After 6 years at Google, I'm starting something new. Here are 10 lessons that will shape how I build it:

#1 Walk the talk

When a customer tells you they chose you because you're the only partner who actually walks the talk, that's powerful differentiation.

#2 Heroes do not scale

VP congratulated us for going above and beyond for a demanding but transformative customer. Then he added: "Remember, heroes don't scale. Help us make this scalable."

Translation: systems, systems.

#3 Roofshots not moonshots

Dream big, but remember it's a collection of smaller steps. Sometimes incremental improvements are exactly what's needed.

#4 A small team + a great demo = Everything you need

I asked Serge how to convince VPs of a product idea. His answer was simple: "A small team, a great demo. That's all you need."

No 35-slide presentations. Just show the idea.

#5 Don't ask permission, just do it

My first manager, first 1:1: "Don't even bother asking me upfront, just do it."

That management style works. Trust and flexibility by default.

#6 Nothing interesting to say ? No VP time

Never schedule time with a VP if you have nothing interesting to say. They get bored fast 😎.

Your options: New industry insight, bold idea (with data of course), or help unblocking something critical. Everything else...can wait.

#7 Only 3 ways to handle execs

A colleague told me: "There are only 3 ways to deal with execs - be funny (you entertain), be crazy smart (read: smarter than them), or be concise."

Definitely not the funny type.

#8 Competition is good

#CEO_Talk Nothing pushes you harder than good competition. When competitors do well, my reaction should be: "This is good for everyone."

#9 As a PM, "I don't know" isn't an answer

Most surprising PM advice from Scott when I started. Engineers don't like "I don't know." 😉

Bring hypotheses or a method to find the answer instead.

#10 18+ month roadmaps are useless !

No comment ! Thank you Brit.

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Hope it helps someone out there!