Julie Zhuo

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Skills over roles

  “it is this depth of knowledge + skills in a domain that determines who is most likely to design a great solution within it, not the role.”

  Our noteJulie argues that expertise matters more than job titles when solving problems.

• Solutions over features

  “This is what higher-level design looks like. It is designing solutions instead of features, outcomes instead of products.”

  Our noteJulie defines the essence of high-level design as solving problems rather than just shipping features.

• Humility in craft

  “The greatest love for a craft comes from discovering all the endless ways to be humbled by it.”

  Our noteJulie describes how deep mastery involves a continuous process of learning and being challenged.

• Shared ownership

  “When teams are operating at their best, there is a shared sense of ownership, ideas come from many different sources, and the end result reflects the strength of the team”

  Our noteShe discusses the ideal collaborative environment for a product team.

• Societal pressure on emotions

  “In a million different ways, the world conspires to tell us that we don't need to cry. Or, in its harsher moments: we shouldn't cry.”

  Our noteJulie reflects on how society discourages the expression of sadness or vulnerability.

• Collaboration and trust

  “Trust is the lubricant against the friction of human collaboration.”

  Our noteShe explains why trust is essential for efficient teamwork.

• Eye vs Hand Gap

  “while the Eye can see things that the Hand can't yet make, the Hand can never consistently create better than the Eye can see.”

  Our noteJulie discusses the relationship between vision and execution in creative work.

• Opportunity in difficulty

  “The harder the task, the bigger the leadership opportunity. The heavier the team, the greater the hero who pulls it along.”

  Our noteExplaining how difficult organizational challenges create space for great leadership.

• Faith in process

  “Your faith finds repose not in the flashy but in the unseen compounding of daily life: roots must take hold before the tree can rise, buds must open before seeds can be sown.”

  Our noteJulie describes how conviction in the process relies on the power of daily compounding efforts.

• AI for archiving

  “With the power of AI, all those dusty folders in my digital attic's digital attic can now be evaluated and sorted and worked upon.”

  Our noteJulie discusses how AI enables her to process decades of hoarded digital files.

• Intuition Over Analysis

  “We didn't do market analysis or have a roadmap. We had a weekend and a feeling.”

  Our noteShe describes the spontaneous and non-analytical start of their successful project.

• Early Adopter Nostalgia

  “Every new platform has its early adopters, and every early adopter remembers the fun of the raw, wild days.”

  Our noteJulie discusses the unique energy and excitement found in the early days of a new platform.

• Writing for yourself

  “Who am I writing for? Those of you who know me well know that secretly, all my writings are essentially letters to myself. It's the stuff that I need to hear.”

  Our noteJulie explains her motivation and target audience for her new newsletter.

• Taste vs Output

  “And your taste is why your work disappoints you.”

  Our noteShe explains why beginners often feel frustrated with their own early work.

• Core management strategy

  “The success metric is helping a group get to an amazing outcome. The best strategy remains the same: find the right people. Treat them well.”

  Our noteReflecting on four years of her book, she summarizes the timeless essence of management.

• The Purpose of No

  “Don't over-think it - you're saying no so that you can say yes to something else that you value.”

  Our noteShe encourages readers to view saying no as a way to prioritize their values.

• Understanding Tradeoffs

  “Few things are ever no in a vacuum, so it tends to be about the tradeoffs, and people get that.”

  Our noteJulie discusses why explaining your priorities helps others accept your refusal.

• Eliminating fear

  “For whatever action scares you (and isn't life-threatening), remember this surefire way to eliminate the fear: do it 100 times.”

  Our noteJulie explains how repetition can desensitize a person to the fear of taking a specific action.

• Focus on inputs

  “I am generally more focused on inputs than outputs. This means that if there is a positive outcome, but the process in getting there didn't seem sound or intentional to me, I might not see it as cause for celebration.”

  Our noteJulie explains her preference for sound processes over accidental successes.

• Quality over quantity

  “I've also come to realize that the value from reading doesn't come from quantity. I used to think it was way better to read twenty books than two.”

  Our noteShe reflects on how her approach to reading and learning has evolved.

• Personal risk calibration

  “Because no one else can tell you what is risky to you, you must do a personal calibration.”

  Our noteJulie emphasizes that risk assessment is a subjective and individual process.

• Limits of hierarchy

  “Whatever well-meaning system of levels or titles a workplace may come up with, it simply cannot encapsulate all the nuances of good judgement that come from skill and domain knowledge”

  Our noteExplaining why titles don't always equate to the best decision-making ability.

• Limits of playbooks

  “Take this from a lover and writer of playbooks: they can never teach you how to do something hard.”

  Our noteJulie warns that frameworks are not a substitute for doing difficult work.

• Iteration vs First Try

  “I consider it a night-and-day difference between arriving at a solution on the first try and arriving at a solution having gone through rounds and rounds of iteration.”

  Our noteJulie explains why the process of iteration is superior to getting lucky on the first attempt.

• Failure of Context

  “To make a subpar decision because you didn't get enough context or feedback is to fail.”

  Our noteJulie defines what constitutes a true failure in the decision-making process.

• Video meeting fatigue

  “Video meetings seem to sap more energy than in-person meetings and require more effort to stay focused, especially if your primary job is to listen.”

  Our noteExplaining why remote meetings can be more draining than physical ones.

• Asynchronous documentation

  “A document's more narrative structure makes it easier to pass around and consume asynchronously. We can all do with fewer in-person presentations right now.”

  Our noteSuggesting written documents over live presentations for remote teams.

• Writing discipline

  “What I learned is that the most important thing in writing is to just get the words down - the discipline of 1667 a day.”

  Our noteReflecting on the habit of writing consistently regardless of quality.

• AI and jobs

  “Because AI sounds like a human, people assume it can take a human job. But asking AI to "do sales" is nonsense.”

  Our noteExplaining why AI should target specific workflows rather than entire job titles.

• The abundant story

  “An abundant story asks what your company will make, serve, or discover once intelligence and execution get cheap.”

  Our noteShe encourages leaders to think about new opportunities created by lower costs.