The 'Say-Do-Say' Loop
by Peter Deng • General Partner at Felicis (Former VP Product at OpenAI, Head of Product at Airtable, Uber, Instagram) at Felicis / OpenAI / Uber / Instagram
Peter Deng is a legendary product leader who has built and scaled some of the most iconic products in tech history. His resume includes leading product for Facebook News Feed, Messenger, Instagram, Uber Rider, Airtable, and most recently, ChatGPT at OpenAI.
🎙️ Episode Context
Peter Deng shares deep insights from his experience leading product at OpenAI, Uber, and Instagram. He discusses the specific challenges of scaling from 1 to 100, introduces a framework for the five types of Product Managers, and reveals his unique philosophy on hiring for autonomy and growth mindset.
Problem It Solves
Solves lack of visibility, misalignment with leadership, and failure to get credit for work done.
Framework Overview
A simple communication habit for managing up and ensuring operational rigor. It prevents 'shadow work' and ensures strategy stays aligned with execution.
🧠 Framework Structure
Say you'll do the thing: Announce int...
Do the thing: Execute with focus.
Say you did the thing: Close the loop...
When to Use
Daily operations, weekly status updates, and managing up to busy executives.
Common Mistakes
Assuming the work speaks for itself (it often doesn't) or skipping the first 'Say' and misaligning on priorities.
Real World Example
Joanne Jang at OpenAI used this effectively to manage up to Peter, ensuring technical and product priorities were always in sync.
Repetition doesn't spoil the prayer.
— Peter Deng