NYTimes VP of Product on Product Transformation from Print to Digital Platform Powerhouse | Sneha Rao |
E247 | #TheProductPodcast
"I think it's important to share the art and craft and the love and the passion of what you're doing and why you're doing it. Because essentially, what is a product manager's job if it's not to inspire, like goodwill and like good empathy towards real world problems."
In this edition of #TheProductPodcast newsletter, we explore the world of platform engineering with Sneha Rao, Vice President of Product at The New York Times. With experience at both The New York Times and Spotify, Sneha shares valuable insights on building scalable platform products, driving digital transformation, and evolving a traditional media company into a multi-product digital platform.
There are many incredible lessons to learn from Sneha. Here are a few of the top ones:
Balancing Data with Customer Insights
"We crave data, but we're not slaves to it."
Sneha emphasizes the importance of balancing data-driven decisions with qualitative customer insights. She explains how The New York Times implements various mechanisms to gather and act on customer feedback, including direct communication channels with support teams. This approach allows the company to stay connected with its users while avoiding the pitfall of being paralyzed by data overload. Sneha's insight underscores the value of maintaining a flexible mindset and being open to adjusting product vision based on real-world customer experiences.
Evolving from Print to Digital Platform
"It's 175 years old. I mean, just sit on that. How often does that happen? Like a digital transformation at this magnitude, at this, with this history and this legacy is really, you know, it's an honor to be associated with it."
Sneha discusses the journey of The New York Times from a print-centric business to a digital-first news and lifestyle platform. She shares how the company has adapted to changing consumer behaviors by expanding into various digital products like games, cooking, and podcasts, while maintaining its core focus on high-quality journalism. This evolution demonstrates The New York Times' ability to innovate and stay relevant in the digital age while preserving its legacy and credibility.
Optimizing Platform Engineering
"At the end of the day, Spotify's business was music consumption and then audio consumption along the way. We'd built a 2000 person platform org, in a 10,000 person org. That's a heavy investment in platforms."
Sneha reflects on her experience at Spotify and how it informs her approach at The New York Times. She emphasizes the importance of keeping platform teams lean and efficient, focusing on buying solutions when appropriate rather than building everything in-house. This strategy allows for faster innovation and better resource allocation, ensuring that the platform supports the core business without becoming overly complex or costly.
Driving Rapid Experimentation
"We've shortened the time span of taking an idea, writing your first line of code and deploying it to under, you know, under an hour now."
Sneha highlights The New York Times' focus on rapid experimentation and deployment. By reducing the time from idea to implementation, the company can quickly test new features and formats, learn from user feedback, and scale successful innovations. This agile approach allows The New York Times to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving digital media landscape.
Balancing Innovation with Cost-effectiveness
"Not every idea is worth even experimenting on. I mean, you have to have some sort of checks and balances."
Sneha discusses the importance of evaluating ideas not just for their potential impact but also for their cost to implement and maintain. By considering the return on investment for new features and experiences, The New York Times can prioritize innovations that provide the most value to users and the business. This approach ensures responsible use of resources and helps maintain a sustainable growth trajectory.
🔑 Key takeaways :
Balance data-driven decisions with qualitative customer insights to guide product development.
Adapt traditional business models to meet changing consumer needs in the digital age.
Keep platform teams lean and efficient, focusing on strategic build vs. buy decisions.
Implement systems for rapid experimentation and deployment to stay agile in a fast-paced market.
Evaluate new ideas based on both potential impact and cost-effectiveness to ensure sustainable innovation.Maintain core values and quality standards while expanding into new digital product offerings.
🎧 Check out the full episode here 🎧
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Credits:
Sneha Rao
Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia
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