The Secrets Behind Great Products at The Biggest Companies

About this video

Shreyas Doshi is a highly respected product management leader and startup advisor, known for senior product roles at Google, Twitter, and Stripe, where he was a foundational PM leader, and for his widely followed teaching and writing on product strategy and leadership.

Many teams think better process or better metrics will fix performance. This conversation argues that the real difference between a good team and a great one is leadership judgment — knowing what level to operate at, when to measure versus evaluate, and when to bend the rules to create real impact.

full video at end of page

Key takeaways

Core Insight (Plain English)

Many teams argue about details when the real issue is judgement. The argument here is that the difference between a good team and a great team is the leader’s judgement — especially the ability to know what level to operate at (execution, impact, or optics), when to rely on numbers versus evaluation, and when to bend rules instead of hiding behind them.

Most workplace conflict is not about competence. It’s about people operating at different levels of thinking and failing to recognise it. Great leaders spot that gap early, adjust, and steer the team toward impact — not just activity or metrics.

For Southeast Asian SMEs, where founders often sit close to operations while scaling fast, this distinction becomes even more critical. Growth magnifies judgement errors.

6 Practical Operator Lessons
(For SME Leaders)

1. Stop Drowning Leaders in Execution Detail

If you’re presenting upward, don’t start with tasks. Start with impact.
Executives want to know:

• Will this resonate?

• Will it drive revenue or retention?

• What changes because of this?

Execution detail comes later. Lead with the outcome.

2. Diagnose Conflict by “Level,” Not Personality

Before escalating a disagreement, ask:

• Am I arguing execution?

• Is the other party focused on impact?

• Are they worried about optics (credit, visibility, political risk)?

Most repeated arguments are just level mismatches. Clarify the level first.

3. Don’t Confuse Metrics with Impact

Measurement is a proxy. Impact is the goal.
In SMEs, especially in SEA where sales cycles can be relationship-driven and slower, revenue may lag. Use:

• Leading indicators

• Customer anecdotes

• Sales feedback

• Early qualitative signals

Don’t stall action just because the perfect dashboard doesn’t exist yet.

4. Hire for Agency, Not Just Talent

High talent + low agency = frustrated genius.

Moderate talent + high agency = momentum.
In ambiguous SME environments, especially in emerging markets, high-agency people outperform pedigree hires who wait for clarity.

Ambiguity is not going away. Hire accordingly.

5. Minimise Opportunity Cost, Not Just Maximise ROI

Teams often chase quick wins because the denominator (effort) is small.
That leads to:

• Incrementalism

• Me-too products

• Safe but forgettable outcomes

Instead ask: “If we spend time on this, what bigger thing are we not doing?”

In fast-moving ASEAN markets, being slightly late on a major move costs more than missing five small optimisations.

6. Write to Clarify Thinking

A writing culture forces clarity.

If your proposal is 20 pages and the core idea is hidden on page 14, nobody will find it.
Lead with:

• Core insight

• Clear proposal

• Why it matters
  

Think of every document as an experience. What should the reader feel — urgency, clarity, concern, conviction.

Summary & Reflections

Success is not formula-driven. Judgement cannot be systematised into a checklist. Measurement matters. Process matters. Rules matter.

But over-reliance on them becomes a shield against responsibility. The uncomfortable reality is that leadership leverage comes from judgement — and judgement involves risk.

In many Southeast Asian SMEs, founders start strong because they operate close to customers. As the company scales, there is a real risk of over-indexing on dashboards and losing market instinct.

The balance is fragile. And it has to be consciously maintained.

Who should watch the full video

• Founders moving from hands-on operator to scale leader

• Product and tech leads in growing startups

• Country managers in regional expansion roles

• SME operators hiring their first managers

• Anyone stuck in recurring cross-team conflict

If you’re scaling beyond 20–50 people and feel decisions are getting noisier, not clearer — this is worth your time.

Until next time,
The SME Signal editorial Team