Crafting a compelling product vision | Ebi Atawodi (YouTube, Netflix, Uber)

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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Where to find Ebi Atawodi:

Where to find Lenny:

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

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

[manfalouti]

So far, I think this is one the best Lenny's podcasts. A humble, CLEAR minded PM leader... Way too far from some pop up arrogant PMs!!

[carinazocrattogodoydasilva]

I work with her and she is indeed awesome *-*

[taylornguyen]

Watching lenny and ebi talk in the morning when im enjoying my food is far more knowledgeable and consumable than scrolling instagram endlessly, amazing content provided!!!

[JuanPexaPark]

Too real. Beautiful, Fresh! If this is the leadership at Google, then it sounds like an inspiring place to work!

[TarotPolitics]

This is maybe the best episode I have ever watched from Lenny's ... amazing content!

[pminpjs]

Beautiful human! Beautiful woman! I enjoyed this episode so much! And learned so much. Thank you Ebi and Lenny!

[vegahw]

She’s so inspiring! I love the spark and passion she has for people and growth. Lots of learning for me as a new GPM and leader.

[superjguru]

For someone starting their journey as a PM, this was an awesome listen. Thank you

[safol]

Wow ❤ what an episode! The best I have listened to so far in an esteemed pool. Thanks for the gems Ebi from a proud 🇳🇬

[utpalmukherjee]

This has to be the best podcast on product vision and product craftsmanship. Loved it.

[MicheleChambers-cf]

Great analogies and examples. Simply put, a vision is where are you taking your customers. I often will say, what does nirvana look like? The mission is how you're going to get them to nirvana.

[yolandacoquia]

What a powerful and engaging conversation! It was like a good book you can’t put down cause you are so invested in the story telling and character. Thank you Lenny and Ebi.

[jositoALC]

This is a fantastic episode, as Lennys said, I would love to work with Ebi!

[Aderific]

The Power of Once Upon a Time. Magical

[keerthichandrasekaren]

Simple and clear definitions of vision and mission. Thanks for this podcast! :)

[Kamso]

Good PM skills: Product sense, leadership, execution, technical quality

[youngo.g.]

Saving this episode to continually refer back to

[ngommansour]

The best episode for me.
Thank you for sharing

[mhauzeur]

Great framework!!! Thanks for sharing, I am applying it right now with my product and design team.

[ramyaram]

Wow. This is simply amazing!!. So inspiring!!.