How do I craft product vision?

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!