The Samelogic Podcast #96: Insights on Learning, Growth, and Building Great Products with Robert Ta
Sep 16, 2024
Robert Ta, a product leader who moved from chemical engineering into software and product management. He discusses systems thinking from engineering, how early software work shaped his path, team-building principles like hiring humble, hungry, and smart teammates, mentorship and deliberate practice for PMs, prioritizing customer value in enterprise products, and growth through improved emotional intelligence.
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Systems Thinking From Chemical Engineering
- Chemical engineering trained Robert Ta to break big problems into controllable parts and identify key unknowns to test.
- He uses systems thinking to manage complex product trade-offs and assumptions in design work.
From Lab Intern To Product Passion
- Robert Ta discovered product work during a Genentech internship where he acted like a product manager for an internal monitoring tool.
- That experience plus a programming internship shifted him from lab work to building software products he loved.
Outwork To Learn New Domains Fast
- Practice disciplined, high-quality hours of deliberate practice to learn new domains quickly.
- Treat skills as learnable and outwork others by planning focused study sessions and putting in the time.