Example: Tesla
Company Vision (What we want to accomplish over the long term): “to create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.”
Product Vision (What problem we want to solve for customers – Tesla Model 3): Bring sustainable transportation to the masses.
Product Strategy (What is needed to make the vision a reality: Measurable Objectives): Tesla Model 3: 250 mile range, for $35K price.
Everyone knows that a vision without a strategy is just a dream, and Elon Musk shared his strategy (plan) to achieve his vision in this blog post . In summary it is:
- Build sports car
- Use that money to build an affordable car
- Use that money to build an even more affordable car
- While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
Product teams need a compelling vision that:
- Creates alignment around goals and strategy
- Should be easy to communicate and share
- Provides direction, but broad enough to encourage innovation
Put another way:
- Why: Product Vision – Why are we building this product – what is the problem/opportunity?
- What: Product Strategy – What will we do to compete/What is our product solution to the problem? How will we differentiate ourselves by offering something our competitors don’t have, or by improving upon existing solutions. Set clear goals and objectives. Set measurable goals, and a roadmap to achieve them.
- How: Solutions/Tactics – Technical solution. These are the specific features and solutions we will implement to realize the goals and strategy.