Why Uber’s CPO delivers food on weekends | Sachin Kansal

Key Concepts

Dogfooding, Ship-Ship-Ship Mentality, End-User Empathy, Product Sense, Cycle Time, Hybrid Network (AVs and Human Drivers), Concentric Circles (Core vs. Growth Bets), Input vs. Output Metrics.

Dogfooding at Uber: A Deep Dive

Sachin Kansal, CPO at Uber, emphasizes the importance of "dogfooding" – using the company's products extensively – to understand user pain points and improve the user experience.

Scale of Dogfooding: Kansal personally takes 5-10 Uber rides and places around 3 Uber Eats orders weekly. More significantly, he drives and delivers as an Uber driver/courier once or twice a month, completing 10-12 rides/deliveries each time. He estimates having done 700-800 driving/delivery trips.
Documentation and Follow-Through: After each dogfooding session, Kansal meticulously documents his experiences with screenshots and detailed notes in dedicated documents (driver, rider, Uber Eats). He tags relevant team members and actively follows up on reported issues to ensure they are addressed. He has been known to write 40-page reports.
Rationale: Dogfooding provides a "visceral reaction" to product flaws, allowing Kansal to experience the frustrations and inefficiencies that drivers and couriers face. This emotional connection fuels his drive to improve the product. He emphasizes that if he faces an issue in 10 trips, it's likely happening millions of times to Uber's 8 million drivers/couriers globally.
Culture of Dogfooding: While Kansal leads by example, Uber aims to foster a company-wide culture of dogfooding, especially among leaders. The goal is not just to fix specific features but to instill a mindset of continuous improvement and empathy for users.

Operationalizing Dogfooding at Uber

Uber has implemented several strategies to operationalize dogfooding and integrate it into the company culture:

Leadership by Example: Kansal and other leaders actively participate in dogfooding, setting an example for the rest of the company.
Central Organization: Uber assists employees in becoming Uber drivers, addressing regulatory hurdles and providing necessary information.
Organized Events: Uber organizes quarterly "driving and delivery weeks" with competitions for the most trips and feedback, incentivizing participation.
OKRs for Fixes: Uber sets Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) specifically for fixing issues identified through dogfooding. Each team (driver, rider, Uber Eats) commits to fixing a certain number of issues (e.g., 300) every six months. While the exact number is less important, the commitment to fixing issues is key.
Resource Allocation: Resources are allocated to "fix-it" projects, ensuring they are not neglected in favor of growth-focused initiatives.

The Importance of "Ship, Ship, Ship"

Kansal emphasizes the importance of rapid iteration and deployment, encapsulated in the motto "ship, ship, ship."

Rationale: Dogfooding and documentation are only valuable if they lead to tangible improvements in the product. The ultimate goal is to ship code that addresses user pain points.
Minimizing Cycle Time: Kansal's "biggest enemy" is the cycle time between identifying a problem and delivering a solution to users.
Decision-Making Efficiency: Kansal focuses on streamlining decision-making processes to reduce cycle time. He advocates for quick decisions on "two-way door" issues (easily reversible) and more deliberation for "one-way door" issues (difficult to reverse).
Hands-on Leadership: Kansal provides examples of stepping in to unblock teams, such as running daily stand-ups during a driver shortage and writing a 15-page PRD over a weekend to clarify a stalled project.
Live Demos: Kansal insists on live demos for product announcements to ensure rigor and showcase the product's value to end users. Live demos also create a sense of pride within the product and engineering teams.

Career Advice for Product Managers

Kansal offers several key pieces of advice for early-career product managers:

Prioritize Shipping: Seek out roles where you can ship multiple products quickly (3-5 product cycles in 2-3 years). Focus on execution and iteration.
Master Micro-Decisions: Great product managers are defined by the thousands of micro-decisions they make (button placement, copy, launch location), not just a few strategic ideas.
Develop Product Sense: Rapid iteration and shipping help develop an innate sense of judgment ("gut feel"), which differentiates good product managers from great ones.
Embrace Co-creation: Engineers should be equal partners in the product development process, co-creating solutions rather than simply executing PRDs.

