Lenny's PodcastTomer Cohen: How LinkedIn turned cringe feeds into signal
Through a two-million-member carved-out cohort and AI as matchmaker; clarity over confused beat hedging, and mountain-peak ambition revived the LinkedIn feed.
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- September 8, 2024
- Duration
- 1h 9m
- Channel
- Lenny's Podcast
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Tomer Cohen is the chief product officer at LinkedIn, responsible for setting the company’s product strategy, leading product development, user experience design, business development, content creation, and customer operations. He also hosts the Building One podcast, where he interviews exceptional builders across various disciplines. In our conversation, we discuss:
- How LinkedIn transformed its feed into an engaging content and social platform
- Tomer’s famous “We might be wrong, but we are not confused” mantra
- The importance of conviction and passion in product leadership
- LinkedIn’s approach to experimenting with and implementing AI features
- Lessons from Tomer’s rapid career progression at LinkedIn
- Strategies for embracing AI in product development
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- Gamma—A new way to present, powered by AI: https://gamma.app/
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen Where to find Tomer Cohen:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen/
- Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-one-with-tomer-cohen/id1726672498
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 Tomer Cohen and his role at LinkedIn (02:28) The mantra “We might be wrong, but we are not confused” (06:45) Clarity of thought and focus (13:03) Setting ambitious goals and overdelivering (16:18) Transforming LinkedIn’s feed: strategy and execution (22:03) Running experiments at scale (26:24) Goal setting and identifying opportunities (30:58) AI’s role in LinkedIn’s evolution (35:38) The AI-first mindset at LinkedIn (35:38) Developing an AI-first mindset (44:49) Letting go of your roadmaps and allowing room for exploration (49:12) Career growth and personal insights (55:01) Takeaways (56:39) Lightning round and final thoughts Referenced:
- Joff Redfern on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mejoff/
- Airbnb’s Vlad Loktev on embracing chaos, inquiry over advocacy, poking the bear, and “impact, impact, impact” (Partner at Index Ventures, Airbnb GM/VP Product): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/impact-impact-impact-vlad-loktev
- Vlad Loktev on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimirloktev/
- Jeff Weiner on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffweiner08/
- LinkedIn AI Academy: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/linkedin-ai-academy-ai-100-3-scaling-ai-at-linkedin
- Shira Gasarch on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiragasarch/
- Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach
- Deep Nishar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepnishar/
- Steve Jobs: https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537
- Ed Catmull on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwincatmull/
- Canva: https://www.canva.com/
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/
- Roblox: https://www.roblox.com/
- Dan Barber on X: https://x.com/DanBarber
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322
- Thinking Fast and Slow: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555/
- High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884/
- Bluey on Disney+: https://www.disneyplus.com/series/bluey/1xy9TAOQ0M3r
- Spark amp: https://www.positivegrid.com/products/spark
- Pink Floyd’s website: https://www.pinkfloyd.com/
- Metallica’s website: https://www.metallica.com/
- Nirvana’s website: https://www.nirvana.com/#/
- David Bowie’s website: https://www.davidbowie.com/
- Carol Dweck’s quote: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7017039-becoming-is-better-than-being-the-fixed-mindset-does-not
- Never Search Alone: The Job Seeker’s Playbook: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Search-Alone-Seekers-Playbook/dp/B0B9Q9YDQ5
- Nomophobia: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nomophobia
- Friend.com: https://www.friend.com/
- Becoming an AI-First Product Leader course on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/becoming-an-ai-first-product-leader
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
Lenny Rachitsky
hostTomer Cohen
guest
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, featuring Lenny Rachitsky and Tomer Cohen, Tomer Cohen: How LinkedIn turned cringe feeds into signal explores inside LinkedIn’s Transformation: AI-First Strategy, Feed Revival, Career Lessons LinkedIn’s CPO Tomer Cohen explains how the company transformed its previously cringey, promotional feed into a high-signal, knowledge-sharing destination that many professionals now check multiple times a day.
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