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Lenny's PodcastJM Nickels: Why conscious leaders beat optics-first managers
Through self-aware presence, an honest objective function, and first-principles vision; Uber, Waymo, DoorDash veteran treats fear, sadness, anger, joy as data.
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Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- October 6, 2024
- Duration
- 1h 18m
- Channel
- Lenny's Podcast
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
JM Nickels is a Senior Director of Product Management at Uber. Previously, he was Head of Product for Commercialization at Waymo and led product teams at DoorDash. JM is also a coach and advisor focused on conscious leadership. In our conversation, we discuss:
- How to sharpen your vision and strategy skills
- What “conscious leadership” means and how to practice it
- Practical techniques for managing stress
- The power of soft skills and emotional intelligence in product leadership
- Lessons from working at Uber, Waymo, and DoorDash
- Keys to living a successful and fulfilling life
- Much more
— Brought to you by:
- Pendo — The only all-in-one product experience platform for any type of application: https://www.pendo.io/lenny
- The Enterprise Ready Conference — For B2B leaders building enterprise SaaS: https://www.enterprise-ready.com/
- Vanta — Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny
Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/becoming-a-conscious-leader-john-mark-nickels Where to find John Mark Nickels:
- X: https://x.com/nickelsjm
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmnickels/
- Website: https://www.rhythmofbeing.com/
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 JM (02:02) Conscious leadership explained (03:41) The power of soft skills (07:34) Navigating Uber’s evolution (12:41) Embracing emotions and inner work (21:46) Crafting strategy and vision (41:16) Balancing vision and execution (46:13) Lessons from DoorDash, Uber, and Waymo (52:32) The future of autonomous ride-hailing (55:18) Contrarian corner: Embracing emotions in the workplace (59:47) Keys to a fulfilling life (01:04:45) Taking responsibility and agency (01:07:29) Lightning round and final thoughts Referenced:
- The Power of Soft Skills: Our Favorite Reads: https://hbr.org/2023/05/the-power-of-soft-skills-our-favorite-reads
- Theodore Roosevelt quote: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/theodore_roosevelt_130674
- Content vs. Context: https://conscious.is/video/content-vs-context
- Travis Kalanick on X: https://x.com/travisk
- Garrett van Ryzin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrett-van-ryzin-7084a1/
- Mike Isaac on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikejisaac/
- Dara Khosrowshahi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dara-khosrowshahi-70949862/
- Reid Hoffman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/
- Wim Hof breathing exercises: https://www.wimhofmethod.com/breathing-exercises
- The Breath Vault: https://george-ramsay-s-school.teachable.com/p/the-breath-vault
- Waking Up app on the Apple Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/waking-up-meditation-wisdom/id1307736395
- The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life: https://www.amazon.com/AM-Club-Morning-Elevate-Life/dp/1443456624
- The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life: https://www.amazon.com/Lion-Trackers-Guide-Life/dp/0358099773/
- Nelson Mandela: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
- Brent Goldman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentgoldman/
- LIDAR: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/lidar
- Lessons from Pixar 1: The Braintrust: https://medium.com/great-business-stories/lessons-from-pixar-1-the-braintrust-e306843a5153
- Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration: https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Overcoming-Unseen-Inspiration/dp/0812993012
- Paul Graham’s website: https://www.paulgraham.com/
- Time management techniques that actually work: https://substack.com/@lenny/p-147172995
- Getting Things Done website: https://gettingthingsdone.com/
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity: https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0142000280
- Mark Zuckerberg on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@zuck
- Daniel Ek on X: https://x.com/eldsjal
- Jeff Bezos on X: https://x.com/jeffbezos
- Waymo: https://waymo.com/
- Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/
- Cruise: https://www.getcruise.com/
- Motional: https://motional.com/
- Ray Dalio “write down your principles” activity: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/raydalio_if-you-write-your-principles-down-1-you-activity-7003078168060297216-XnjV/
- How Will You Measure Your Life?: https://www.amazon.com/How-Will-Measure-Your-Life/dp/0062102419
- Seneca: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_the_Younger
- Marcus Aurelius: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius
- Man’s Search for Meaning: https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0807014273/
- The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success: https://www.amazon.com/15-Commitments-Conscious-Leadership-Sustainable/dp/0990976904
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
SPEAKERS
JM Nickels
guestLenny Rachitsky
hostNarrator
otherNarrator
other
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, featuring JM Nickels and Lenny Rachitsky, JM Nickels: Why conscious leaders beat optics-first managers explores Conscious leadership, emotional mastery, and visionary strategy in product JM Nichols, a longtime product leader at Uber, DoorDash, and Waymo, shares how ‘conscious leadership’—deep self-awareness and responsibility for one’s influence—can transform both work and life.
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