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
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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:
• X: https://twitter.com/ebiatawodi
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebiatawodi
• YouTube mixes: https://www.youtube.com/@EbiAtawodi/videos
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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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
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Referenced:
• Andre Albuquerque on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-albuquerque
• TED’s mission: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization
• Stripe’s operating principles: https://stripe.com/jobs/culture
• Microsoft’s vision and mission: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about
• Tesla’s mission statement: https://www.tesla.com/blog/mission-tesla
• Lyft’s mission on Comparably: https://www.comparably.com/companies/lyft/mission
• Ebi’s playbooks and templates: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tU3jpbq_xHcF4x1bdANCVBsO6rbQ8h1HqvdQfwGW4MA/edit
• Working Backwards Press Release Template and Example: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/working-backwards-press-release-template-example-ian-mcallister/
• Patrick Collison on X: https://twitter.com/patrickc
• Seinfeld meme: https://seinfeldmemes.com/you-know-how-to-take-the-reservation/
• Travis Kalanick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traviskalanick/
• Wimdu: https://www.wimdu.com/
• 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/
• The 48 Laws of Power: https://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene/dp/0140280197
• The God of Small Things: https://www.amazon.com/God-Small-Things-Novel/dp/0812979656/
• Outliers: The Story of Success: https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930
• All About Love: https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Love-New-Visions/dp/0060959479
• The Bear on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f
• Scavengers Reign on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/scavengers-reign/50c8ce6d-088c-42d9-9147-d1b19b1289d4
• Sleep Cycle: https://www.sleepcycle.com/
• Nanit: https://www.nanit.com/
• “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus
• 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.