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 and references at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/craftin...

Where to find Ebi Atawodi:
• X:   / ebiatawodi  
• LinkedIn:   / ebiatawodi  
• YouTube mixes: https://www.youtube.com/@EbiAtawodi/v...

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• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X:   / lennysan  
• LinkedIn:   / lennyrachitsky  

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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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.