Tapan Kamdar on the PACE goal framework, prioritizing simplicity at Meta, and structuring 1:1s
Product State Q&A
Tapan Kamdar is a Director of Product Management at Meta. He was formerly GM/VP Productivity and VP Product at GoDaddy. He previously worked at at Personagraph, Yahoo! and eBay.
Website / LinkedIn
EC: How do you utilize the PACE goal framework?
TK: Have you felt like your team is constantly busy but simply not hitting its targets?
Projects drag on, deadlines slip, and that sense of accomplishment is elusive. I experienced this firsthand when I joined my team at Meta. The problem wasn't motivation, but a lack of clear direction. Setting well-defined goals was the game-changer.
To help leaders build goals that persevere, I built the PACE framework to explore the characteristics of effective goals. Ensuring these characteristics can help your team achieve its goals.
Prioritize (P): The Primary Function of Goals
Not all goals are created equal. Before diving headfirst, prioritize ruthlessly. Ask yourself: what will deliver the most significant impact? What aligns best with the overall product vision? What should we not build? This ensures your team focuses on the goals that truly move the needle.
Impact Focus: Concentrate on goals that drive the most value.
Resource Efficiency: Allocate resources where they matter most.
Strategic Alignment: Ensure all efforts are in sync with the broader vision.
Ambitious (A): The Power of Bold Goals
Walt Disney once said, ‘If you can't dream it, you can't do it.’
At Meta, we set ambitious goals – some we had only a 50% chance of achieving, others just 10%. These moonshots drove us to innovate and think outside the box.
Creative Push: Bold goals inspire out-of-the-box thinking.
Meaningful Progress: Challenging targets drive significant advancements.
Purpose and Innovation: Teams find new ways to solve problems.
Agile: Goals are defined based on problems you intend to solve, not projects. Pivot swiftly when required..
Clarity (C): The Key to Unlocking Success
Imagine a blurry picture – can you truly appreciate the details? The same goes for goals. Ambition is fantastic, but without clarity, it's a recipe for confusion. Define your goals in a way that's specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Everyone on the team should understand not just the ‘what’ but also the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ too.
Reduce Confusion: Clear goals align team efforts.
Increase Productivity: Focused teams achieve more.
Track Progress: Specific targets make it easier to measure success.
Empowered (E): Overcoming Fear and Achieving Success
Setting goals is just the beginning. Now, equip your team with the resources and authority they need to achieve it. This could involve decision-making authority, a metric budget for experimentation, or even the freedom to experiment with new ideas. Empowerment fosters a sense of ownership and fuels creative problem-solving, ultimately accelerating progress toward the goal.
Autonomy: Teams make decisions to drive progress.
Experimentation: Encourage trying new approaches.
Support and Trust: Foster a culture where teams feel valued.
Adaptability: Flexibility meets focus and helps you adapt while staying goal-oriented.
In the ever-evolving landscape of product development, mastering the art of goal influence is paramount. By embracing the PACE framework – Prioritize, Ambitious, Clarity, and Empowered – leaders can steer their teams toward greater heights of achievement. So set your sights high, empower your team, and embark on the journey towards greatness. The horizon awaits.
EC: How might teams better prioritize simplicity for radical impact in product design?
TK: One of the biggest lessons I learned about how simplicity can drive radical impact was through a mistake I made at GoDaddy that made sales spike by 250%! This mistake is still alive today — eight years after I made it.
The temptation of complexity is real! As a product leader, I've often faced the temptation to introduce new features, believing it would increase engagement and bring new users. This creates complexity creep.
Teams add more features due to:
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): You are only thinking about what competition is shipping.
Metric Chasing: You seek to game your metric with temporary spikes through new features.
Shiny Object Syndrome: Leaders create new areas of focus to request headcount for their teams.
The user perspective is so important. Building products used by millions of users at Meta and GoDaddy, I saw firsthand how users react to complexity:
Cognitive Overload: Users get overwhelmed by too many options and features. They revert back to using the core features only.
Frustration: Complex products lead to user churn in favor of simpler products. WhatsApp anyone?
Preference for Simplicity: Simple, intuitive products (e.g. Apple CarPlay) become the default choice over the incumbent choice.
Simplicity can be very powerful. It isn't about stripping features arbitrarily; it's about focusing on what truly matters. How can you get there?
User Focus: Simplify user experiences by removing unnecessary elements. Focus on core needs that address the jobs users hire your product for. Do this and metrics like engagement and retention will follow.
Choice Reduction: Limit options to simplify decision-making for users. This makes the product more intuitive and easier to use.
Long-Term Metrics: Monitor feature performance beyond the initial launch to ensure sustained value. This practice helps understand the product's effectiveness beyond the “novelty” period.
Complexity vs. Impact: Only introduce features that have a significant positive impact on the user experience. At Meta, we would not ship new features if we were trading off simplicity.
Un-Shipping: Regularly evaluate and remove outdated features to streamline the product. This keeps the product focused, performant, and efficient.
Billions of users use Meta products because we focused on simplifying experiences that transformed user engagement and loyalty. Simplicity is about creating a cohesive, intuitive, and user-centered product. By prioritizing core needs, reducing choices, and creating long-term value, you can create products that resonate with users — and stand out in a competitive world.
EC: How do you structure 1:1 meetings?
TK: In my early career, 1:1 meetings with my manager felt unpredictable — like pop quizzes.
I saw them as moments where I had to be ready for anything. It took time to realize that these meetings are actually strategic opportunities to align, unblock, and move forward together.
Creating a structured agenda is a game-changer. I keep a living document for my 1:1s, tracking topics, goals, and follow-ups.
My 1:1 document had the following sections:
Prioritized Discussion Topics: Top issues to tackle (live discussion)
Progress Updates: Goals tracking (async read)
Challenges: Blockers that need addressing (live discussion)
Feedback: Manager/leadership insights to help me (live discussion)
Follow-ups: Action items from previous meetings (async read)
Sharing this agenda ahead of time ensures we both come prepared. This way, our meetings stay on track and productive.
Active Listening: A Two-Way Street
Active listening is crucial. It’s not just about hearing words but understanding and internalizing them. During my time at GoDaddy, I learned that when you actively listen, you build trust and respect.
I stopped taking my laptop and phone to my 1:1s and started walking 1:1s giving the conversation my complete attention. It showed my manager and teams that you value their input, which in turn, fosters a more effective dialogue. This was especially helpful in driving team initiatives and navigating challenges together.
Anticipate Your Manager’s Needs
At Meta, I always tried to see things from my manager’s perspective. What information did they need to support our team with senior leadership? Understanding their priorities and communication style helped me provide relevant updates and anticipate issues.
This proactive approach boosted our team’s productivity and demonstrated my commitment to our shared goals. By doing so, I was signaling that our success and failure were connected and we were in this together.
Managing Time Wisely
Typical 1:1s are 30 minutes long, which can feel short. To maximize this time, we prioritize the most critical topics upfront. During hectic times at Meta, we sometimes decided to give each other time back if less urgent topics could wait. This flexible approach ensured we used our time efficiently.
Following Up
After each 1:1, I jot down action items in the living document highlighting the decisions and action items. This habit kept us accountable and ensured continuous progress. It’s a small step that leads to significant results, by helping us stay aligned and committed.
Effective 1:1 meetings are about partnership. By preparing ahead, listening actively, and anticipating, you can turn these meetings into powerful tools for growth.
“By prioritizing core needs, reducing choices, and creating long-term value, you can create products that resonate with users — and stand out in a competitive world.”
- Tapan Kamdar