Methodology
How we turned 302 podcast transcripts into a product leadership assessment.
1. Transcript Analysis
We analyzed every episode of Lenny's Podcast — 302 transcripts totaling 4.5 million words and 186,000 lines of conversation. Each transcript was parsed, normalized, and cleaned (sponsor reads removed, speaker names resolved, multi-guest episodes split).
For each leader, we extracted key themes, leadership principles, notable quotes, and scored them across 6 dimensions based on what they discuss, emphasize, and advocate.
2. The 6 Dimensions
Our dimension framework captures the key axes of product leadership variation observed across the podcast corpus. Every leader and every quiz response is scored on these 6 dimensions:
Strategic Vision
Setting direction, first-principles thinking, long-term bets, market positioning
Execution & Craft
Shipping velocity, quality obsession, design excellence, attention to detail
Data & Experimentation
Measurement rigor, A/B testing, evidence-based decisions, metrics frameworks
Growth & Distribution
Growth loops, PLG, viral mechanics, channels, acquisition strategy
Team & Leadership
Hiring, culture, coaching, org design, managing up and across
User Empathy & Research
Customer obsession, user research, design thinking, jobs-to-be-done
3. Archetype Discovery
With each leader scored across 6 dimensions, we ran k-means clustering on the resulting 6-dimensional vectors. This revealed 7 natural clusters — groups of leaders with similar leadership profiles that emerged organically from the data.
Each cluster was then characterized by examining its centroid (average dimension scores) and representative leaders. For repeat guests, we used a recency-weighted average (most recent appearance weighted 1.5x) to capture how their perspective evolved.
The archetypes are data-driven — they weren't predetermined. We discovered what the transcript data naturally reveals about the structure of product leadership styles.
4. The Assessment
The 24-question quiz presents realistic product scenarios inspired by real situations discussed on the podcast. Each question has 4 options, and each option maps to a weighted combination of dimensions — there are no wrong answers.
Questions are organized in 3 tiers of escalating complexity:
- 1. The Daily Grind (Q1-8) — Common PM situations
- 2. The Hard Tradeoffs (Q9-16) — Genuine tensions with no obvious answer
- 3. The Defining Moments (Q17-24) — High-stakes, career-shaping decisions
5. Matching & Results
Your quiz answers produce a 6-dimensional score vector. We then compute cosine similarity between your vector and each archetype centroid to find your primary (and optional secondary) archetype.
The same cosine similarity is used to match you with specific leaders — the people whose interview transcripts reveal a product leadership style most similar to yours. Your bottom-scoring dimensions become your "blind spots," and we curate learning paths from the podcast library to address them.
Limitations & Caveats
- This is a fun exploratory tool, not a validated psychometric instrument.
- Dimension scores are based on what leaders discuss on a podcast, which may not fully represent their actual skill profile.
- Interview context matters — some leaders appeared for specific topics, which may skew their profile toward that dimension.
- The 7 archetypes are a useful simplification, not a rigid taxonomy. Most leaders (and you) are a blend.
- Self-assessments always carry bias. Your results reflect how you think about your approach, not necessarily how you act in practice.
Attribution
This project is built from the publicly released transcripts of Lenny's Podcast by Lenny Rachitsky. PM Genome is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Lenny Rachitsky.