcohen/• John Gottman: https://www.gottman.com/author/john-gottman-ph-d/• ManagerGPT: The AI Tools and Human Systems to Scale Yourself and Your Team Fast: https://maven.com/actionablefeedback/managergpt• Nischal Nadhamuni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishchaln/• Nonviolent Communication (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Life-Changing-Relationships/dp/189200528X• “On the elicitation of preferences for alternative therapies”: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7070445/• “Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9686450/”• Radical Candor (book): https://www.amazon.ca/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509• Satya Nadella: https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella/• Sheryl Sandberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-sandberg-5126652/• Slack: https://slack.com/• Stanford University: https://www.stanford.edu/• Tal Raviv: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsraviv/• “The effectiveness of the “But-you-are-free” technique: Meta-analysis and re-examination of the technique: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344807911_The_effectiveness_of_the_But-you-are-free_technique_Meta-analysis_and_re-examination_of_the_technique”• The Founder’s Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup (book): https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Dilemmas-Anticipating-Foundation-Entrepreneurship/dp/0691158304• The GAIN Feedback Template: https://maven.com/p/ad08cc/the-gain-feedback-template• Read the newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/introducing-the-gain-framework-forSubscribe• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.comFollow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome 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
--------
34:40
--------
34:40
How to get the most out of your product pass, part 1
If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comIf you’ve been wondering how to get real value from the subscriber product pass, this episode is for you. I break down exactly how I’m using eight of the tools today - from what they’re great at, what surprised me, and where they slot into a modern PM’s stack. Consider this your field guide to turning these tools into real workflow improvementsIn this episode, you’ll learn:• What each tool actually does for PMs (beyond the tagline): where it shines vs. falls short• How to vibe code entire apps with Replit, including auth, DB, testing, and auto-fix loops• Why Warp turns your terminal into an agentic sidekick• Linear’s sweet spot for teams• When voice beats typing: workflows where Wispr Flow is faster and more accurate• Rapid content creation with Gamma 3.0, including decks, landing pages, and shareable summaries• Fast prototyping with Magic Patterns using your own component library• How non-video-people ship great video with Descript + Underlord• Smart real-life examples of how PMs and teams are using each tool right nowReferences:• Read the post: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-product• A peek at an upcoming episode on evals: https://the-rise-of-ai-evals-q62i0s7.gamma.site/• Announcing 15+ free premium tools available exclusively to paid annual subscribers: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/productpass• Ben Horowitz’s episode on leadership: https://gamma.app/docs/10-Hard-Truths-That-Built-Billion-Dollar-Companies-onh55jsg26xrzp5• Brendan Foody’s story of Mercor: https://ai-revolutions-hidden-bo-3k6n3li.gamma.site/• Creating a unique resume: https://suchita-kaundin-bsb2sbo.gamma.site/• Ethan Smith’s episode on AEO: https://gamma.app/docs/Mastering-Answer-Engine-Optimization-n4gxgak9z9tpzhc• Lenny’s product pass: https://lennysproductpass.com/• Turning PRDs into decks: https://x.com/clairevo/status/1968002491724988923• Yoto: https://us.yotoplay.com/Tools + use-case examples:Descript: https://descript.com/lenny• Creating ads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvBGR5cSeNw• Creating avatar-based demos: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/burkhauser_guys-now-on-descript-you-can-instantly-create-activity-7320888554761453568-Eex_• Adding big juicy text to videos: https://youtube.com/shorts/phEBSCJP8xw• Creating a rough cut with AI: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RtC7_wQ1Arg• Creating YouTube Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rXZkt6YkZw• Underlord example: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fatemeh-alavizadeh_ever-wonder-how-ai-actually-thinks-about-activity-7350929550232444928-fc6sGamma: https://gamma.app/partners/lenny• Gamma 3.0: https://x.com/thisisgrantlee/status/1967943621782413388• Generating custom decks for each sales outreach: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/yonathan-cohen_gamma-30-just-dropped-i-built-a-29-reply-activity-7373718410439942144-sKqM/• Creating