To Win an Argument at Work, Bring a Prototype, Not a Memo
An OpenAI product lead says a slick memo no longer proves you thought, so she brings a trial version and invites colleagues to finish it.
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career · AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (OpenAI’s product lead)Tara Seshan, a product lead at OpenAI, used to do her thinking in long strategy documents and then turn them into presentations to move a team to action. Now she says that method no longer persuades anyone, because a polished, lengthy memo is no longer proof that anyone thought hard about the problem.
Her replacement is simple: bring colleagues something they can try. That means a mockup, a working prototype, or better yet, results from a test, such as a split test where two versions are tried with users and the outcome is compared. She said that kind of evidence is a far better communication tool than the document itself.
Seshan still writes constantly, sometimes hundreds of documents, but she writes them for herself, to clarify her own thinking. The shared artifact, the thing meant to convince other people, is the thing they can click on or the numbers from what happened when users tried it.
When she does need written buy-in, she follows a rule from a former manager: stop at 70 percent complete and then take the draft to the people whose support you need. Let them help carry it from 70 to 100 percent.
The reason, she said, is that few talented people want to engage with a perfectly finished idea. New suggestions bounce off a polished draft, while a draft with rough edges gives collaborators something to grip and improve with you. So start rough, bring a version people can touch, and let the test results make the argument.
Questions people ask
What exactly is the kind of test result she is talking about?
A split test, often called an A/B test, shows two versions of a product to different groups of users and compares what happens. Product teams use it to see which version gets more clicks, signups, purchases, or other desired actions. It is persuasive because it measures behavior instead of opinions.
How do I make a quick prototype if I cannot code?
You do not need to be an engineer. Many design tools and AI coding tools now let you describe what you want in plain language and produce a clickable page or demo in minutes. The goal is not production quality, just enough realism that a colleague can try the flow and react to it.
Does this mean writing is dead at work?
No, at least not in her practice. She still writes often for herself to sort out what she thinks, and she separates that private thinking from the public persuading. What changed is which artifact she shares when she wants other people to agree and act.