Dog Fooding Vs Cat Fooding! Crafting compelling product visions – Ebi Atawodi (YouTube, Netflix, Uber) #atomicIdeas

Ebi Atawodi, Director of Product Management for the Creator Experience at YouTube, talks about crafting compelling product visions.

She draws from her experiences at Uber and Netflix to discuss key elements of a good vision statement, ways to determine your mission, and the four pillars of great product management.

A well-crafted vision statement is not merely an overarching goal or purpose (the mission), but a vivid depiction of what achieving this mission looks like in reality.

It should be lofty yet attainable, grounded in a significant problem that resonates with everyone involved.

Effective communication is instrumental in sharing your product vision.

It fosters alignment across teams and inspires them towards realizing the vision.

Mastering storytelling can make visions seem more attainable and motivate team members to strive for the desired outcomes.

User research updates your mental model of your customer and what they need, and the problems they’re having… and then that mental model informs what to build. – Ebi Atawodi

Crafting a product vision involves understanding customer problems (empathizing), creating solutions (envisioning), and spreading the word about the vision (evangelization).

As you ascend the professional ladder, patience becomes increasingly important because visions often take time to manifest into tangible products or features.

‘Dog fooding’ or using one’s own products, along with ‘cat fooding’ or using competitors’ products provides invaluable insights into user experiences.

This practice helps maintain an intimate understanding of customer needs which can then inform product development strategies.

The limitations of today might not be the limitations of tomorrow. – Ebi Atawodi

Maintaining a living document that lists known problems with a product serves as a constant reminder of areas requiring improvement.

This ‘top 10 things you should know’ document keeps everyone on the team aligned on what needs fixing, thereby fostering a culture of continuous improvement.