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Mission, Vision, Strategy: A super simple guide

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3 min read
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Think of your product like a journey. You need three things to go far:

  • Mission: why you’re going (your purpose)
  • Vision: where you’re going (your future picture)
  • Strategy: how you’ll get there (your plan)

When these work together, your team knows what to do and why it matters.

Table of Contents

  1. Mission: Your big why
  2. Vision: Your future picture
  3. Strategy: Your step-by-step plan
  4. North Star: One number to follow
  5. Avoid “innovation theater”
  6. Simple template you can copy

Mission: Your big why

Mission is your purpose. It answers: “Why does our product exist?” Keep it short and clear.

Good examples:

  • "Help kids learn to read with joy"
  • "Make small shops sell online easily"

Product leaders explain that mission is why you exist, and vision is where you’re going. Learn the difference here link.

Vision: Your future picture

Vision is a picture of the better world you’re trying to create. Close your eyes and imagine your product helping lots of people.

Tips:

  • Make it vivid (what people feel, see, do)
  • Make it big (3–5 years out)
  • Make it inspiring (it should give you energy)

Strategy: Your step-by-step plan

Strategy is deciding what to do first, and what to say no to. It’s how you win.

Simple steps (inspired by Des Traynor’s product strategy lessons):

  1. Pick your target user (who)
  2. Pick the main problem (what)
  3. Pick your unique way to solve it (how)
  4. Plan your next 6–12 months (when)
  5. Say “no” to ideas that don’t help this plan

Learn more about practical product strategy at scale link.

North Star: One number to follow

Your North Star is the one metric that shows your product is making people happy. It connects your mission, vision, and strategy.

Examples:

  • Learning app: weekly lessons completed per student
  • Shop app: number of successful orders per week

Amplitude’s North Star Playbook shows how to pick a great North Star and the few inputs that drive it. See the playbook link.

Avoid “innovation theater”

Doing lots of demos, workshops, and ideas can look cool — but if customers don’t feel value, it’s just a show. Real innovation ships useful things that help people.

Read why some companies do “innovation theater” and how to focus on the real work link.

Simple template you can copy

1. Our Mission (why)

One sentence: __________________________________________________________

2. Our Vision (where)

In 3–5 years, people will: ______________________________________________

3. Our Strategy (how)

  • Who we serve: _____________________
  • Problem we solve: __________________
  • Our unique way: ____________________
  • What we’ll do this quarter: __________
  • What we’ll say no to: ________________

4. Our North Star

Metric name: ________________________ Why it matters: ______________________ 3 inputs that move it: ________________

More to explore:

  • Mission vs Vision (SVPG): https://www.svpg.com/product-vision-vs-mission/
  • Des Traynor on product strategy: https://mtp2017.wpenginepowered.com/des-traynor-product-strategy-growing-company/
  • Amplitude North Star Playbook: https://amplitude.com/books/north-star
  • HBR on innovation theater: https://hbr.org/2019/10/why-companies-do-innovation-theater-instead-of-actual-innovation