Tomer Cohen is the chief product officer at LinkedIn, responsible for setting the company’s product strategy, leading product development, user experience design, business development, content creation, and customer operations. He also hosts the Building One podcast, where he interviews exceptional builders across various disciplines. In our conversation, we discuss: • How LinkedIn transformed its feed into an engaging content and social platform • Tomer’s famous “We might be wrong, but we are not confused” mantra • The importance of conviction and passion in product leadership • LinkedIn’s approach to experimenting with and implementing AI features • Lessons from Tomer’s rapid career progression at LinkedIn • Strategies for embracing AI in product development — Brought to you by: • Gamma—A new way to present, powered by AI: https://gamma.app/ • WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs: https://workos.com/lenny • Merge—A single API to add hundreds of integrations into your app: https://merge.dev/sponsorships/lennys-podcast?utm_campaign=Lennys_Podcast Q3 2022&utm_source=lenny&utm_medium=podcast Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen Where to find Tomer Cohen: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen/ • Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-one-with-tomer-cohen/id1726672498 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) Introduction to Tomer Cohen and his role at LinkedIn (02:28) The mantra “We might be wrong, but we are not confused” (06:45) Clarity of thought and focus (13:03) Setting ambitious goals and overdelivering (16:18) Transforming LinkedIn’s feed: strategy and execution (22:03) Running experiments at scale (26:24) Goal setting and identifying opportunities (30:58) AI’s role in LinkedIn’s evolution (35:38) The AI-first mindset at LinkedIn (35:38) Developing an AI-first mindset (44:49) Letting go of your roadmaps and allowing room for exploration (49:12) Career growth and personal insights (55:01) Takeaways (56:39) Lightning round and final thoughts Referenced: • Joff Redfern on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mejoff/ • Airbnb’s Vlad Loktev on embracing chaos, inquiry over advocacy, poking the bear, and “impact, impact, impact” (Partner at Index Ventures, Airbnb GM/VP Product): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/impact-impact-impact-vlad-loktev • Vlad Loktev on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimirloktev/ • Jeff Weiner on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffweiner08/ • LinkedIn AI Academy: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/linkedin-ai-academy-ai-100-3-scaling-ai-at-linkedin • Shira Gasarch on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiragasarch/ • Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach • Deep Nishar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepnishar/ • Steve Jobs: https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537 • Ed Catmull on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwincatmull/ • Canva: https://www.canva.com/ • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/ • Roblox: https://www.roblox.com/ • Dan Barber on X: https://x.com/DanBarber • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322 • Thinking Fast and Slow: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555/ • High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884/ • Bluey on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/bluey/1xy9TAOQ0M3r • Spark amp: https://www.positivegrid.com/products/spark • Pink Floyd’s website: https://www.pinkfloyd.com/ • Metallica’s website: https://www.metallica.com/ • Nirvana’s website: https://www.nirvana.com/#/ • David Bowie’s website: https://www.davidbowie.com/ • Carol Dweck’s quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7017039-becoming-is-better-than-being-the-fixed-mindset-does-not • Never Search Alone: The Job Seeker’s Playbook: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Search-Alone-Seekers-Playbook/dp/B0B9Q9YDQ5 • Nomophobia: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nomophobia • Friend.com: https://www.friend.com/ • Becoming an AI-First Product Leader course on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/becoming-an-ai-first-product-leader 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.
Tomer Cohen is the longtime chief product officer at LinkedIn, where he’s pioneering the Full Stack Builder program, a radical new approach to product development that fully embraces what AI makes possible. Under his leadership, LinkedIn has scrapped its traditional Associate Product Manager program and replaced it with an Associate Product Builder program that teaches coding, design, and PM skills together. He’s also introduced a formal “Full Stack Builder” title and career ladder, enabling anyone from any function to take products from idea to launch. In this conversation, Tomer explains why product development has become too complex at most companies and how LinkedIn is building an AI-powered product team that can move faster, adapt more quickly, and do more with less. *We discuss:* 1. How 70% of the skills needed for jobs will change by 2030 2. The broken traditional model: organizational bloat slows features to a six-month cycle 3. The Full Stack Builder model 4. Three pillars of making FSB work: platform, agents, and culture (culture matters most) 5. Building specialized agents that critique ideas and find vulnerabilities 6. Why off-the-shelf AI tools never work on enterprise code without customization 7. Top performers adopt AI tools fastest, contrary to expectations about leveling effects 8. Change management tactics: celebrating wins, making tools exclusive, updating performance reviews *Brought to you by:* Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny Figma Make—A prompt-to-code tool for making ideas real: https://www.figma.com/lenny/ Miro—The AI Innovation Workspace where teams discover, plan, and ship breakthrough products: https://miro.com/lenny *Transcript:* https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-linkedin-is-replacing-pms *My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers):* https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/180042347/my-takeaways-from-this-conversation *Where to find Tomer Cohen:* • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen • Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-one-with-tomer-cohen/id1726672498 *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) Introduction to Tomer Cohen (04:42) The need for change in product development (11:52) The full-stack builder model explained (16:03) Implementing AI and automation in product development (19:17) Building and customizing AI tools (27:51) The timeline to launch (31:46) Pilot program and early results (37:04) Feedback from top talent (39:48) Change management and adoption (46:53) Encouraging people to play with AI tools (41:21) Performance reviews and full-stack builders (48:00) Challenges and specialization (50:05) Finding talent (52:46) Tips for implementing in your own company (56:43) Lightning round and final thoughts *Referenced:* • How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com • Cursor: https://cursor.com • The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can’t stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell • Devin: https://devin.ai • Figma: https://www.figma.com • Microsoft Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com • Windsurf: https://windsurf.com • Building a magical AI code editor used by over 1 million developers in four months: The untold story of Windsurf | Varun Mohan (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-untold-story-of-windsurf-varun-mohan • Lovable: https://lovable.dev • Building Lovable: $10M ARR in 60 days with 15 people | Anton Osika (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika • APB program at LinkedIn: https://careers.linkedin.com/pathways-programs/entry-level/apb • Naval Ravikant on X: https://x.com/naval • One Song podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A8-%D7%90%D7%97%D7%93-one-song/id1201883177 • Song Exploder podcast: https://songexploder.net • Grok on Tesla: https://www.tesla.com/support/grok • Reid Hoffman on X: https://x.com/reidhoffman *Recommended books:* • Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nations-Fail-Origins-Prosperity/dp/0307719227 • Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity: https://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Longevity-Peter-Attia-MD/dp/0593236599 • The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World: https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Infinity-Explanations-Transform-World/dp/0143121359 _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.