landing pages: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/charlie-hills_how-to-make-a-landing-page-in-5-minutes-activity-7321473049843621888-BTLe/• Turning meeting notes into a deck and follow-up email: https://x.com/riyazmd774/status/1967978262015160802• The story of Gamma: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/20/technology/ai-silicon-valley-start-ups.html• Turn Granola notes into presentations with Gamma: https://zapier.com/templates/details/meeting-notes-to-presentations-granola-gammaLinear: https://linear.app/• Claire at ChatPRD on building an agent in Linear: https://linear.app/integrations/chatprd• How Commure is building dashboards to monitor their team’s progress: https://linear.app/now/commure-dashboards in Linear• Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products with Nan Yu (their Head of Product): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTr21kgCFF4• How Linear uses Linear to manage their own customer feedback: https://linear.app/now/how-we-think-about-customer-experience-at-linearMagic Patterns: https://magicpatterns.link/lpp1• Copy-and-pasting PRDs, creating a Magic Patterns prototype, and then: https://magicpatterns.link/llp1x sharing with engineering• Creating personalized customer demos: https://magicpatterns.link/lpp1lu• Skipping Figma entirely: https://magicpatterns.link/llp1jh when prototyping• Magic Patterns tutorials: https://www.magicpatterns.com/docs/documentation/ai-prototyping-course/introductionMobbin: https://mobbin.com/lenny• Copy-and-pasting best-in-class flows into your Figma: https://youtu.be/E4idM0hC_AY?si=tJA95mUdzSmya0Wa&t=1537• Designing a viral app: https://youtu.be/T64X2GUoDwc?si=8f98NKkKPygr9QHS&t=360• Elevating your design taste: https://youtu.be/8mMH6Pq8qnE?si=xCt-KLIZsOhxrV-v&t=533• Getting design inspiration: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3px5ESAwxA/• Studying in the best way: https://x.com/rexan_wong/status/1967789508717650388Replit: https://replit.com/?utm_source=lenny&utm_medium=lenny&utm_campaign=v2• Building a fully featured website for Saastr: https://x.com/jasonlk/status/1967408276825575753• Building a social networking platform (in 193 minutes): https://x.com/anthropiast/status/1966109218479714593• Coming up with startup ideas: https://x.com/daniel_mac8/status/1966260595143094534• Vibe-coding automations: https://x.com/omarsar0/status/1966949907149058551• Taking on Upwork projects: https://x.com/niconley/status/1966505076849074618Warp: http://go.warp.dev/lenny• How Warp helps a dad teach his kids how to build websites: https://x.com/some_user123/status/1950443062016041377• Building a Strava clone: https://youtu.be/cmHheGcDWTQ• Converting MRI imaging files to JPEGs: https://x.com/aaronwhite/status/1958281839333794057?s=46• Warp tutorials: https://warp.dev/universityWispr Flow: https://wisprflow.ai/• Doctors transcribing their notes: https://x.com/RutaB_/status/1956099269544567236• Slow typers speeding up their workflows: https://x.com/rywiggs/status/1937991165217017879• Talking to chatbots: https://x.com/MatthewGattozzi/status/1967952481419403609• Vibe coding: https://x.com/tankots/status/1891138380404060298• Writing: https://x.com/deedydas/status/1930130567649210879 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
--------
9:23
--------
9:23
How to develop product sense
If you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comIn this episode, we unpack the elusive skill of product sense: what it really means, why it matters, and exactly how to build it. With hard-earned wisdom from Jules Walter (Slack, YouTube), we go beyond vague instincts and into concrete habits that sharpen your intuition and creativity as a product builder.Listen now: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyIn this episode, you’ll learn:* Why product sense isn’t magic: it’s a muscle you can train* How to build product sense by developing deeper user empathy* Why watching real users interact with products sharpens your intuition* How to reverse-engineer everyday products to uncover what makes them work* How creativity plays a key role in building great products* What you can learn by studying how top product thinkers make decisions* Why staying curious about new technology trends fuels innovation* How to tell if your product sense is actually improving over timeReferences:* A comprehensive survey of Product Management* Anthropic* Are You Solving the Right Problems?* Balaji Srinivasan* Bangaly Kaba* Braze* Camille Edwards* Cash App* Carta* Courtney Lessard* David Lieb* Elad Gil* Erin Teague* How to Do a Product Critique* How to Get Startup Ideas* Inspired* Intro to the Design of Everyday Things* Jules Walter* Julie Zhuo* Lawrence Ripsher* Marty Cagan* Naval Ravikant* Paul Graham* Rahul Vohra* Shreyas Doshi* Slack* Stewart Butterfield* Stripe* Superhuman* Textract (Amazon)* The First Secret of Great Design* Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg* Todd Sherman* Tony Fadell* Uber* Venmo* Why now 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