The Impact of AI on Product Management

Kansal acknowledges that AI is rapidly changing product management, making tasks like market research, PRD writing, and user research easier. However, he believes that understanding end-user needs and developing product sense will remain crucial.

AI Tools: Uber uses ChatGPT and Gemini for summarization, prototyping, and user research.
Deep Research: Kansal highlights the "deep research" feature in AI tools as a valuable resource for brainstorming and identifying potential issues with product ideas.
Importance of Judgment: In the age of AI, judgment and product sense will become even more important, requiring product managers to develop these skills through rapid iteration and learning.

Uber's Vision for the Future with Autonomous Vehicles (AVs)

Uber envisions a hybrid network that combines human drivers and AVs.

Partner-Oriented Approach: Uber has divested its self-driving unit and is partnering with multiple AV companies (e.g., Waymo, WeRide, May Mobility).
Hybrid Network: Uber's platform integrates AVs and human drivers, leveraging Uber's demand density to ensure high utilization of AVs and providing surge capacity with human drivers during peak demand.
Long-Term Need for Human Drivers: Kansal believes that human drivers will be needed for a long time due to limitations in AV technology, regulatory hurdles, and Uber's commitment to providing earnings opportunities on its platform.
Expanding Earnings Opportunities: Uber is expanding earning opportunities beyond driving and delivery, including grocery delivery and partnerships with retailers like Walmart.

Uber's Shift to Efficiency and Profitability

Uber's shift to profitability involved a cultural change and a focus on efficiency.

Cost-Cutting Measures: Uber implemented various cost-cutting measures, such as batching trips, optimizing promotions, and reducing support costs.
Innovation and Efficiency: The pursuit of efficiency led to innovation in core marketplace logic and other areas.
Concentric Circles Framework: Uber uses a "concentric circles" framework to prioritize investments. The core product (rides and delivery) is the center, and growth bets (e.g., Uber Eats, Uber Groceries) are pursued in concentric circles around the core.
Divestments: Uber divested from Uber Elevate and its self-driving unit to focus on its core business.

Gut-Based Decisions at Uber

Kansal shares examples of successful decisions that were not supported by data:

Focus on Safety Sentiment: In addition to reducing safety incidents, Uber invested in features that made users feel safer, which improved overall safety sentiment.
Integration with Taxis: Despite data suggesting the decline of the taxi industry, Uber integrated with taxis, creating a valuable partnership.
Uber for Teenagers: Despite concerns about safety and liability, Uber launched Uber for Teenagers, addressing a significant transportation need for families.

AI Corner: Sachin's Favorite AI Tool

Sachin's favorite AI tool is the "deep research" feature in ChatGPT and Gemini. He uses it to brainstorm product ideas, identify potential issues, and gain insights from user research.

Fail Corner: Lessons from Palm

Kansal reflects on his time at Palm, where the company failed to compete with Apple and Google in the smartphone market.

Key Learnings:
- In consumer markets, it's difficult to compete as a number three or number four player.
- Speed, hustle, and resilience are crucial for success.
- Never take the status quo for granted.

Sachin's Unique Take on End Users

Kansal emphasizes that the relationship with end users is not reciprocal. End users are primarily focused on their own lives and problems, not on your product. Therefore, it's crucial to make the most of the brief moments when they do interact with your product, providing a seamless and memorable experience.

Lightning Round Highlights

Recommended Books: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk biography by Ashlee Vance, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz.
Favorite TV Show: Peaky Blinders.
Favorite Recent Product: Deep research feature in ChatGPT.
Favorite Life Motto: "Focus on the inputs."
Tip for Food Delivery Customers: Turn on the porch light at night.

Synthesis/Conclusion

Sachin Kansal's approach to product management is characterized by a deep commitment to understanding and empathizing with end users, a relentless focus on rapid iteration and deployment, and a willingness to challenge conventional wisdom. His emphasis on dogfooding, combined with a data-driven approach and a strong sense of product sense, has been instrumental in Uber's success. His insights on building a culture of dogfooding, prioritizing efficiency, and navigating the future of transportation offer valuable lessons for product leaders in any industry.