Articles by Julie Zhuo
Managing More Experienced PeopleJulie explains these tips on how to manage more experienced people: • Don’t pretend to be perfect • Welcome the opportunity to learn from senior reports • You don’t have to do everything yourself. You just have to make sure everything gets done • You are the sum of the people around you
- How to be Strategic
Julie explains the components of a "good strategy": it is a set of actions that is credible, coherent and focused on overcoming the biggest hurdle(s) in achieving a particular objective.
- Managing Remotely
In this tactical guide, Julie covers: • Tips when interacting with others • Tips when in a remote video meeting • Tips for your work-from-home environment • Tips for remaining active • Tips for better focus
- Battling Perfectionism
Julie argues that while perfectionism is necessary in certain fields, such as open heart surgery, it can hinder more than it helps in other aspects of life. Perfectionism is often rooted in fear rather than opportunity, and can lead to worse prioritization decisions. Instead, individuals should consider the tradeoffs between making something perfect and using that time and energy for something else. It's important to tell oneself that perfect does not actually exist and that everything can be improved. Rather than being afraid to fail, individuals should tell themselves that they are excited to learn, as trying new things leads to improvement.
- The Imposter Syndrome: Mastering the art of pretending
Julie discusses struggling with imposter syndrome as a computer science student and startup employee. She felt inadequate when others easily grasped concepts and finished assignments faster. To fit in at her job, she pretended to be passionate about topics she didn't care about and worked extreme hours. Over time, she learned to focus on her strengths, ask for feedback instead of assuming the worst, and open up about insecurities to trusted friends. While insecurities never fully disappear, especially for women in male-dominated fields, Julie notes it gets easier to trust yourself with experience. She highlights research finding imposter syndrome is more common among women and suggests assuming best intentions when interpreting events instead of worst-case scenarios.
- The Agony and Ecstasy of Building with Data
Julie provides 3 pitfalls when working with data: 1. Picking the wrong metric to optimize for 2. Over-pivoting towards what’s measurable 3. Biasing towards the short-term. She also provides 4 pitfalls when performing a/b tests: 1. Spending too long perfecting tests. 2. Shipping successful tests right away. 3. Running too many tests on details that don’t matter. 4. Relying on A/B tests to do anything innovative or large or multi-faceted.
- Taking Feedback Impersonally
Julie provides tips on how to receive feedback: have a growth mindset rather a fixed mindset, and taking into account that feedback helps you achieve your purpose.
- Launch is the Beginning
Julie advocates for following through on product iteration post-launch. In particular, use product analytics and user feedback to assess which direction to take with each iteration.
- An Inside Look at Facebook's Method for Hiring Designers
Julie covers the end-to-end process for hiring designers: 1. Finding quality candidates 2. Interviewing designers
- How to Work with Designers: A Cheat Sheet for Engineers and PMs
Julie uses experience as both a designer and a PM to provide tips on how to work with designer: • Understand the strengths of the designer you're working with, across visual design, interaction design, and product design • Map the scope of the design problem to the experience level of the designer • The more time a designer spends with other designers, the better the work (and the designer) • A lot of what designers value and strive for in their work is hard to measure • The most direct path to a designer’s heart is to care about the details
- How to Think About Your Career
Julie covers: • Your career is defined by your skills and how you’ve used them, not by any external measure of your progress. • Treat your manager as a coach, not as a judge. • Create a mental image of yourself mastering the skills you most want to master, and believe that that is in your future. • You own your career, and you have more of an ability to shape it than anybody else.
- A Tactical Guide to Managing Up: 30 Tips from the Smartest People We Know
This compendium with contributions from 30 individuals across companies overs 7 topics: • Leave your assumptions at the door • Hone your delivery for communication that comes through loud-and-clear. • Boost your chances of hearing ‘yes’ to your ask • Get comfortable with feedback (on both sides of the table) • Set the tone in your 1:1s • Share your impact the right way • Build lasting rapport and trust
- 5 steps for Disagreeing Effectively
Julie covers the key tenets of disagreeing: knowing your position, force yourself to frame multiple options, dig into root assumptions, and escalate if appropriate.
- The Agony and Ecstasy of Building with Data
Julie provides 3 pitfalls when working with data: 1. Picking the wrong metric to optimize for 2. Over-pivoting towards what’s measurable 3. Biasing towards the short-term. She also provides 4 pitfalls when performing a/b tests: 1. Spending too long perfecting tests. 2. Shipping successful tests right away. 3. Running too many tests on details that don’t matter. 4. Relying on A/B tests to do anything innovative or large or multi-faceted.
- 5 Hard Questions to Ask Yourself During a Conflict
Since conflict is a two-way street, Julie provides tips for how to analyze yourself and your perspective during a conflict in order to produce a better outcome.
- The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You
Readers of this book consistently say: "I would have made fewer mistakes if I'd read it sooner." It covers topics such as how to give feedback, managing yourself, how to have amazing meetings, and how to nurture culture.