Bangaly Kaba was an early growth PM at Facebook, head of growth at Instagram, and VP of Product at Instacart and is currently Director of Product at YouTube overseeing a global team working on creator monetization. Bangaly has also been a growth advisor to dozens of companies, including Twitter, on the board of multiple companies, and is an active angel investor. In our conversation, we discuss: • A simple framework for choosing where to work and what to work on • The importance of “understand work” • The “adjacent users” theory and how it can help you drive growth • Advice for coaching product managers • Invaluable lessons from his time at Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube • Much more — Brought to you by: • Uizard—AI-powered prototyping for visionary product leaders: https://uizard.io/lenny • Mercury—The powerful and intuitive way for ambitious companies to bank: https://mercury.com/ • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/frameworks-for-growing-your-career-bangaly-kaba Where to find Bangaly Kaba: • X: https://twitter.com/iambangaly • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iambangaly/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iambangaly/ 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) Bangaly’s background (06:31) Choosing where to work and what to work on (08:39) The impact factor (10:53) Evaluating the environment (15:53) The manager component (18:27) The skills part of the equation (23:49) Advice on finding a mentor (25:42) The power of “understand work” (31:17) Operationalizing understand work (37:55) Balancing understand work (41:25) Managing complex change (45:26) Effective management of product managers (51:35) The role of product managers as coaches and team leaders (54:52) Driving growth through flywheels and value proposition (01:03:14) Understanding adjacent users (01:08:41) The role of partnerships and SEO in Instagram’s early growth (01:16:08) The secret behind Instagram’s growth (01:25:37) Lessons from Facebook (01:29:15) Failure corner (01:31:58) Lightning round Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.