Vision as a tool for alignment and collaboration with stakeholders
I’ll pause publishing articles that are chapters of my new book about Digital Transformation and Product Culture, but I’ll continue to talk about product vision. I have learned a lot about the topic as I have been helping my clients understand what product vision is, why it is so important, and how we build a vision.
Yesterday I enjoyed participating with Danielle Douek and Heider Berlink in a panel about “Product Decisions vs. Stakeholders: How to Maintain Alignment Between Stakeholders?” We addressed several topics, from the most strategic to the most tactical:
- We must seek collaboration with stakeholders rather than alignment. The more we work with stakeholders, the more aligned we will be.
- We must have empathy for stakeholders to understand the motivation behind their demands and needs.
- We must seek to talk about business results before discussing features.
- Stakeholders include people from other areas and our own team, including engineers, data analysts, and designers.
- As product people, we are responsible for building this bridge between business and product development. This applies to both sides: not only aligning with business people about what the team is working on, but also aligning with people on the team about how the business is doing and the impact of what we do in product development has on the business.
- When receiving a request for a new feature, it is important to thank them and ask about the problem that motivated the request. This behavior, practiced by all product development team members, helps obtain richer insights and creates a culture focused on solving problems, not just implementing solutions.
Vision is an essential tool for alignment and collaboration with stakeholders
However, we didn’t discuss yesterday the role of the product vision as a tool for alignment and collaboration with customers.
The product vision is essential to generate this alignment with stakeholders. Remember that the vision is where we want to go; it is what the product will be like in the future. This “where we want to go” must be aligned with the entire company and must be built with the help of several people in the organization. This collaboration during the construction of the vision creates alignment on what will be built. Once built, we must constantly communicate this product vision in all situations where it is relevant to remember this alignment.
Another important point is that the product leader is responsible for facilitating the process of creating the product vision. If you are a product manager or part of a product development team, you should ask the product leader to explain the product vision. If you are not on the product development team, you should also ask the product leader to show you the product vision, that is, how the team plans to develop the product.
At Conta Azul, when I started using a product vision in that diagram format, where we showed that Conta Azul connects small business owners to their accountants and everything they need to manage their business, we leaped the level of alignment we had on what we were building. I presented this product vision in every onboarding session for new Conta Azul employees, and the feedback was unanimous: “I have never joined a company where it was so clear what we want to build!”
Product vision is a very powerful tool for alignment and collaboration with stakeholders at all levels and areas of the company, and even outside the company, with investors, customers, and candidates. Product decisions are much simpler when the product vision is clear. As product heads and product people, we are responsible for constantly bringing the product vision into conversations to help with this alignment and collaboration with stakeholders.
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
