This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.comIf you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at https://add.lennysreads.comYou’ve probably heard terms like LLM, transformer, and hallucination, but do you really know what they mean?In this episode, I walk through 20 of the most common AI terms with dead-simple explanations you can actually understand (and use).In this episode, you’ll learn• What a “model” actually is• The difference between pre-training, fine-tuning, and RLHF• What transformers are—and why they changed everything• How prompt engineering and RAG improve model outputs• What AGI and ASI really mean• The difference between LLMs, GenAI, and GPT• Why models hallucinate (and how to prevent it)• What synthetic data is—and why it matters• How vibe coding works and what agents can actually do• What MCP, inference, and tokens are in plain EnglishReferenced• A complete guide on RLHF• AGI vs ASI• Andrej Karpathy on LLMs• Andrej Karpathy on vibe coding• Anthropic’s guide on building effective agents• Anthropic’s guide to reducing hallucinations• Fine-tuning vs RAG vs prompt engineering• Guide to model context protocol (MCP)• How LLMs work• How fine-tuning works• How top models tokenize words• How training and pre-training works• Ilya Sutskever on AGI• Ilya Sutskever on next-word prediction• Lenny’s Podcast on prompt engineering• Make product management fun again with AI agents• RLHF explainer• Sam Altman on synthetic data• Technical deep dive on transformers• What are transformers?Subscribe: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyFollow Lenny: Twitter/X | LinkedIn | PodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny’s Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot.
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9:36
How tech’s most resilient workers handle burnout
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.comIf you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comThree weeks ago, Noam Segal and I shared data showing that 84% of tech workers feel burned out. That left one big question: Who are the 16% who aren’t?This episode is their playbook. We analyzed 175 follow-up surveys and spoke with 15 “burnout conquerors” to understand how they’ve cracked the code.In this episode, you’ll learn• The five-part “ARMOR” framework for burnout protection• The habits, systems, and beliefs that keep burnout at bay• How to set boundaries that actually hold• How to prioritize mental and physical wellbeing, without guilt• Early warning signals that most people miss• How to take rhythmic, reflective, and restorative breaks• How to choose roles based on energy, not ego• Why relationships, not perks are your best defenseReferences• Conversations online about the first sentiment survey• How tech workers really feel about work right now• Make product management fun again with AI agents• Managing up• The burnout check• The “How I Work” templateSubscribe: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyFollow Lenny: Twitter/X | LinkedIn | PodcastAboutWelcome to Lenny’s Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot.
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7:53
How to get your entire team prototyping with AI
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.comIf you’re a premium subscriber• Add the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comAboutColin Matthews was a longtime PM and is the creator of my favorite AI prototyping course, AI Prototyping for Product Managers. He already has two posts in my all-time top 10 — and I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes his third.In this post, Colin shares his hands-on playbook for turning AI prototyping from scattered experiments into a repeatable, team-wide workflow.In this episode, you’ll learn• Colin’s go-to template prompt for rapid prototyping• A six-step guide for shipping fast• How to build reusable component libraries for high-quality mocks• Three tactics to generate better components• What “baselines and forks” are and how they streamline workflows• Where prototypes fit into the product development lifecycle• Common mistakes teams make with AI tooling• Plus: time-saving prompts, tool comparisons, and a better way to add your logoReferenced• Read this post• AI prototyping for product managers• A guide to AI prototyping for product managers• Become a more technical product manager• Bolt• Book a place in Colin’s free 45-minute live online class, coming up on July 8th• Book a place in Colin’s AI Prototyping for Product Managers, which kicks off again on June 30th (use code LENNYSLIST to get $100 off)• Book Colin for one-day team workshops• Cursor• Figma’s MCP• Magic Patterns• Unsplash• v0Subscribe: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyFollow Lenny: Twitter/X | LinkedIn | PodcastFollow Colin: LinkedIn
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13:39
How tech workers really feel about work right now
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.comIf you’re a premium subscriberAdd the private feed to your podcast app at add.lennysreads.comTogether with Noam Segal, we unpack the most surprising insights from a sweeping new study of over 8,200 tech professionals—across roles, company sizes, and work setups.In this episode, you’ll learn• Why burnout is rampant• Who’s thriving in tech right now (and who’s not)• The shocking stat: Only 1 in 4 workers think their manager is effective• How sentiment shifts between remote, hybrid, and in-office setups• Why you might want to switch to a smaller company• What’s driving the mid-career slump—and how to escape it• The clarity gap that’s holding people back• Why women are more engaged but more burned-out than men• How AI is fueling both career anxiety and reinventionReferenced• Become better at managing up• Lennybot manager prompts• Start your own company• Take the burnout check• The SOLO methodSubscribe: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyFollow Lenny: Twitter | LinkedIn | PodcastFollow Noam: Twitter/X | LinkedInAboutWelcome to Lenny’s Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot.
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16:38
Five principles for successfully managing managers
Saumil Mehta shares his hard-earned framework for becoming a high-impact “manager of managers” — and why skip level leaders, not more middle managers, are the key to scaling product teams.In this episode, you’ll learn:* When a manager struggles, look one level up* Why the jump from line manager to skip lead is so tough* The “API endpoint” trick for leading through layers* How to get feedback without undermining your managers* Why covering for a weak manager can backfire* How to match people to the right projects* A simple 2×2 for knowing when to step in or step back* First-week habits that set skip leads up for successReferenced* High Output Management* Jeff Weiner’s Essay* Read the newsletter* Subscribe to Lenny’s Newsletter* Add Lenny’s Reads to your podcast feedSubscribe: YouTube | Apple | SpotifyFollow Lenny: Twitter | LinkedIn | PodcastFollow Saumil: Twitter/X | LinkedInAboutWelcome to Lenny’s Reads, where every week you’ll find a fresh audio version of my newsletter about building product, driving growth, and accelerating your career, read to you by the soothing voice of Lennybot. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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