Journey of a product from Vision to Execution (feat. Chuks Ejechi)

Chuks Ejechi⁠, a product leader, discusses the journey of a product from vision to execution. He explains the process of translating a business vision into a product vision and the importance of defining what, who, and why in the product vision. Chuks also highlights the challenges faced in executing ideas, such as resistance from stakeholders, shifting markets, resource limitations, and competition. He emphasizes the need to start small and iterate quickly, using minimum viable products to gather feedback and make improvements.

The conversation explores the challenges of building a product from vision to execution, with a focus on the importance of identifying unique selling propositions and avoiding unnecessary features. The discussion also touches on the challenges of working with engineering teams, including the need for clear communication and coordination between front-end and back-end developers. The impact of geographical diversity on product development is also discussed, emphasizing the importance of understanding and appreciating different cultures and backgrounds.

The conversation concludes with a discussion on the challenges faced by product teams and the importance of building a happy and cohesive team.

Takeaways

Translating a business vision into a product vision involves defining what, who, and why.
Challenges in executing ideas include resistance from stakeholders, shifting markets, resource limitations, and competition.
Starting small and iterating quickly with minimum viable products allows for gathering feedback and making improvements.
A minimum viable product should have an element of usefulness and relate to the original vision. Identify and focus on the unique selling propositions of your product to avoid building unnecessary features.
Clear communication and coordination between front-end and back-end developers is crucial for successful product development.
Understanding and appreciating different cultures and backgrounds is important when working with geographically diverse teams.
Building a happy and cohesive team is essential for effective product management and development.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

04:51 The Process of Translating Vision into Product

12:21 Challenges in Executing Ideas

17:02 Starting Small and Iterating Quickly

20:54 The Importance of a Meaningfully Small Product

24:10 Building a Product: From Vision to Execution

26:06 Identifying and Focusing on Unique Selling Propositions

29:12 Challenges of Working with Engineering Teams

32:36 The Impact of Geographical Diversity on Product Development

39:23 Building a Happy and Cohesive Team

Podcast

Check out on Spotify.

Summary

Starting with Vision:

Host shifts the conversation to the topic of product vision.
Chuks defines the journey of taking a product from vision to execution, outlining the importance of corporate vision and product vision cascading down into specific team goals.

Understanding Vision, Goals, and Strategy:

Chuks elaborates on what vision means, how it starts from a business’s overall goals, and how product teams align with it.
Discussion of big goals, objectives, and strategies, with Chuks providing an analogy of a house to explain the support structures (pillars) of a product vision.

Importance of Key Questions:

Host emphasizes the three questions Chuks mentions: “What are we building?”, “Who are we building it for?”, and “Why are we doing it?”
Chuks discusses the sequence of addressing these questions, explaining that one often starts with “what” before figuring out the “who” and “why.”

Challenges from Vision to Execution:

Host mentions a humorous analogy from Dilbert about having a good idea but lacking resources.
Chuks responds by identifying common challenges, including resistance from stakeholders, shifting market needs, lack of resources (capital and technical), and competition.