Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement

OpenAI CPO: Evals are becoming a core skill for PMs. PM in 2025 is changing fast. PMs need to learn brand new skills: 1. AI Evals (https://lnkd.in/eGbzWMxf) 2. AI PRDs (https://lnkd.in/eMu59p_z) 3. AI Strategy (https://lnkd.in/egemMhMF) 4. AI Discovery (https://lnkd.in/e7Q6mMpc) 5. AI Prototyping (https://lnkd.in/eJujDhBV) And evals is amongst the deepest topics. There's 3 steps to them: 1. Observing (https://lnkd.in/e3eQBdMp) 2. Analyzing Errors (https://lnkd.in/eEG83W5D) 3. Building LLM Judges (https://lnkd.in/ez3stJRm) - - - - - - Here's your simple guide to evals in 5 minutes: (Repost this before anything else ♻️) 𝟭. 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘁 Start with 100 diverse traces of your LLM pipeline. Use real data if you can, or systematic synthetic data generation across key dimensions if you can't. Quality over quantity here: aggressive filtering beats volume. 𝟮. 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 Read every trace carefully and label failure modes without preconceptions. Look for the first upstream failure in each trace. Continue until you hit theoretical saturation, when new traces reveal no fundamentally new error types. 𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀 Group similar failures into coherent, binary categories through axial coding. Focus on Gulf of Generalization failures (where clear instructions are misapplied) rather than Gulf of Specification issues (ambiguous prompts you can fix easily). 𝟰. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 Create dedicated evaluators for each failure mode. Use code-based checks when possible (regex, schema validation, execution tests). For subjective judgments, build LLM-as-Judge evaluators with clear Pass/Fail criteria, few-shot examples, and structured JSON outputs. 𝟱. 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹 Integrate evals into CI/CD, monitor production with bias-corrected success rates, and cycle through Analyze→ Measure→ Improve continuously. New failure modes in production feed back into your evaluation artifacts. Evals are now a core skill for AI PMs. This is your map. - - - - - I learned this from Hamel Husain and Shreya Shankar. Get 35% off their course: https://lnkd.in/e5DSNJtM 📌 Want our step-by-step guide to evals? Comment 'steps' + DM me. Repost to cut the line. ➕ Follow Aakash Gupta to stay on top of AI x PM.

Should you try Google’s famous “20% time” experiment to encourage innovation? We tried this at Duolingo years ago. It didn’t work. It wasn’t enough time for people to start meaningful projects, and very few people took advantage of it because the framework was pretty vague. I knew there had to be other ways to drive innovation at the company. So, here are 3 other initiatives we’ve tried, what we’ve learned from each, and what we're going to try next. 💡 Innovation Awards: Annual recognition for those who move the needle with boundary-pushing projects. The upside: These awards make our commitment to innovation clear, and offer a well-deserved incentive to those who have done remarkable work. The downside: It’s given to individuals, but we want to incentivize team work. What’s more, it’s not necessarily a framework for coming up with the next big thing. 💻 Hackathon: This is a good framework, and lots of companies do it. Everyone (not just engineers) can take two days to collaborate on and present anything that excites them, as long as it advances our mission or addresses a key business need. The upside: Some of our biggest features grew out of hackathon projects, from the Duolingo English Test (born at our first hackathon in 2013) to our avatar builder. The downside: Other than the time/resource constraint, projects rarely align with our current priorities. The ones that take off hit the elusive combo of right time + a problem that no other team could tackle. 💥 Special Projects: Knowing that ideal equation, we started a new program for fostering innovation, playfully dubbed DARPA (Duolingo Advanced Research Project Agency). The idea: anyone can pitch an idea at any time. If they get consensus on it and if it’s not in the purview of another team, a cross-functional group is formed to bring the project to fruition. The most creative work tends to happen when a problem is not in the clear purview of a particular team; this program creates a path for bringing these kinds of interdisciplinary ideas to life. Our Duo and Lily mascot suits (featured often on our social accounts) came from this, as did our Duo plushie and the merch store. (And if this photo doesn't show why we needed to innovate for new suits, I don't know what will!) The biggest challenge: figuring out how to transition ownership of a successful project after the strike team’s work is done. 👀 What’s next? We’re working on a program that proactively identifies big picture, unassigned problems that we haven’t figured out yet and then incentivizes people to create proposals for solving them. How that will work is still to be determined, but we know there is a lot of fertile ground for it to take root. How does your company create an environment of creativity that encourages true innovation? I'm interested to hear what's worked for you, so please feel free to share in the comments! #duolingo #innovation #hackathon #creativity #bigideas

