sethmblack Product Vision Frame
Define a product's singular purpose and ruthlessly align all decisions to that vision, rejecting good ideas that do not serve the core. "Focus is about saying no to the hundred other good ideas."
When to Use
- Team cannot articulate what the product is for in one sentence
- Feature requests and ideas keep accumulating without prioritization
- Product is trying to serve too many use cases
- Roadmap discussions go in circles without resolution
- Competition is closing in and differentiation is unclear
- User asks "What should we build?" or "How do we prioritize?"
Inputs
| Input | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| product_concept | Yes | Current product or product idea |
| target_users | No | Who the product is intended for |
| feature_ideas | No | Current backlog or ideas under consideration |
| competitive_context | No | What alternatives exist |
| constraints | No | Technical, resource, or market constraints |
The Jobs Vision Framework
Foundation: Customers Don't Know What They Want
"Some people say, 'Give the customers what they want.' But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do."
This framework does NOT start with market research or customer surveys. It starts with a vision of what excellence looks like.
Principle 1: Start with the Experience
Work backward from the ideal customer experience to the technology required.
Jobs's method:
- Imagine the perfect user experience
- Ask: "What would it feel like to use this?"
- Define the emotional outcome, not the features
- Then figure out how to build it
Anti-pattern: Starting with available technology and finding applications.
Principle 2: One Thing, Insanely Great
Every breakthrough product does ONE thing better than anything else in the world.
| Product | The One Thing |
|---|---|
| iPod | 1,000 songs in your pocket |
| iPhone | The internet in your hand |
| iPad | Computing without a keyboard |
Test: If you cannot identify the one thing, you have not found the vision yet.
Principle 3: The Elimination Matrix
Jobs's 2x2 product grid when he returned to Apple:
| Consumer | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop | iMac | Power Mac |
| Portable | iBook | PowerBook |
Everything else was cut. The grid forced clarity.
Your version: What is the simplest matrix that captures your product focus? What gets cut?
Principle 4: Say No to Good Ideas
"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are."
The skill is not finding good ideas. The skill is rejecting good ideas that do not serve the vision.
Vision Development Process
Step 1: Define the Ideal Experience
Answer these questions from the user's perspective:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What does the user feel when using this? | |
| What problem disappears from their life? | |
| What can they do that they could not do before? | |
| What would make them tell their friends? |
Step 2: Find the One Thing
Complete this sentence:
"[Product] is the best way to ____________ in the world."
Validation tests:
- Is it specific enough that you could fail at it?
- Is it differentiated from all competitors?
- Does it create emotional resonance, not just utility?
- Can you say it in one breath?
Step 3: Build the Focus Grid
Create a simple matrix that defines what's in and what's out:
| Dimension 1 | Dimension 2 | In Focus | Out of Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Axis 1] | [Axis 2] | [Products/features] | [What we won't do] |
Step 4: Apply the Elimination Test
For every feature or initiative:
| Feature | Does it serve the One Thing? | Keep/Kill |
|---|---|---|
| [Feature 1] | [Yes/No - why] |
Rule: When in doubt, kill it.
Step 5: Write the Vision Statement
Combine everything into a compelling narrative:
- The problem - What's broken today?
- The vision - What does the future look like?
- The One Thing - What do we do better than anyone?
- The experience - How does it feel to use this?
- The elimination - What are we NOT building?
Workflow
Step 1: Gather and Review Inputs
Collect all relevant information:
- Review the provided data and context
- Identify key parameters and constraints
- Clarify any ambiguities or missing information
- Establish success criteria
Step 2: Analyze the Situation
Perform systematic analysis:
- Identify patterns and relationships
- Evaluate against established frameworks
- Consider multiple perspectives
- Document key findings
Step 3: Generate Recommendations
Create actionable outputs:
- Synthesize insights from analysis
- Prioritize recommendations by impact
- Ensure recommendations are specific and measurable
- Consider implementation feasibility
Output Format
## Product Vision: [Product Name]
### The Problem (What's Broken)
[2-3 sentences on why the status quo is unacceptable]
### The Vision (The Future We're Creating)
[2-3 sentences painting a picture of the world with this product in it]
### The One Thing
> "[Product] is the best way to ____________ in the world."
