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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\u2019s episode, we go deep into vision and strategy, including:

\u2022 The four key elements of a good vision statement

\u2022 Three ways to determine your mission

\u2022 The four pillars of great product management

\u2022 How writing helps you gain clarity

\u2022 How culture influences product

\u2022 Tips on how to structure a strategy session

\u2022 Advice on building team culture and improving work relationships

\u2022 What\u2019s coming soon at YouTube

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Brought to you by Sidebar\u2014Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers | Jira Product Discovery\u2014Atlassian\u2019s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams | Wix Studio\u2014The web creation platform built for agencies

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/crafting-a-compelling-product-vision

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Where to find Ebi Atawodi:

\u2022 X: https://twitter.com/ebiatawodi

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebiatawodi

\u2022 YouTube mixes: https://www.youtube.com/@EbiAtawodi/videos

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Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Ebi\u2019s background

(04:31) Four key elements of a product vision

(08:14) Examples of lofty but attainable visions

(11:43) Vision vs. mission\xa0

(13:23) Examples of visions and missions from notable companies

(15:00) A simple framework for outlining a vision\xa0

(20:51) Other methods for outlining a vision\xa0

(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\u2019s \u201c10 Things\u201d document

(37:47) A quick summary of Ebi\u2019s tips

(40:56) How to use the \u201c10 Things\u201d doc in a strategy session

(43:11) The three concentric circles of evangelizing\xa0

(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\u2019s 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\xa0

(1:26:02) What\u2019s new at YouTube

(1:29:22) Ebi\u2019s closing thoughts

(1:30:45) Lightning round

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Referenced:

\u2022 Andre Albuquerque on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-albuquerque

\u2022 TED\u2019s mission: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization

\u2022 Stripe\u2019s operating principles: https://stripe.com/jobs/culture

\u2022 Microsoft\u2019s vision and mission: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about

\u2022 Tesla\u2019s mission statement: https://www.tesla.com/blog/mission-tesla

\u2022 Lyft\u2019s mission on Comparably: https://www.comparably.com/companies/lyft/mission

\u2022 Ebi\u2019s playbooks and templates: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tU3jpbq_xHcF4x1bdANCVBsO6rbQ8h1HqvdQfwGW4MA/edit

\u2022 Working Backwards Press Release Template and Example: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/working-backwards-press-release-template-example-ian-mcallister/

\u2022 Patrick Collison on X: https://twitter.com/patrickc

\u2022 Seinfeld meme: https://seinfeldmemes.com/you-know-how-to-take-the-reservation/

\u2022 Travis Kalanick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traviskalanick/

\u2022 Wimdu: https://www.wimdu.com/

\u2022 Leaving big tech to build the #1 technology newsletter | Gergely Orosz (The Pragmatic Engineer): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leaving-big-tech-to-build-the-1-technology-newsletter-gergely-orosz-the-pragmatic-engineer/

\u2022 The 48 Laws of Power: https://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene/dp/0140280197

\u2022 The God of Small Things: https://www.amazon.com/God-Small-Things-Novel/dp/0812979656/

\u2022 Outliers: The Story of Success: https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930

\u2022 All About Love: https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Love-New-Visions/dp/0060959479

\u2022 The Bear on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f

\u2022 Scavengers Reign on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/scavengers-reign/50c8ce6d-088c-42d9-9147-d1b19b1289d4

\u2022 Sleep Cycle: https://www.sleepcycle.com/

\u2022 Nanit: https://www.nanit.com/

\u2022 \u201cInvictus\u201d by William Ernest Henley: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus

\u2022 Burning Man: https://burningman.org/

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.