Empathize-Create-Evangelize

Three-phase process for developing and sharing a compelling product vision

Ebi Atawodi
Crafting a compelling product vision | Ebi Atawodi (YouTube, Netflix, Uber)

Empathize-Create-Evangelize

"There are three pieces if you think about it. So one is what I call empathize. The second is create. And the other is evangelize." - Ebi Atawodi

What It Is

Developing a vision isn't just about having a great idea - it's a structured process that moves from deep understanding through creation to persistent communication. This three-phase framework provides a complete methodology for vision development that scales across team sizes and company stages.

The lifecycle of a product vision can span years. Ebi set a "Vision 2026" at YouTube that took a year and a half before it entered the planning cycle. The evangelize phase requires patience and persistence through naysayers and challenges.

How It Works

Phase 1: Empathize

Before creating a vision, you must deeply understand the customer and their problems. This phase involves:

Dog-fooding: Use your own product obsessively. Create multiple accounts. Go through the onboarding flow even if you're not the onboarding PM. Experience the product as a new user would.

Cat-fooding: Use competitors' products and adjacent products in the landscape. Understand what others are doing well and poorly.

Research: Use foundational research to identify problems that are a couple of cycles out. But don't over-rely on research - you're a human with intuition built from exposure to products.

Top 10 Things You Should Know: Maintain a living document of the 10 biggest problems in your area. Update it quarterly. Include qualitative, quantitative, and tech debt issues.

Phase 2: Create

Transform your understanding into a concrete vision using various formats:

Once Upon a Time Framework: Use the Mad Libs-style narrative structure to tell the story of the problem and solution.

Headline Method: Write the future news headline and subtitle as if your vision has been realized. Make it look realistic by placing it in a TechCrunch or New York Times template.

Visual Mock-ups: Sketch or design what the future state looks like. Use App Store screenshots, product mocks, or hand-drawn sketches.

Written Vision Document: Create an evergreen document that describes insights, strategy, and big rocks.

Phase 3: Evangelize

Sharing the vision through concentric circles of stakeholders:

Circle 1 - Core Team: Your direct team needs to buy in first. They're getting on the boat with you. Present multiple times, allow comments, let the idea percolate.

Circle 2 - Stakeholders: The people who need to be bought in for success - marketing, operations, support, adjacent teams. They've been heard during the empathize phase, so they're already invested.

Circle 3 - Leadership: Go as high as possible. Let your manager pull you back rather than limiting yourself. Leadership buy-in amplifies everything.

How to Apply It

  1. Block time for empathize work

    • Create fresh accounts on your product
    • Set up accounts on competitor products
    • Review support tickets and user feedback
    • Start your "Top 10 Problems" document

  2. Run a three-day strategy session

    • Day 1: Insights - Focus on understand work, teardowns, presenting "10 things you should know"
    • Day 2: Strategy - Which problems to focus on, in what order
    • Day 3: Big Rocks - What are the 3-5 major initiatives

  3. Choose your create format

    • Start with Once Upon a Time for narrative clarity
    • Write the future headline for focus
    • Sketch or mock the end state for visualization

  4. Plan your evangelism campaign

    • Start with your immediate team
    • Expand to stakeholders who provided input
    • Present to leadership for endorsement and amplification

When to Use It

  • When developing a new 3-5 year product vision
  • When joining a new team or company and need to set direction
  • When your current vision feels stale or unclear
  • When preparing for annual/strategic planning cycles
  • When you need to realign a team that's lost focus

Source

  • Guest: Ebi Atawodi
  • Episode: "Crafting a compelling product vision | Ebi Atawodi (YouTube, Netflix, Uber)"
  • Key Discussion: (00:29:36) - Three-phase vision process
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

  • Four Elements of Vision - Criteria for a compelling vision
  • Top 10 Things You Should Know - Tool for the empathize phase
  • Concentric Circles of Evangelism - Detailed evangelism approach
  • Once Upon a Time Vision Framework - Create phase tool
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