Tom Leung

June 2024

April 2024 Cohort

Cohort 1

May 2024

Sep 2024 Cohort

October 2024 Cohort

July 2024 Cohort

Cohort 6

An exclusive, confidential peer group for PMs to solve hard problems & grow with expert mentorship.

Cohort 2

Let's touch a bit on the three cases we'll hit up in each of the 3 classes. At the end I'll share some free takeaways and insights.

Preview into 3 AI Product Strategy Cases

Good example of product and business questions that are hard to unpack in a world of gen AI and building an actual business.

The curious case of Gen AI ed:tech startup Riiid...

I created a 10 minute video where I go into the difference between product managers, software engineers, user experience designers, program managers, product marketing managers, and user experience researchers.

Which product innovation job type is best for you?

I've seen a lot of product reviews with some of the top PM's in the industry. And yet, we all seem to make the same mistakes. Here are the 5 that you should *not* make.

Free Resource: What are the 5 Mistakes You are Making in your Product Reviews?

The Backchannel: Confidential PM Cohort

Senior PM

Mastering Product Reviews for IC Product Managers

Staff Product Manager

Product Strategy in an AI-first World

Product Manager

Executive and Internal Communications Lead

Partner

Our goal is to get a lot of hands-on practice with pre-work for each session. We will do lots of in-class examples and workshopping together. This is the approach I've used for the last 20 years leveling up my own PM teams and as a 5-star Google PM coach, a large percentage of whom were able to be promoted and some whom are now VP's, directors and GPM's. You will be working and leaning in and getting cold called a lot during class :-) Class 1: Nail the exec summary. Class 2: Nail the money slide. Class 3: Own the room. *Every class will end with a 20 minute AMA with Tom to dig into specific nuances you need more guidance on or to share specific challenges you're facing for a review coming up or that just happened at work. **In between classes, you will also have access to unlimited Q&amp;A in the student portal.

Learn by doing

Provide a brief description for each module as a way to sell the value of what students will be learning throughout the course.

First Module

Second Module

Third Module

Course syllabus

Three weekly sessions for 90 minutes

Pre-work should be submitted on the Thursday night in advance of each week's Sunday class.

Weekly projects

Course schedule

You're an APM up to L6 PM and are expecting to do more product reviews. You want to be ready for the challenge.

You've gotten perf feedback that your product reviews are not landing despite a lot of preparation.

Your organization has new leadership and they're telling the org they want to uplevel their product management excellence.

You love product reviews and want to become a master at them.

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

Review why execs want product reviews, the different types, and common traits of successful vs unsuccessful ones. Students will play the role of product reviewer and Tom will present to you so you can assess, discuss, and see the review from the pov of the Directors and VP's.

Frame your review so you win early

Using a case study you'll have read in advance of class, you'll work on a one slide exec summary and then we'll share, critique, and discuss as a small group. The goal here is to strengthen your ability to distill key information and themes in a logical, crisp, and persuasive way

Nail the exec summary so your storyline is crisp and lands

Hone the art and science of going the next level deeper in detail, ensuring a deck flows, and we're framing the problem, providing relevant info, mapping out the option space, making a reco, making an ask, etc.

Build the deck to lock in the key discussions and secure the input you need

Develop your voice, handle objections, and manage pacing. We'll have lots of exercises where we practice presenting as well as taking questions, getting interrupted, stumped, and overruled.

Present like a pro so you come across as a Sr IC with GPM potential

Our goal will be for you to have a 10-20% better review after taking this course. We want your manager and skip level to notice that you're more buttoned up, clear headed, and manage the review for improved impact to the business.

Set a new high-water mark for your next review

Get expert-led, intensive PM practice & feedback on framing, communicating, and landing successful product reviews.

In this course, we will as a group, unpack 3 detailed, tech strategy HBS case studies with major AI elements (ML, Gen AI, LLM's) and learn about key business frameworks and lenses to solve business problems in general. In my time at Harvard, we did almost 1,000 case analyses. You will get experience opening a business case, analyzing the business and an industry, analyzing business data and information, assessing the decisions facing the CEO of an AI impacted business, evaluate strategic options and tradeoffs, and analyze and debate these topics with a graduate school level of rigor. We'll dig into answering questions like: 1. How are the industry specific forces going to change, evolve, or remain constant because of AI? 2. What strategic options are available to the protagonist companies? How should we pick a path forward? 3. What are the key metrics and data driven evidence we can use to inform our decisions and evaluate our AI-aware strategy?

Unpack AI business strategy through four recent Harvard Business School cases

Sundays

1 hour to read and prepare the case, 1 hour to discuss with your study group prior to Sunday's class discussion.

Product managers, marketers, salespeople who want to broaden their skill set and understand the strategy of AI.

Professionals who work with business and strategy teams and required to successfully harness AI for their planning.

