Mckenzie Lock

Director of Product , Netflix

Content

As a product manager, what are the make-or-break things for you when interviewing a potential next product manager for your team?

Mckenzie Lock

Netflix Director of Product • August 4

The candidate must “spike” (“8/10” or higher) in all of these areas, in order of importance: 1. Critical Thinking Given how many decisions and complex problems are thrown at PMs, this the #1 most important attribute I screen for. They don’t need to be a rocket scientist (top 0.5% of populati......Read More

3575 Views

How do you retain good talent, especially when PM roles are in such high demand across the industry?

Mckenzie Lock

Netflix Director of Product • August 4

I’ll skip the obvious things - pay well, set a vision, growing company, skill building, career pathing - and highlight some under-rated ones: * Hire well and have high talent density. Most people who choose a career in Product Management are motivated by self improvement - being around ot......Read More

1707 Views

How do you think about your first 30/60/90 day goals when coming in as the Head of Product Management in a startup that didn't have product management before?

Mckenzie Lock

Netflix Director of Product • August 4

The most important thing you can do as a new head of product is to align with the founder/s and/or your manager on what your role is. Most people assume they did this in the interview process. Yet, misalignment on this question are the most common reasons heads of product fail. You want to know: ......Read More

1024 Views

Our engineering team has been building features based on ideas, and I’m the first PM. How do I change the culture and help them buy into being customer focused?

Mckenzie Lock

Netflix Director of Product • August 4

The good news is that you have an engineering team that is excited about the product & generating ideas. That’s huge. Over the long term, this will make your product more successful....so long as you can channel that excitement towards features that are also exciting to customers. Your goal is......Read More

961 Views

What are the challenges you have encountered establishing the product management function in product areas that do not have it？

Mckenzie Lock

Netflix Director of Product • August 4

Common challenges are: * Fear that the PM will slow the team down or add too much process * Another function has stepped in to fill the PM shoes and is reluctant to give their role up * There is a solutions-first (vs. problem-first) mindset * Founders have trouble letting go of product de......Read More

941 Views

Credentials & Highlights

Director of Product at Netflix