ex-VP Product, Netflix
Former VP of Product at Netflix during its explosive growth years. Creator of the DHM (Delight, Hard-to-copy, Margin-enhancing) product strategy framework. Now teaches product strategy and advises growth-stage companies.
Netflix
VP Product
Chegg
Chief Product Officer
Electronic Arts
Director of Product
A poorly chosen north star metric can destroy a product in 6 months. Before locking it in, ask: can this metric go up while the business goes down?
"At Netflix we measured engagement, but we always had to add without compromising long-term satisfaction. The nuance changes everything."
Every major product decision at Netflix started with a test, not a debate. The fastest way to end a strategy argument is to run an experiment.
"We did not debate features at Netflix — we tested them. Opinion is cheap; data is expensive but worth every cent."
Apply the Margin-Enhancing filter before every major initiative: will this help us charge more, cost less, or do both? If not, deprioritize ruthlessly.
"Delight alone is not a strategy. Delight that is hard to copy and margin-enhancing — that is a moat."
Netflix grew to 150M subscribers by removing friction at every signup step — not by adding features. Simplicity is a growth strategy.
"Every extra field in a signup form is a door you close in a user's face. We removed doors obsessively."
Leading indicators give you 3 months of warning. Lagging indicators give you a post-mortem. Build your metric system so you always know what is coming, not what happened.
"By the time churn shows up in your monthly report, the damage was done 90 days ago. Track the signals, not the symptoms."
