Product Vision and Goals

The LunchLoop team has a list of thirty ideas: dark mode, meal photos, a cook rating system, referral codes, a Skip button. Every idea has a champion, and every champion says theirs is urgent. Without a shared destination and a clear next step, the loudest voice wins. A vision and a set of goals are the filter.

The rule

The vision names the destination; goals measure the next step toward it.

A product vision is a short, lasting statement of the future you are building, for whom, and why it matters. It is measured in years, not sprints. LunchLoop's:

"Every office worker eats a home-cooked lunch that fits their week, and every home cook earns from a kitchen that wastes nothing."

A good vision survives a change of features. "Be the tiffin app with AI menus" fails that test, because it names a solution, not a future.

A goal is a specific outcome that moves you toward the vision within a set time. It has three parts: what changes, from what to what, and by when.

"Cut untouched tiffins from 12% to 5% of deliveries by the end of March."

Notice the difference between two kinds of goal:

• An output is something you make: "launch a Skip button."
• An outcome is a change you cause: "fewer tiffins come back untouched."

Outputs are how; outcomes are why. A team can ship every output on time and still move nothing, so goals are written as outcomes.

The shortcut

Turn any wish into a goal with three questions: What changes? From what to what? By when? Then hold it up against the vision.

The trap is a goal that is really a feature list. Ask: "Would this goal be done the day we ship?" If yes, it is an output in disguise.

Drills

Answer fast — trust the rule.

Remember

• The vision names the destination; goals measure the next step toward it.
• Shortcut: what changes, from what to what, by when? Then check it against the vision.
• Trap: a goal that would be "done" on launch day is an output, not an outcome.