Product Managers who want to be more successful writing up annual planning proposals especially if they will be asked about AI implications.

Understand the unique considerations for AI-first product decisions.

Strategy meets AI

Get practice understanding and unpacking an industry structure and company's business model and business performance including the impact of AI.

Business Strategy Assessment

Dig into the financial and business artifacts to get to the essence of a business problem including unique considerations when building AI capabilities.

Business Analysis

Experience what it's like making business decisions and advocating for them in the face of pushback and debate including when AI is introducing new tradeoffs.

Management Discussions

Cases will be featuring current tech companies facing real challenges and AI opportunities relevant for today.

Tech Industry Insights

For tech industry professionals who want to navigate how AI is impacting their company and product strategy. Extra small cohort (capped @12)

Confident Decision-Making: You'll work through real-world product challenges with expert guidance and peer feedback, helping you build the muscle for fast, well-informed decisions. Career Clarity &amp; Planning: Sessions will include forward-looking career planning exercises, giving participants actionable strategies to navigate promotions, job transitions, and long-term growth. Elite Peer Network: Connect with a curated group of PMs from diverse tech companies, fostering deep connections that provide ongoing professional support beyond the course. Real-Time Problem Solving: Bring live product or career dilemmas to the table and leave with tangible solutions, benefitting from a variety of perspectives and industry best practices. Exclusive Expert Mentorship: Learn directly from Tom Leung, an industry veteran with Google and startup experience, ensuring you receive battle-tested advice tailored to your needs. Safe, Confidential Space: The program’s strict confidentiality policy allows participants to discuss sensitive challenges openly, without fear of judgment or exposure. By the end of the program, you’ll leave with sharpened product skills, a clear career roadmap, and the confidence to tackle complex product and leadership challenges head-on.

Transform from a highly capable PM to a thriving and growing leader.

Weekly Wednesdays

Tom will share occasional optional articles to read or suggested homework assignments in advance of each meeting.

Pre-Reads

PM's navigating a variety of challenges from work-life balance, to landing winning launches, to managing up and across.

PMs in tech who seek candid peer feedback, expert guidance, and actionable strategies to solve product and career challenges.

PMs from diverse companies and projects, sparking fresh insights, cross-pollination, and new strategies through shared experiences.

Backchannel is for L4-L7 product managers ready to tackle real challenges, grow strategically, and advance their careers.

In each session, you’ll work through real-world product challenges brought by your cohort or yourself. Using frameworks, peer collaboration, and personalized feedback, you'll walk away with practical solutions you can immediately apply. Expect to sharpen your problem-solving skil

Master Complex Product Challenges with Confidence

Whether you’re aiming for promotion, pivoting roles, or leveling up in your current position, you’ll engage in structured exercises to map out 1- to 5-year career goals. Walk away with a clear, actionable plan and the feedback needed to make better strategic career decisions.

Gain Clarity on Your Career Path

Exposure to peers from different companies and industries unlocks creative solutions and fresh strategies. Learn how product decisions vary across contexts and apply best practices to your own work. This cross-pollination will give you new ways of thinking that you won’t find wit

Broaden Perspectives Through Cross-Industry Insights

PMs often face challenges in influencing without direct authority. In Backchannel, you’ll develop strategies for effective stakeholder management, learn how to navigate internal politics, and practice assertive communication. Build leadership skills essential for your next career

Refine Your Leadership and Influence Skills

Feedback is essential for growth. Through Backchannel, you’ll receive honest, actionable insights from both peers and Tom Leung—an industry expert with decades of experience. Expect to make measurable improvements to your product skills and career strategy by the end of the progr

Unlock Growth with Actionable Feedback and Coaching

A 3-month, weekly, curated small peer group for PMs to accelerate their career success with group discussion and expert mentorship.

Tom Leung is a former Google PM Director, executive coach, and top-rated mentor

AI Crossroads: Strategic Decisions for Product Managers

Partner at Palo Alto Foundry Fund (former PM Director at Google Applied AI)

We'll delve into a real-world scenario and case study of a major bank using Gen AI for product and ops.

Let's get real and unpack a specific company example.

See how AI is a transformative force but needs to avoid common pitfalls and make hard tradeoffs.

What happens after the hack day?

Two decades of experience in the tech industry, including a leadership role in launching applied AI products at Google.

War stories from a tech leader with actual AI landings.

How to nail your next Exec Product Review

Former Google PM Director

We'll do a line by line tear down of some examples of exec summaries  and compare the good, bad, and ugly.

How to create the most important slide of any deck

Discuss examples of how Tom thinks about his team's product reviews and how he prepare for his own high stakes reviews.

How to develop the right mindset for a successful review

Ask Tom anything. He's a 5-star Maven instructor, formerly a top 4% rated Google PM director, and 5-star PM coach.

Tom Leung

Tom Leung

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