The Vision-Mission-Strategy Pyramid
by Nickey Skarstad • Director of Product Management at Duolingo
A seasoned product leader with deep experience in marketplaces and consumer tech. She previously served as VP of Product at The Wing, Senior Product Lead for Airbnb Experiences (founding team), and Director of Product at Etsy.
🎙️ Episode Context
Nickey Skarstad shares her evolution from a forum moderator to a product director, discussing how to build quality-obsessed cultures at companies like Airbnb and Etsy. She breaks down frameworks for setting strategy, the importance of second-order thinking in decision making, and how to manage energy levels for career longevity.
Problem It Solves
Bridges the gap between high-level abstract goals and daily execution (Jira tickets), ensuring team alignment.
Framework Overview
A hierarchical framework starting with a 10-year vision, narrowing down to mission, strategy, and finally quarterly objectives (OKRs). The key is building this collaboratively, not top-down.
🧠 Framework Structure
Top-Down Cascading: Vision (10y) -> M...
Collaborative Brainstorming: Involve ...
External Validation: Check strategy a...
When to Use
During quarterly planning or when a team feels 'feature factory' fatigue and lacks direction.
Common Mistakes
Writing strategy in a vacuum (solo mode) and presenting it as a finished mandate, which kills team motivation.
Real World Example
For Airbnb Experiences, the team brainstormed 'what makes a travel memory stick' to define the 10-year vision, which then informed the tactical OKRs.
Good product work is often not democratic... but getting people to buy in when they haven't been involved is very challenging.
— Nickey Skarstad