--------
19:43
--------
19:43
Building eval systems that improve your AI product
If you’re a premium subscriber, add the private feed to your podcast app at https://add.lennysreads.comIn this episode, we dive into the fast-emerging discipline of AI evaluation with Hamel Husain and Shreya Shankar, creators of AI Evals for Engineers & PMs, the #1 highest-grossing course on Maven.After training 2000+ PMs and engineers across 500+ companies, Hamel and Shreya reveal the complete playbook for building evaluations that actually improve your AI product: moving beyond vanity dashboards, to a system that drives continuous improvement.In this episode, you’ll learn:• Why most AI eval dashboards fail to deliver real product improvements• How to use error analysis to uncover your product’s most critical failure modes• The role of a “principal domain expert” in setting a consistent quality bar• Techniques for transforming messy error notes into a clean taxonomy of failures• When to use code-based checks vs. LLM-as-a-judge evaluators• How to build trust in your evals with human-labeled ground-truth datasets• Why binary pass/fail labels outperform Likert scales in practice• Evaluation strategies for complex systems: multi-turn conversations, RAG pipelines, and agentic workflows• How CI safety nets and production monitoring work together to create a flywheel of continuous product improvementReferences:• Read the newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-eval-systems-that-improve• AI Evals for Engineers & PMs: https://maven.com/parlance-labs/evals• A Field Guide to Rapidly Improving AI Products: https://hamel.dev/blog/posts/field-guide/• Aligning LLM-Assisted Evaluation of LLM Outputs with Human Preferences: https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.12272• Aman Khan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanberkeley/• Anthropic: https://www.anthropic.com/• Arize Phoenix: https://phoenix.arize.com/• Braintrust: https://www.braintrust.dev/• Beyond vibe checks: A PM’s complete guide to evals: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/beyond-vibe-checks-a-pms-complete• Frequently Asked Questions (And Answers) About AI Evals: https://hamel.dev/blog/posts/evals-faq/• Hamel Husain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamelhusain/• LangSmith: https://smith.langchain.com/• Not Dead Yet: On RAG: https://hamel.dev/notes/llm/rag/not_dead.html• OpenAI: https://openai.com/• Shreya Shankar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrshnk/Listen:• 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/@lennyspodcastSubscribe• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreads• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypTooj• Substack: https://lennysreads.com/Follow Lenny• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@lennyspodcastAboutWelcome 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
--------
21:41
--------
21:41
How to find the perfect name
In this episode, naming expert David Placek shares his foundational principles that helped him create some of the world’s most iconic brands: BlackBerry, Azure, Sonos, and Impossible Foods, to name a few.Whether you’re launching a new company or naming a product, this episode will sharpen how you think about brand strategy and help you avoid costly mistakes.If you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.com: https://add.lennysreads.com/Listen now: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lennysreadsApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lennys-reads/id1810314693Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IIunA06qMtrcQLfypToojIn this episode, you’ll learn:• Why naming is the single highest-leverage brand decision you’ll make• The 3 pillars of effective names• How invented names outperform descriptive ones (and cost less to build)• Why brainstorming rarely works - and what to do instead• The story behind Intel’s Pentium and how one name changed the industry• Why “Swiffer” made mopping fun• How Vercel went from “Zeit” to a name built for momentum• The 6 challenges every name must overcome in today’s AI-driven world• What not to do: common naming traps that lead to forgettable brandsReferences:• AMD: https://www.amd.com/• Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com/• BlackBerry: https://www.blackberry.com/• Codeium: https://codeium.com/• Dell: https://www.dell.com/• HP: https://www.hp.com/• Impossible Foods: https://impossiblefoods.com/• Intel: https://www.intel.com/• Lexicon Branding: https://www.lexiconbranding.com/• Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/• Navan: https://navan.com/• Procter & Gamble: https://us.pg.com/• Sonos: https://www.sonos.com/• Subaru: https://www.subaru.com/• Vercel: https://vercel.com/ To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
UK