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Elaine Chao

Elaine Chao

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Jan 3

9 Life Lessons from 2025

Over the years, this practice has given me the framework to feel like I have actually turned the page on the year, reviewed and refined…

Single lit tea candle

Elaine Chao

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Sep 3, 2025

8 lessons from my 9th year as a product manager

To say that the past year of my career was “busy” is a bit of an understatement. I was firing on all cylinders covering for not just two…

Lights of a city at night reflected across the water

Elaine Chao

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Jan 9, 2025

7 Life Lessons from 2024

I’m slowly recovering from the holiday busy, having slept a solid 9 hours for three nights straight after a grueling series of commitments…

A box on a white shelf. In the center is a small dried flower arrangement

Elaine Chao

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Sep 2, 2024

9 Lessons from my 8th year as a product manager

I was committed to this year’s product manager post, even though I’ve been working on overdrive these past few months. Despite a variety of…

9 Lessons from my 8th year as a product manager

Elaine Chao

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Jan 1, 2024

7 Life Lessons from 2023

Unlike previous years, this year’s post was both started and completed on the last day of the year. In some ways, the approach to this post…

An analog metronome and some sheet music

Elaine Chao

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Oct 23, 2023

7 Lessons from my 7th year of product management

The transition from summer to fall has been a little rougher than usual this year, and so I found myself reluctant to really dig into this…

A field of sunflowers at sundown, with clouds overhead. The sun peeks between clouds and flowers, sending out golden rays.

Elaine Chao

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Dec 31, 2022

9 Life Lessons from 2022

“What did you learn this year?” I’ve found myself asking this question this week as I met up with friends and mentees. As is my practice…

A monthly calendar in a notebook. A few entries are added to a few days

Elaine Chao

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Dec 19, 2022

Weekly reflections of a product manager (2022 edition)

This calendar year, I started a new work practice: journaling at the end of every week. In the one-page handwritten summary of the week, I…

Open journal with a silver fountain pen on top of it. There is some writing on both pages in cursive.

Elaine Chao

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Sep 5, 2022

9 lessons from my 6th year of product management

I didn’t hit my stride as a black belt until sometime around third degree. As is the case in traditional martial arts systems, I’d trained…

Overhead view of turbulent water running through a channel in bedrock.

Elaine Chao

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Jun 24, 2022

The space between sabbaticals: 9 lessons from the past four years

I reflect on a daily, weekly, and annual basis. But now that I’m on a sabbatical from my day job, what have I learned since the last one?

An open journal and pen on top of a distressed wooden table in a cafe. The journal is open to a page that has a lot of handwritten words on it. Next to the journal is a mug, a partially-filled glass jar with what looks like a cold latte, and a small plate with a napkin on it.

Elaine Chao

Elaine Chao

Manager, Product Management at Adobe. Also a martial arts instructor, musician, writer, volunteerism advocate. Opinions mine.

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