Reinvent Product Management Skills with Data-Driven Diplomacy
How do I craft product vision?
2 min read
A strong vision guides your team towards a shared goal. It sets a clear direction, inspires the team, and aligns everyone towards a common future. Here’s how to create an effective vision, using an example for guidance.
Example Vision:
"We aim to change how students experience education by creating products that make learning and organization enjoyable, efficient, and effective. Our goal is to improve students' academic lives and foster a love for learning through smart, interactive solutions."
Steps to Create a Vision for a Product Team
1. Define the Long-Term Goal
- Explanation: The vision should describe a future state the team wants to reach. It sets a broad, inspirational goal that guides the team's direction.
- Why: A clear long-term goal gives direction and motivation, aligning the team’s efforts with a shared aim.
- What: A concise statement that describes the ultimate achievement, such as "Our vision is to create a future where every student is empowered to learn efficiently and joyfully through our educational tools."
- How to Achieve:
- Host workshops to brainstorm and agree on the long-term goal.
- Ensure leadership alignment by discussing the vision with senior leaders.
2. Make It Aspirational
- Explanation: The vision should inspire and motivate the team and stakeholders by presenting a future state that is desirable and worth striving for.
- Why: Aspirational visions create enthusiasm and drive within the team.
- What: A motivating and forward-looking statement, such as "We aim to transform the educational experience, making learning more enjoyable and effective for students globally."
- How to Achieve:
- Gather input from team members to identify what inspires them.
- Review examples of aspirational visions from other successful companies.
3. Align with Company Vision
- Explanation: The product team’s vision should align with the overall company vision to ensure coherence and support from the broader organization.
- Why: Alignment ensures that the team's efforts contribute to the company’s broader goals.
- What: A vision statement that reflects the company’s broader goals, such as "Aligned with our company’s vision, we seek to change the way students experience education."
- How to Achieve:
- Review the company’s vision statement and strategic goals.
- Hold meetings with other teams to ensure consistency.
4. Focus on Impact and Outcomes
- Explanation: The vision should emphasize the impact the team aims to have on users and the market, highlighting the desired outcomes.
- Why: Focusing on impact helps the team understand the significance of their work.
- What: An outcome-oriented vision statement, such as "Our goal is to enhance students' academic lives and foster a love for learning through smart, interactive solutions."
- How to Achieve:
- Identify key impacts and outcomes desired from the product.
- Use customer feedback to understand the desired outcomes from their perspective.
5. Keep It Broad but Clear
- Explanation: While the vision should be broad enough to allow for flexibility, it must also be clear and specific enough to provide direction.
- Why: A broad yet clear vision allows for creativity and adaptability while maintaining focus.
- What: A vision that provides clear direction but leaves room for innovation, such as "We envision a world where educational tools are not just aids but essential components of joyful and effective learning."
- How to Achieve:
- Use broad language that encompasses a wide range of possibilities.
- Refine the vision to ensure it provides clear direction without being overly prescriptive.
6. Make It Memorable
- Explanation: A memorable vision statement is easy to remember and communicate, helping to reinforce it within the team and to external stakeholders.
- Why: Memorable visions are more likely to be embraced and internalized by the team and stakeholders.
- What: A concise and catchy vision statement, such as "Empowering joyful learning for every student, everywhere."
- How to Achieve:
- Simplify the language to make the vision easy to recall.
- Test the vision statement with team members and stakeholders for recall.
Have fun!
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