customer empathy

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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Brought to you by Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers | Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams | Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/crafting-a-compelling-product-vision-ebi-atawodi-youtube-netflix-uber/

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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.

"It's not a budget issue. It's usually a priorities issue." Today, Alex (@AlexHormozi) discusses the importance of understanding customer needs and priorities when selling, and shares a story about how a purchase can mark a transition in identity and priorities. He also encourages listeners to rate, review, and share the podcast to help more entrepreneurs succeed.

Welcome to The Game w/Alex Hormozi, hosted by entrepreneur, founder, investor, author, public speaker, and content creator Alex Hormozi. On this podcast you’ll hear how to get more customers, make more profit per customer, how to keep them longer, and the many failures and lessons Alex has learned on his path from $100M to $1B in net worth.

Timestamps:

(01:32) - Prioritize spending on health, coaching for personal transformation

(05:16) - Prioritize health, coaching for best version, identity shift

(05:59) - Introduce permanent cost with aligned priorities for success

Follow Alex Hormozi’s Socials:

LinkedIn  | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube  | Twitter | Acquisition 

Sales skills aren't just helpful for business. They are applicable--and essential--for success in all of life. Joined by his brother, 1st Phorm President of Operations Sal Frisella, The MFCEO returns to a favorite subject. Ultimately, it's not about selling products and services. It's about selling yourself--and helping people.