Linear’s secret to building beloved B2B products | Nan Yu (Head of Product)

Creative Systems

Nan Yu's approach to creativity in product management at Linear involves pushing boundaries and exploring extreme possibilities. He emphasizes the importance of not just solving problems but understanding how much of a problem to tackle, avoiding overpromising and underdelivering. This method involves asking questions like, "What's the most outrageous version of this?" to expand the possibility space and uncover hidden options.

The biggest risk is you didn't see the right choice to begin with. You have these three choices and none of them were right. It's this fourth one that was over in this corner, but you didn't look in that corner, so you never found it.

--- Nan Yu

By exploring extremes, Linear can identify innovative solutions that might otherwise be overlooked 1 2 3.

   

Customer Focus

Linear's customer-centric design strategy focuses on real-world use cases and specific customer needs. Nan Yu stresses the importance of understanding actual workflows and use cases, rather than hypothetical scenarios, to ensure that products align with customer realities. This approach led to the development of features like "Customer Requests," which integrates customer feedback directly into the product development process.

If you have a beautiful solution that doesn't match with reality, it doesn't really matter. People can look at it and ooh and ah, but if they don't use it to get their work done, it's never going to have long-term staying power.

--- Nan Yu

By focusing on real customer needs, Linear ensures that its products are both practical and effective 4 5 6.

   

Collaboration

Collaboration at Linear extends beyond traditional product management roles, integrating sales and marketing into the development process. Nan Yu describes product management as a "go-to-market discipline," emphasizing the importance of aligning product development with commercial goals. This collaborative approach involves a "double triangle" framework, connecting engineering, design, sales, and marketing to ensure cohesive product strategies.

The PM is connecting the builders to the sellers and you're involved in both worlds.

--- Lenny Rachitsky

By fostering effective communication and collaboration, Linear enhances its ability to deliver products that meet market demands 7 8 9.