Today, I'm talking to a group of proactive leaders about the actions they can take to build high-trust teams. It will be time well spent because trust pays off. People feel happier in their roles and teams perform better together. We refer a lot to Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety and in almost every team we work with, the factor they fall down on is the ability to have tough conversations. There isn't really a quick fix, but I've pulled together some of the tools I find most useful in helping teams talk about 'tough stuff'. 1️⃣ Use the assertiveness matrix we shared in episode 276 of the Squiggly Careers podcast to understand the current dynamic of the conversation 2️⃣ Watch Margaret Heffernan’s TED Talk 'Dare to disagree’ as a team to reflect on what you do well and where you could improve 3️⃣ Practice your tough conversation skills with AI and get feedback (Toby Sinclair has created a great AI roleplay tool that I'd highly recommend having a play with https://lnkd.in/eQtmF4-s) 4️⃣ Reflect on the role that you play in the conversation by using Megan Reitz's TRUTH Framework I've linked to everything in the PDF below - please download / share if you find it useful or message me if it's easier to have the links in your inbox! ______ 💡 I write about squiggly career skills and learning at work. ✅ Follow Helen Tupper for daily posts on career development.

I am a few weeks late posting on a recent book I read and really enjoyed. Stephen Schwarzman's book "What It Takes" offers valuable, poignant, and entertaining insights into critical moments of Blackstone's remarkable growth and the principles that drove its success. A notable acquisition story from the book recounts a pivotal decision that exemplified Blackstone's deep customer obsession, mirroring Amazon's approach. The alignment between Blackstone's culture and Amazon's leadership principles is striking, highlighting common values that successful organizations share. Here are a few key lessons from both companies that I found compelling for building strong cultures: Customer Obsession Both Amazon and Blackstone prioritize customer/client interests above all else. This deep commitment to understanding and meeting customer needs drives long-term success and value creation. For example, Amazon's development of the Kindle was based on anticipating customer needs, while Blackstone's acquisition of Hilton Worldwide transformed a struggling hotel chain into a global powerhouse through a focus on long-term client relationships over short-term profits. Ownership At Amazon and Blackstone, ownership means taking responsibility for outcomes and thinking long-term. This culture of accountability encourages employees to act like owners, take initiative, and be responsible for their decisions. Schwarzman's success stories often involve stepping into leadership roles to create value, reinforcing the importance of ownership. Hiring and Development Both companies are known for rigorous hiring processes and investing in talent development. They operate as meritocracies, rewarding those who take risks and deliver exceptional results. Schwarzman emphasizes hiring "10 out of 10s" to drive disproportionate value across teams. High Standards Amazon and Blackstone insist on the highest standards, pushing for excellence and refusing to accept mediocrity. This pursuit of perfection is critical to both companies' success. Amazon's focus on continuous improvement and Blackstone's commitment to delivering superior results exemplify this mindset. Trust Trust through integrity and transparency is crucial for both organizations, as it is built through consistent actions over time, emphasizing honesty and ethical behavior in all dealings with customers, clients, and partners. Blackstone’s transparent communication with investors during the 2008 financial crisis solidified their reputation for integrity, much like Amazon’s transparent customer reviews build trust with consumers. The alignment between Blackstone's approach and Amazon's leadership principles demonstrates that customer obsession, ownership, high standards, and a relentless drive for results are critical factors in building successful organizations. By integrating these principles into our own organizations, we not only aspire to success but also create a culture of excellence and trust. 

In a world of quarterly targets and instant gratification, long-term thinking is becoming a rare—and powerful—superpower. The leaders I admire most are the ones who resist the pressure to react and instead choose to respond. Managers who invest in people and ideas that won’t necessarily pay off tomorrow, but will shape what’s possible years from now. Long-term thinking shows up in all kinds of ways: ✔️ Building a resilient company culture. The strength of a resilient company culture should not be underestimated. It is one that you can lean on during good and bad times. It can serve as your compass and be with you through a company’s evolution. A resilient company allows you to innovate and keeps your mission and purpose aligned. There are no short cuts to building resilience. Meaning that the most resilient cultures are those built over time and through long-term strategic thinking and commitment. ✔️ Choosing sustainable growth over unsustainable speed. Quick growth is fine—great, even—but not if it causes you to make careless mistakes that will be difficult to recover from. If you're growing so fast that you are neglecting quality, or worse, safety, then it's time to recalibrate. Long-term success means prioritizing the well-being of your customers and your team. ✔️ Focusing on relationships with your customer, not just transactions. This includes knowing your stakeholders. If revenue dips, it might be tempting to raise prices to patch the shortfall. However, ask yourself: is  price the problem, or is there something deeper missing in the product or service? Short-term fixes can backfire if they erode trust. Long-term thinking requires you to deeply understand the needs of the people you serve—and to keep earning their loyalty over time. Personally, I’ve found that long-term thinking brings clarity. It helps me filter out the noise and focus on what really matters—not just in business, but in life. If you want to lead with vision, ask yourself: What will matter most in five years? And what am I doing today to build toward that? When you can zoom out, you often see the path forward more clearly. And that’s how leaders—and legacies—are built.

