The 'Once Upon a Time' Vision Narrative
by Ebi Atawodi • Director of Product Management, YouTube at YouTube (Google)
A seasoned product leader with deep experience at Netflix and Uber (where she led the Uber Wallet and payments teams). Ebi is known for her ability to craft compelling product visions and foster strong, high-performance team cultures.
🎙️ Episode Context
Ebi Atawodi dissects the elusive skill of crafting and communicating a product vision, moving beyond buzzwords to provide a tactical step-by-step playbook. She details how to transform vague ideas into concrete narratives using storytelling frameworks, how to rigorously define problems before solving them, and how to build deep conviction within a product team. The conversation also explores the nuance of product culture across Uber, Netflix, and Google, and the importance of 'love' over 'liking' in leadership.
Problem It Solves
Solves the problem of visions being too abstract, technical, or uninspiring for the team to rally behind.
Framework Overview
A storytelling framework that forces PMs to articulate the 'before' state, the catalyst for change, and the 'after' state of the world in simple, human terms. It translates complex product goals into a relatable journey.
🧠 Framework Structure
Start with 'Once upon a time...': Des...
Introduce the catalyst: 'Then one day...
Describe the immediate impact: 'And b...
Conclude with the lasting legacy: 'Un...
Keep it devoid of technical limitatio...
When to Use
When kicking off a new long-term initiative (3-5 year horizon) or when a team feels disconnected from the 'why' of their work.
Common Mistakes
Getting bogged down in features rather than the user's emotional journey or outcome.
Real World Example
Ebi used this to describe the YouTube Shorts vision: 'Once upon a time YouTube was fun... then one day it became polished... and because of that people stopped creating... then one day we launched Shorts... and anyone could express themselves again.'
If you got on a plane and the pilot was like, 'I don't really know where we're going... but trust me, we'll get there,' you probably would be thinking twice about staying on that flight.
— Ebi Atawodi