### The Ideal Experience
| Dimension | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| **Feels like** | [Emotional quality] |
| **Enables** | [What becomes possible] |
| **Eliminates** | [What problem disappears] |
| **Worth sharing because** | [Why users tell others] |
### Focus Grid
| [Axis 1] | [Axis 2] | [Axis 3] |
|----------|----------|----------|
| **In Focus** | [What we build] | |
| **Out of Focus** | [What we don't build] | |
### Elimination List
Good ideas we are explicitly NOT pursuing:
1. **[Idea 1]** - [Why it doesn't serve the One Thing]
2. **[Idea 2]** - [Why it doesn't serve the One Thing]
3. **[Idea 3]** - [Why it doesn't serve the One Thing]
### Decision Framework
When evaluating any new feature or initiative, ask:
1. Does this make the One Thing better?
2. Does this fit the Focus Grid?
3. Would adding this dilute our excellence?
If the answer to #1 is "no" or #3 is "yes," the answer is no.
### The Jobs Test
Would Steve Jobs greenlight this vision?
[Honest assessment of whether this vision is focused and bold enough]
Constraints
- Do not accept "we serve multiple segments" as a vision
- Do not confuse comprehensive with excellent
- The One Thing must be specific enough to guide decisions
- Elimination list should include genuinely good ideas, not just bad ones
- Vision should create tension - if nothing is sacrificed, nothing is focused
Error Handling
| Situation | Response |
|---|---|
| Team cannot agree on One Thing | They have not found it yet; push for specificity |
| Everything seems essential | Apply Jobs's 2x2 grid; force a matrix |
| Stakeholders resist elimination | Document the cost of unfocus; let leadership decide |
| Vision is too generic | Ask "Would a competitor say the same thing?" If yes, not specific enough |
| Fear of missing market | Remind: "The companies that get confused are the ones that think their goal is revenue" |
Outputs
Primary Output: A structured analysis document that identifies and articulates patterns, insights, and actionable recommendations based on the input data.
Format:
## Analysis: [Topic]
### Key Findings
- [Finding 1]
- [Finding 2]
- [Finding 3]
### Recommendations
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]
3. [Action 3]
Example output: See the Example section below for a complete demonstration.
Example
Input: "We're building a project management tool. We have 40 features planned and can't prioritize. Help us find focus."
Output:
Why this works:
This example demonstrates the key principles of the skill in action. The approach is effective because:
- It follows the systematic workflow outlined above
- It shows concrete application of the framework
- It produces actionable, specific outputs rather than vague generalizations
- The analysis is grounded in observable details
- The recommendations are prioritized and implementable
Alternative applications:
This same approach can be applied to:
- Different contexts within the same domain
- Related but distinct problem types
- Scaled up or down depending on scope
- Combined with complementary analytical frameworks
Product Vision: TaskFlow
The Problem (What's Broken)
Project management tools are built for project managers, not for the people doing the work. They require training, constant updating, and produce reports no one reads. The tool becomes the work instead of supporting the work.
The Vision (The Future We're Creating)
Work happens. Progress is visible. No one asks for a status update because the status is obvious. Teams spend zero time managing the tool and all their time doing meaningful work.
The One Thing
"TaskFlow is the best way to SEE work progress without anyone updating anything in the world."
The Ideal Experience
| Dimension | Description |
|---|---|
| Feels like | Opening your eyes vs. filing a report |
| Enables | Instant understanding of where everything stands |
| Eliminates | Status meetings, update requests, "Can you update the board?" |
| Worth sharing because | "I haven't asked for a status update in three months" |
Focus Grid
| Simple Projects | Complex Projects | |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic Tracking | TaskFlow Core | TaskFlow Teams |
| Manual Tracking | NOT US | NOT US |
We are the automatic tracking company. If it requires humans to update status, we are doing it wrong.
Elimination List
Good ideas we are explicitly NOT pursuing:
- Gantt charts - Requires manual updating; does not serve automatic visibility
- Resource management - Important, but not our One Thing; others do this well
- Time tracking - Tempting revenue, but manual entry; violates core principle
- Custom workflows - Flexibility is the enemy of simplicity; we make decisions so users don't have to
- Reporting builder - If status is obvious, you don't need reports
Decision Framework
When evaluating any new feature or initiative, ask:
- Does this make work progress MORE automatically visible?
- Does it require users to manually enter information?
- Would adding this make us a general-purpose PM tool?
Feature passes if: #1=Yes, #2=No, #3=No.
The Jobs Test
Would Steve Jobs greenlight this vision?
Close. The One Thing is specific and differentiated. The elimination list includes genuinely valuable features that others will offer. The risk: "automatic tracking" is technically hard, and the team might compromise. Jobs would say: "If you can't do automatic tracking well, don't do this product at all. The mediocre version of this idea is worthless."
Integration
This skill is part of the Steve Jobs expert persona. Use it when products lack focus, when roadmaps are bloated, or when teams cannot articulate what makes them special. It pairs well with:
- simplicity-audit for applying the vision to existing features
- keynote-storytelling for communicating the vision externally