You don't have to be in a formal leadership position to influence change and improvement. Influence comes from building a shared purpose and anyone can do this! Let's say you’ve spotted a way to make things better, faster, or smoother at work. You know this change could really help, but when you bring it up, the team pushes back or doesn’t seem interested. ⚠️ It’s easy to get frustrated or try harder to win people over. But pushing hard usually backfires. ❗ So instead, shift your focus to shared purpose and cooperation. 👉Let’s take a common example: the weekly team meeting. 👉The problem: you see issues with meetings- they run over, lack focus, and don’t result in clear outcomes. Here's a suggested response to influence improvement... 1️⃣ Ask Questions That Spark Reflection Get your team to reflect on the current meeting process by asking: ❓ “How do you feel about our weekly meetings — are they a good use of our time?” ❓ “What parts of our meetings feel most productive, and what parts feel like a time drain?” ❓ “Do we always leave meetings knowing who’s doing what?” (This will get people thinking...) 2️⃣ Highlight shared goals. Link your idea to something the whole team values: ❓ “I know we all want to have more time for focused work. What if we could cut our meeting time in half and still get everything done?” (Now, the focus isn’t on your idea — it’s on solving a shared problem) 3️⃣ Invite Ideas and Feedback Rather than presenting a fixed solution, co-create it: ❓ "I've made a suggestion but that's just one option- what ideas do you have?” (When the team helps shape the solution, they’re more invested in making it work) 4️⃣ Start Small and Test Together Propose trying a small, low-risk change, taking into account all suggestions: ❓ “How about next week, we try a 30-minute meeting with a strict agenda and clear action points documented? We can see how it feels, adjust if needed, and then try out other ideas?" (Small tests reduce the fear of change and show that you value collaboration) 5️⃣ Celebrate Progress as a Team If the new approach works, recognize the team effort: ❗ “Our meeting was only 30 minutes, and we still got through everything! ❗ “It’s great to see us using our time more effectively. Let’s keep this going.” You could apply these 5 steps to influencing any kind of change or improvement....oh and don't forget to be prepared, use data and work on those communication skills! What do you think? Could you try this to help build your #influence skills? Do you have any tips from your own experience? Leave your comments below 🙏

In every industry review, strategy presentation, or leadership discussion, we often emphasise the need for better, faster, and more reliable execution. However, very few organisations pause to ask the most fundamental question: do we deliver consistent value to customers every single day, irrespective of demand, capacity, or market volatility? Lean projects, Six Sigma certifications, TPM workshops, audits, dashboards, and digital upgrades may support this journey, but tools alone do not create Operational Excellence. If they did, then every certified organisation would achieve world-class status. Operational Excellence (OpEx) is not a project, compliance requirement, or cost-saving measure. It is a disciplined business approach that ensures every process, line, and shift delivers higher reliability, reduced waste, and increased customer value. When Toyota stops a line to address a defect at its source, or Amazon delivers same-day at scale, these actions demonstrate a culture of excellence rather than mere efficiency. In textiles and manufacturing, this mindset becomes non-negotiable. Volatile demand, pricing pressure, energy intensity, and sustainability expectations require consistent execution. Digital tools, automation, data analytics, and modern systems can accelerate progress, but they cannot replace leadership intent, clear direction, trust, and systemic thinking. Progress happens when frontline teams understand the purpose, feel safe to raise issues, and consistently improve daily operations. I have seen plants transform when leadership alignment, clear metrics, structured reviews, visual management, and daily Kaizen operate in harmony. Defects decrease, throughput improves, resource utilisation strengthens, customer complaints decline, and most importantly, employees take pride in performance as excellence becomes routine rather than occasional. OpEx is not about perfection but about consistent progress, collective learning, and continuous improvement. If every person, process, and decision advanced your organisation toward excellence, how would it compete differently? #OperationalExcellence #Leadership #Manufacturing #ContinuousImprovement #Learn

