Every product needs a vision. <ol><li>A good product vision needs to be lofty ...</li><li>Yet realistic, and separate from current technology limitations.</li><li>It should be grounded in solving clear user problems.</li><li>It should be communicated through storytelling, such as writing future headlines or sketching ideas.</li></ol>One example is uber's vision of a city without cars or Microsoft's vision of a computer on every desk.

The 4 Elements Of Product Vision

Product leadership is about clarity and conviction. Clarity is about bringing simplicity and transparency to the product's purpose and issues.Conviction is having a strong belief in the vision and strategy, knowing the path forward.

Clarity and Conviction in Product Management

This is how to make a product vision:<ol><li>Start with empathizing with users to understand their needs.</li><li>Create solutions that envision a better future for users.</li><li>Evangelize the vision to teams and stakeholders to align everyone.</li></ol>The vision shoul live in a live doc, open to comments easy to reference. It should not be percived as static but rather open to debate and question.

Empathize, Create, Evangelize

Ebi is a product leader who specializes in helping teams craft compeling product visions.

Ebi Atawodi is Director of Product Management for the Creator Experience at YouTube, former Head of Product at Uber, and a former Director of Product (Payments and EMEA) at Netflix. Known for crafting a strong, unified vision, Ebi empowers her teams to achieve outsized outcomes. In today’s episode, we go deep into vision and strategy, including:• The four key elements of a good vision statement• Three ways to determine your mission• The four pillars of great product management• How writing helps you gain clarity• How culture influences product• Tips on how to structure a strategy session• Advice on building team culture and improving work relationships• What’s coming soon at YouTube — Brought to you by Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers | Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams | Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies — Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/crafting-a-compelling-product-vision — Where to find Ebi Atawodi: • X: https://twitter.com/ebiatawodi • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebiatawodi • YouTube mixes: https://www.youtube.com/@EbiAtawodi/videos — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Ebi’s background (04:31) Four key elements of a product vision (08:14) Examples of lofty but attainable visions (11:43) Vision vs. mission  (13:23) Examples of visions and missions from notable companies (15:00) A simple framework for outlining a vision  (20:51) Other methods for outlining a vision  (23:29) The impact of writing clear headlines (26:41) Using mockups to frame your vision (28:24) A step-by-step approach to developing a vision (32:58) Ebi’s “10 Things” document (37:47) A quick summary of Ebi’s tips (40:56) How to use the “10 Things” doc in a strategy session (43:11) The three concentric circles of evangelizing  (47:48) The cadence of developing a vision and bringing it to life (49:26) Visions vs. micro visions (52:58) First steps in developing a vision (55:12) Infrastructure is the product (56:39) Clarity and conviction, the main jobs of PMs (59:58) Ebi’s narrative doc (1:04:59) Conviction, its role in the job, and how to build it (1:08:20) How to build company culture (1:17:06) The monolithic culture at Uber (1:19:09) The culture Ebi embeds in her teams (1:23:58) How to evaluate your relationship with your engineering manager  (1:26:02) What’s new at YouTube (1:29:22) Ebi’s closing thoughts (1:30:45) Lightning round — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. — Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

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Crafting a compelling product vision | Ebi Atawodi (YouTube, Netflix, Uber)

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Clarity is about bringing simplicity and transparency to the product's purpose and issues.Conviction is having a strong belief in the vision and strategy, knowing the path forward.Developing these skills involves clearly identifying problems and standing by chosen solutions.

A great product vision should be lofty yet realistic, and separate from current technology limitations.It should be grounded in solving clear user problems.Communicate the vision through storytelling, such as writing future headlines or sketching ideas.

The process starts with empathizing with users to understand their needs.Create solutions that envision a better future for users.Finally, evangelize the vision to teams and stakeholders to align everyone.

Identify the top issues that keep your users from fully enjoying the product.Create a living document to update and track these problems continually.Sketch solutions to visualize how solving these issues can enhance the product experience.

Company culture influences how products are developed and perceived.At Uber, an emphasis on autonomy and principled confrontation shaped product innovation.Netflix focuses on freedom and responsibility, allowing for flexible, high-impact decisions.

Creating a positive team culture involves understanding and valuing every team member.Encourage team members to express vulnerability and share personal goals.Fostering a culture of love over like leads to deeper connections and better teamwork.

AI Inspiration helps creators generate content ideas by providing research and topic suggestions.Thumbnail Test and Compare allows for AB testing of thumbnails to boost engagement.These tools aim to support creators in telling their stories more effectively.

Many successful PMs come from diverse backgrounds; utilize previous experience to build empathy.Start by analyzing favorite apps to identify problems and envision improvements.Prepare for opportunities by constantly honing your product sense and problem-solving skills.

Crafting a compelling product vision | Ebi Atawodi (YouTube, Netflix, Uber)

The 4 Elements Of Product Vision

EBI ATAWOBO

Empathize, Create, Evangelize

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