Becoming more strategic, navigating difficult colleagues, harnessing founder mode, and more | Anneka Gupta (Chief Product Officer at Rubrik)

Anneka Gupta is the Chief Product Officer at Rubrik, a leading B2B cybersecurity company. She previously spent 11 years at LiveRamp, where she was the President and Head of Product and Platforms leading product development and go-to-market operations and strategy. Anneka also sits on the board of directors for Tinuiti and teaches product management at Stanford University. In our conversation, we discuss:• Navigating “founder mode” dynamics in organizations• Navigating difficult personalities and aligning teams• The PM skill of summarization• Giving and receiving hard feedback effectively• The value of a positive mindset• Tips for breaking into product management• Much more—Brought to you by:• The Enterprise Ready Conference — For B2B leaders building enterprise SaaS• Command AI — AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users• Eppo — Run reliable, impactful experiments—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/becoming-more-strategic-anneka-gupta—Where to find Anneka Gupta:• X: https://x.com/annekagupta• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annekagupta—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 Anneka Gupta(01:43) Key mindsets for success(05:30) Managing energy for optimal performance(09:05) Founder mode(18:26) Becoming more strategic(27:54) The importance of decision-making(37:18) Navigating difficult personalities(41:38) Techniques for giving and receiving feedback(51:01) Transitioning into product management(54:56) Advice for aspiring product managers(59:39) Leveraging AI tools in product management(01:01:27) The power of a positive mindset(01:04:30) Lightning round—Referenced:• Founder Mode: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html• Building a long and meaningful career | Nikhyl Singhal (Meta, Google): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-long-and-meaningful