J.M. Nickels
Former Product Leader at Uber / DoorDash / Waymo
Product leader who built Uber Pool, led product at DoorDash and Waymo, known for his conscious leadership approach, using an objective function from his future self to guide decisions, and for his perspective that mortality awareness creates extraordinary priority clarity.
Dimension Profile
Key Themes
Episode Summary
J.M. Nickels shares his journey building products at Uber (including Uber Pool), DoorDash, and Waymo, revealing how mortality awareness became his most powerful decision-making tool — defining an objective function from his future 80-year-old self to cut through noise. He advocates for conscious leadership where senior leaders focus on soft skills like creating space for junior voices, arguing that these become the entire game at higher levels.
Leadership Principles
- → Define an objective function from your future self — ask what 80-year-old you would optimize for and let that guide your career and product decisions
- → Mortality awareness creates extraordinary priority clarity — when you accept your finite time, the noise of politics and ego games falls away
- → As you get more senior, soft skills become the entire game — creating space for junior voices and making others feel heard is the real leverage
Notable Quotes
"I ask myself what my 80-year-old self would optimize for. That becomes the objective function for every decision."
— On using mortality awareness to set life and career priorities
"As you get more senior, the soft skills become the entire game. Creating space for junior voices, making others feel heard — that's where the real leverage is."
— On the evolution of leadership skills at higher levels
"Conscious leadership is about being aware of what state you're operating from. Are you above the line — curious and open? Or below the line — defensive and closed?"
— On applying conscious leadership principles to product work
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