An inside look at how the New York Times builds product | Alex Hardiman (CPO, the New York Times)

One thing that's really interesting is that our impact and, like, our business goals are in service of our mission, which is to seek the truth and kind of help people understand the world, not the other way around. And so what it means is that the way that we, you know, think about impact is (laughs) growing a giant subscription business, that business exists to strengthen and inform democracy at a time when people are struggling to understand basic facts and struggling to understand each other. And that means that, you know, impact for us is growing subscribers, but it's also when a deeply in- you know, reported story triggers an important policy change or a new law. And so when you're a product manager, you're involved, again, in, like, driving specific metrics, like engagement or subscribers, but you're also trying to help stories find their real audience in ways that trigger just this whole different side of- of mission and purpose-driven impact, and I didn't feel that when I was at a place like Facebook. (instrumental music)

Welcome to Lenny's Podcast. I'm Lenny, and my goal here is to help you get better at the craft of building and growing products. Today, my guest is Alex Hardeman. Alex is chief product officer at The New York Times, where she leads teams that build the company's news, cooking, games, audio, and advertising products. Prior to this role, she was chief product officer at The Atlantic, and before that, she spent two years at Facebook, where she led their news product amongst other things. As you'll hear in our conversation, Alex has been at the center of the storm so many times, including at Facebook right after the 2016 election, then at The New York Times right as COVID hit. She shares so many stories and insights about how The New York Times builds products, what it's like for product teams to work with journalists, what's good and bad about working at a company like The New York Times versus a FAANG tech type company, and also how they went about acquiring and integrating Wordle. I had such a blast doing this interview, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. With that, I bring you Alex Hardeman. Today's episode is brought to you by Miro. Creating a product, especially one that your users can't live without, is damn hard. But it's made easier by working closely with your colleagues to capture ideas, get feedback, and being able to iterate quickly. That's where Miro comes in. Miro is an online visual whiteboard that's designed specifically for teams like yours. I actually used Miro to come up with a plan for this very ad. With Miro, you can build out your product strategy by brainstorming with sticky notes, comments, live reactions, voting tools, even a timer to keep your team on track. You can also bring your whole distributed team together around wireframes, where anyone can draw their own ideas with the pen tool or put their own images or mockups right into the Miro board. And with one of Miro's ready-made templates, you can go from discovery and research to product roadmaps to customer journey flows to final mocks. Want to see how I use Miro? Head on over to my Miro board at miro.com/lenny to see my most popular podcast episodes, my favorite Miro templates. You can also leave feedback on this podcast episode and more. That's miro.com/lenny. This episode is brought to you by Athletic Greens. I've been hearing about AG1 on basically every podcast that I listen to, like Tim Ferriss and Lex Fridman, and so I finally gave it a shot earlier this year, and it has quickly become a core part of my morning routine, especially on days that I need to go deep on writing or record a podcast like this. Here's three things that I love about AG1. One, with a small scoop that dissolved in water, you're absorbing 75 vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and adaptogens. I kind of like to think of it as a little safety net for my nutrition in case I've missed something in my diet. Two, they treat AG1 like a software product. Apparently, they're on their 52nd iteration, and they're constantly evolving it based on the latest science, research studies, and internal testing that they do. And three, it's just one easy thing that I can do every single day to take care of myself. Right now, it's time to reclaim your health and arm your immune system with convenient daily nutrition. It's just one scoop in a cup of water every day, and that's it. There's no need for a million different pills and supplements to look out for your health. Make it easy, Athletic Greens is gonna give you a free one-year supply of immune-supporting vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/lenny. Again, that's athleticgreens.com/lenny. Take ownership over your health and pick up the ultimate daily nutritional insurance. (instrumental music) Alex, thank you for being here. Welcome to the podcast.