Becoming more strategic, navigating difficult colleagues, harnessing founder mode, and more | Anneka Gupta (Chief Product Officer at Rubrik)

Anneka Gupta is the Chief Product Officer at Rubrik, a leading B2B cybersecurity company. She previously spent 11 years at LiveRamp, where she was the President and Head of Product and Platforms leading product development and go-to-market operations and strategy. Anneka also sits on the board of directors for Tinuiti and teaches product management at Stanford University. In our conversation, we discuss:• Navigating “founder mode” dynamics in organizations• Navigating difficult personalities and aligning teams• The PM skill of summarization• Giving and receiving hard feedback effectively• The value of a positive mindset• Tips for breaking into product management• Much more—Brought to you by:• The Enterprise Ready Conference — For B2B leaders building enterprise SaaS• Command AI — AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users• Eppo — Run reliable, impactful experiments—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/becoming-more-strategic-anneka-gupta—Where to find Anneka Gupta:• X: https://x.com/annekagupta• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annekagupta—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 Anneka Gupta(01:43) Key mindsets for success(05:30) Managing energy for optimal performance(09:05) Founder mode(18:26) Becoming more strategic(27:54) The importance of decision-making(37:18) Navigating difficult personalities(41:38) Techniques for giving and receiving feedback(51:01) Transitioning into product management(54:56) Advice for aspiring product managers(59:39) Leveraging AI tools in product management(01:01:27) The power of a positive mindset(01:04:30) Lightning round—Referenced:• Founder Mode: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html• Building a long and meaningful career | Nikhyl Singhal (Meta, Google): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-long-and-meaningful-career• The Skip community: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skip-community/• Rubrik: https://www.rubrik.com/• 5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-strategy-roger-martin• Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X• Thinking like a gardener not a builder, organizing teams like slime mold, the adjacent possible, and other unconventional product advice | Alex Komoroske: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/unconventional-product-advice-alex-komoroske• Acquired podcast interviews Zuckerberg in San Francisco: https://transistor.fm/acquired-live/• Hema Mohan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hemamohan/• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kick-Ass-Without-Humanity/dp/1250103509• Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/radical-candor-from-theory-to-practice• LiveRamp: https://liveramp.com/• Product Management class at Stanford: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/experience/learning/experiential-learning/action-learning-program/product-management• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• Dovetail: https://try.dovetail.com/• The Remarkable Advantage of Abundant Thinking: https://review.firstround.com/the-remarkable-advantage-of-abundant-thinking/• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205• Brandon Sanderson’s books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Brandon-Sanderson/author/B001IGFHW6• Fallout on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CN4HV16N• Thunderbolt 4 ( 3-meter cable): https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MW5H3AM/A/thunderbolt-4-usb%E2%80%91c-pro-cable-3-m• Isaac Asimov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov• The complete Foundation series: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Asimovs-Foundation-Foundations-Prelude/dp/B01EFDEMS8—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected].—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe