Jean-Michel Lemieux is one of the OGs of engineering and product having been the CTO at Shopify and the VP Engineering at Atlassian. Jean-Michel helped grow both Shopify and Atlassian from single-product to multi-product companies and led the building of their platforms.
In Today’s Episode with Jean-Michel Lemieux We Discuss:
From band class to Shopify CTO
How did Jean-Michel make his way into the world of product?
What were Jean-Michel’s biggest lessons from his time at Atlassian & Shopify?
How are Shopify & Atlassian the same? How are they different?
Why does Jean-Michel think Shopify could have been 10x bigger?
Building the Perfect Product
How does Atlassian & Shopify build movements instead of product?
What does Jean-Michel know now that he wishes he had known before he joined Atlassian & Shopify?
How does Jean-Michel balance between shipping speed vs. quality?
Why does JM think scrums and TDDs are BS? How did his last year at Shopify change his approach in product development?
What is a time horizon friction? And how does it impact teams?
How to Lead a Product Team:
What is micro alignment, and why does Jean-Michel think it is so important?
What 3 types of decisions every team makes?
What does Jean-Michel think are the most common reasons teams become average? How does he prevent it?
What do Jean-Michel think are the most common mistakes CEOs make today?
Hiring the Best Product Team:
How does Jean-Michel structure the interview process for new product hires?
What signals does Jean-Michel look out for when hiring? Why does he believe experience does not matter?
What are Jean-Michel’s biggest hiring mistakes? What were his lessons?
What are 2 of the most common mistakes founders make when hiring a product team?