Great leadership isn’t about ensuring alignment all the time. Here is why: I recently worked with a leadership team in a global company that, at first glance, seemed to be thriving. Meetings were quick, decisions were made efficiently, and everyone was on the same page. They believed this harmony meant they were operating at peak performance. But beneath the surface, something critical was missing: 🚫 innovation. Their constant agreement was stifling progress. Without diverse ideas, challenges, or healthy debate, the team was simply recycling the same thinking, overlooking new opportunities and struggling with complex problems. It was a classic case of ‘groupthink’—where everyone falls into agreement to avoid conflict or discomfort.  👇 Here’s what I did with the team: - Diagnosed the agreement cycle & TPS - Introduced psychological safety practices - Encouraged intellectual humility - Secured mechanism for diverse input integration We started worked on inclusive decision-making practices by ensuring that every voice in the room was heard. We integrated mechanisms like structured brainstorming, anonymous idea submissions, and rotating roles of idea champions to reduce bias and prevent dominant voices from overtaking discussions. 📈 The result? Not only did their decision-making improve, but their solutions became more creative and forward-thinking. Leaders, here're the takeaways: 1️⃣ If your meetings are full of "Yes, I agree," ask yourself what you might be missing. 2️⃣ Diversity of thought is your competitive advantage. 3️⃣ Teams thrive when they feel safe enough to disagree and bold enough to innovate. This is psychological safety. P.S. Do you think your team challenges each other enough? I’d love to hear your thoughts 👇

Winning teams all have one thing in common: They can count on each other. - They keep their word - They meet their timelines - They speak up when they can't The real driver of high-performing teams? - It's not talent - It's not strategy - It's not operations It's mutual accountability. I learned this the hard way. I inherited a nightmare: - A talented team missing every deadline. - Everyone working late nights. - Absolutely zero trust. Then I introduced a two-minute habit: 💡 "Called Shots" The system is deliberately simple: Morning: Public declaration of 3-5 commitments Evening: Public reporting of hits and misses Friday: Team reflection on patterns Why does it work? Because no one wants to fall short in front of their peers. It wasn't individual shame driving us.  It was rewiring the team for shared success. The magic is in the loop: ✅ Clear commitments create focus. ✅ Public results create natural accountability. ✅ Weekly reflection creates continuous improvement. On Fridays, we ask: ✅ Where did I excel? ✅ Where can I improve? ✅ What's my one change for next week? The transformation was dramatic: ✅ Excuses turned into solutions. ✅ Promises became unbreakable. ✅ Team trust skyrocketed. Most importantly: The team owned their growth. 💡 Pro Tip: AI Analysis Boost Want to supercharge your team's learning?  Here's a prompt to analyze your Called Shots data: "Analyze this week's Called Shots data. Focus on: Success patterns in completed tasks Common obstacles in incomplete tasks Team velocity trends Hidden productivity opportunities Suggested process improvements Include specific examples and actionable recommendations." Want to give it a try? Copy and paste the image from this post. Want the exact template we used to track your data? I made it free for subscribers: 💡 https://lnkd.in/eiPgBNB6 Remember: The best systems don't force accountability. They make it a natural ingredient for mutual success. Helpful?  ✅ Follow Dave Kline for more.  ♻️ And repost to help other leaders.

What do you do when someone on your team is brave enough to criticise you? Me? I promote them as soon as possible. Why? Because in high-performing companies, innovation thrives when teams feel empowered to challenge ideas respectfully. As a leader, fostering a culture of constructive dissent can unlock your team’s full potential and fuel spectacular business growth. Here are 5 techniques I use to build openness and encourage dialogue: 1. Encourage continuous feedback Don’t wait for annual reviews or formal discussions. Make candid feedback a regular part of daily operations — through check-ins, town halls, or anonymous surveys. The more often feedback is shared, the less intimidating it becomes. 2. Model respectful dissent How do you react when your ideas are challenged? Leaders should actively invite differing viewpoints and listen with an open mind. When leaders encourage respectful dissent, it signals to everyone that diverse perspectives are truly valued. 3. Reward honest opinions Recognise those who respectfully challenge the status quo. This reinforces the idea that fresh thinking is an asset, not a liability. (Fun fact: The US State Department has an annual Constructive Dissent Award, given to those who courageously stand by their principles.) 4. Be transparent in decision-making After making a decision, explain the reasoning behind it. Even if someone’s idea isn’t chosen, knowing their input was genuinely considered strengthens future buy-in and trust. 5. Align after discussion Once a decision is made, the team must unite behind it to make it work. Remind everyone that while debate is healthy during the process, whole-hearted execution is key to success. You really can criticise your way to success. A culture of constructive dissent leads to smarter decisions and a more productive team. The key? Making sure every voice is heard and valued. Do you agree? Promise not to fire you if you don't!