Head of product does not create the product vision
In my articles and classes on product vision, I comment that:
Defining, communicating and reviewing the product vision is the most important responsibility of a product leader. Without the product vision, it is very difficult to work on any other topic.
Now, here I am, saying that “the head of product does not create the product vision.”
What do I mean? 🤔
If not the head of product, who creates the product vision, and what is the role of the head of product?
- Who creates the product vision? The product vision comes from the company’s founder. She had the original vision that ended up creating the company. She saw a problem for a group of people, saw a possible solution to this problem, and has been building this solution ever since. This possible solution envisioned by the founder is the product vision, which she wants to build to solve this problem for a group of people. Therefore, it is the founder who creates the product vision.
- What is the role of the head of product? The founder usually has a very clear vision of the product, of what she imagines the product will be in the future. However, many times, she is able to communicate this vision of the future clearly. This is when the head of product comes in to help articulate the product vision. Help create the material necessary to communicate the product vision to the entire company and even outside of it. Help refine the product vision based on feedback from people in the company and learnings as the product vision is executed. Help evolve this product vision. Help communicate this product vision. It is a facilitation role, helping to make the founder’s product vision tangible and incorporating input and feedback from the entire organization into this vision.
Now that it is clear who creates the product vision and what the head of product’s role is in creating it, I will give some examples.
Examples
When I joined Conta Azul in 2016, the vision at the time was that Conta Azul was a financial management system for small businesses and that accountants and accounting firms were sales channels for Conta Azul to their clients. This vision was clear to the founders. After a few months of working with them, I proposed evolving this vision and making it a little broader, where Conta Azul becomes a platform connecting small business owners to their accountants and everything they need to run their businesses.
During my onboarding at Gympass, I began to understand the business and how technology could enhance value exchanges. From there, I created the image below, which clarifies the founder’s vision and helps us explain Gympass.
I then created this second image to show how the founder envisioned expanding Gympass. My role as head of product at Gympass was to help make this product vision tangible and articulate.
Lopes is a family-owned company that is over 85 years old. The founders’ grandchildren lead the company. This means they have been executing and evolving the founder’s original vision for many years. After my onboarding, I created the diagram below, which shows who the players are and the value exchanges between each player and Lopes to see how to use technology to enhance all these value exchanges. Even though it is an established business that has been running and evolving for over 85 years, when they saw this product vision, the founders said, “Perfect, this is exactly what we do, and this is what we want technology to accelerate and enhance.” My role as head of Lopes Labs was to help make this product vision tangible and articulate.
My role as head of product at these three companies was the same. I didn’t create any of these visions. I understood the original vision and helped evolve, make it tangible, and articulate that product vision.
Now that I’m back as an entrepreneur with Gyaco, my product management and digital transformation training and consulting company, I’m responsible for creating the product vision. And since I’m also the head of product, here’s the product vision made tangible and articulated in one slide:
Workshops, coaching, and advisory services
I’ve been helping companies and their leaders (CPOs, heads of product, CTOs, CEOs, tech founders, and heads of digital transformation) bridge the gap between business and technology through workshops, coaching, and advisory services on product management and digital transformation.
Digital Product Management Books
Do you work with digital products? Do you want to know more about managing a digital product to increase its chances of success, solve its user’s problems, and achieve the company objectives? Check out my Digital Product Management books, where I share what I learned during my 30+ years of experience in creating and managing digital products:
- Digital transformation and product culture: How to put technology at the center of your company’s strategy
- Leading Product Development: The art and science of managing product teams
- Product Management: How to increase the chances of success of your digital product
- Startup Guide: How startups and established companies can create profitable digital products
