Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Product Officer at N-able Inc. emphasizes the importance of effectively communicating product strategies and visions both internally and externally. It is crucial to create buy-in for the future while providing evidence that the organization is working towards delivering value. Using the framework of a product journey, a plan can be created with milestones for the distant, intermediate, and immediate horizons. This plan helps identify gaps and guide transitions between the different horizons, ensuring a clear path towards the end goal.
Understanding the destination, or distant horizon, is essential in preparing internally and externally for the journey ahead. Aligning resources, change management exercises, and assets within the organization with the vision is crucial. Preparation of external stakeholders helps them understand upcoming changes and how they will be impacted. Planning for the intermediate horizon involves defining milestones and setting expectations for the sequence of events that will lead to the accomplishment of goals.
The immediate horizon focuses on executing the initial milestones to show progress on the journey. Internal and external stakeholders need to be aware of the strategies for execution, as well as the deliverables and proof points that demonstrate progress. It is important to communicate regularly on the status of the journey, milestones achieved, and changes made to ensure that all stakeholders are informed and engaged. By using the horizon construct to describe the product journey, common mistakes such as trying to plan the entire journey at once or becoming trapped by deadlines can be avoided.
The journey framework provides a communication strategy for external and internal stakeholders, allowing for the effective setting up of the vision for success. By providing information along the distant, intermediate, and immediate horizons, the communicator can engage with the audience on a personal level and bring them along with the plan. The storytelling framework of the journey concept provides a relatable metaphor that helps engage stakeholders in the vision for the organization’s future success.
