What techniques do you use to inspire others to share and support your product vision?

In the simplest form, a product vision is its "reason for being". And just like every living creature or thing that have a raison d'être, a product cannot exist without one.

I cannot imagine a product vision without deeply understanding what problem(s) a product is trying to solve, and where this would lead us longer term. This involves empathising with your users on the one hand, and contributing to a strategic goal(s) of your organisation on the other. Only then you can be fully committed and evangelise your product vision. My favourite tools for defining a product vision are "How might we..." and a simplified version of a Product Vision Canvas shortened to 1 sentence and encapsulating items such as: target user, problem/opportunity, key reason to use, primary competitive differentiation.

Vision Statement: Create a compelling vision statement that summarizes what the product aims to achieve. Make sure it's easy to understand and remember. Elevator Pitch: Be ready with a concise and compelling elevator pitch that you can deliver whenever the opportunity arises.

It is also important to clearly state your product value while trying to inspire others to share and support your product vision. List out your value proposition and outliers. List your business models. List your revenue models as well. Customers or stakeholders want to know how your product can be of benefit to them before they can share your product vision.

To inspire others to share and support your product vision, start by defining a clear and compelling vision. This vision should address the problem your product solves and its unique value proposition. ?? Tell a captivating story that connects your vision to the needs and emotions of your audience. Use vivid language and real-life examples to make your vision relatable and engaging. ?? Use visuals like sketches, diagrams, and prototypes to illustrate your vision. Visual aids can simplify complex ideas and make your vision more accessible and memorable for your audience. ??

Contextualizing how the product's narrative aligns with audience's priorities often ends up being the differentiatior between a great product vision vs. a misunderstood one.

Storytelling is an amazing tool to communicate and evangelise your product vision. It helps you get the others inspired as it lets your audience emphasise with your users' problems and driven with how much we'll change with solving this problem. Any quotes and videos from real users are extremely powerful here. I find bits of storytelling useful even in discussions with development team - I remember once I told the team that, as a result of our work, our users will see their earnings in the app and based on that will know whether can afford X or Y for their family. I saw a different level of engagement after that.

When you are relying only on personal storytelling, it can be hard for others to fully picture it and be sure they understand the value of what you or a team is envisioning. Both interactive digital prototypes and storytelling video demos can be a big role in reaching people and painting a compelling portrait of what is possible for the future.

Imagination comes in all sizes. So creating visual aids to support your narrative is always a great idea. And even if the visuals weren't really a necessity, nothing beats a visual in setting the right expectations upfront.

Inspiring Presentation: Use impactful presentations or videos that evoke an emotional response. User Testimonials: Real-world stories from satisfied users can be very powerful.

One-on-One Meetings: Meet team members and stakeholders individually to understand their concerns and aspirations. Team Activities: Conduct team-building exercises that are themed around the product’s vision Inclusive Decision-Making: Include key stakeholders in decision-making processes, especially in areas that may affect them. Customer Feedback: Constantly share user feedback and data to show how the product is fulfilling its vision.

There is no bypassing the impact created from listening and collaborating. People love to contribute, the onus is on us to engage and empower them. A shared vision is a successful vision.

One of Product Manager's jobs to repeat your product vision, product value, user problems over and over again. On numerous meetings, to numerous audiences, or even reminding it to the same audience - to make sure that it well remembered and resonates with them. They key to me is to make my team remember it so that they can also evangelise it whenever I'm not able to. I once got a question - how do you do it that your team is the team, and they all know what you're all heading to with the product? It made me think :) And I believe making the team part of the discussion and reminding them where we're heading to on many occasions did the job.

Repeat, Repeat and Repeat the single most mantra to ignite a perennial source of inspiration in the mind of your product stakeholders. This is not me but the voice Linkedin's CEO. And I can vouch for it as I have seen the results while I started implementing it.

Agreed here on the repeat and reinforce suggestion. A stakeholder group thats often sidelined for this communication (even if its repetitive) of product vision is the tech/implementation team of the project ( architects, devs, testers etc). Not doing so is a mistake in my view - this group will play a big role in making the vision a reality; further its about team empowerment, especially on various more detailed decisions that this group faces day to day. The goal is to create a empowering relationship, not a dependant one. Regular comms and collabs on product vision helps do just that. Its partly an art and science on the collabs/comms but gets more effective the more times its done hence why repetition and reinforcement is important.

To add to it, understanding the goals and aspirations of others and aligning those with your product vision is a highly effective strategy. Here are a few value props you can offer your contributors: 1. Personal Investment: When people see a direct correlation between their efforts and growth, they're more likely to invest. 2. Motivation: Aligning your vision with someone's aspirations can serve as a strong motivational factor, driving them to contribute actively. 3. Shared Success: Demonstrating how contributing to your vision can lead to mutual success can turn potential contributors into advocates for your product. Taking time to understand someone's goals shows that you value their perspective, which can build trust and credibility.

Open Forums: Create platforms like Slack channels or regular stand-up meetings where people can discuss the product openly. Feedback Loops: Make it easy for people to provide feedback and ensure that you act upon it when feasible.