Build a Product Vision That Doesn’t Suck: A B2B Survival Guide

Crafting a Product Vision That Inspires, Aligns, and Delivers

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

Laying the Groundwork for Product Success

Does the world have too many posts about Product Vision? Yes. Did I feel compelled to write another article after watching too many companies needlessly struggle without a compelling vision? Also yes.

Here’s the deal: you need a vision. I’m not concerned about the framework or format—whether it’s a polished document, a whiteboard scribble, or something you shout across a room. What matters is that it is ambitious, credible, and real. A product vision isn’t just a nice-to-have; it must carry inherent value and resonate with everyone involved in the product’s journey: your team, customers, and stakeholders. It’s not about buzzwords or fluff; it’s about authenticity. If it doesn’t feel authentic and resonate deeply, it’s not worth writing down.

A great product vision tells a story with a clear arc: here’s where we stand today, here’s the transformation we need to make happen, and here’s the vivid, compelling future we aim to build. It’s a narrative that doesn’t just describe a goal but paints a picture. It should be specific enough to grab attention and bold enough to inspire. The current situation might be messy or stagnant; the transformation might be challenging or radical; the future state should feel like a place worth reaching. That clarity is what turns a vague idea into a rallying cry.

However, a vision alone doesn’t get the job done. Product vision and strategy together form the foundation of successful product development. They bring direction and coherence to the messy, complex work of creating solutions that matter. A well-articulated vision lights the way, energizing your team and aligning stakeholders around a shared goal. Then, the strategy steps in, practical, deliberate, and grounded, charting the course with the steps, principles, and decisions needed to make that vision a reality. One inspires. The other executes.

What follows is a deeper exploration of how this plays out in practice. Because a vision without action is merely delusional, and a strategy without purpose is just busywork. Let’s dig in.

Why Most B2B Product Strategies Fail

Let’s be honest: most product visions in B2B SaaS are absolute trash: fluffy aspirational statements if they exist. It’s not because the thinking is wrong, but because they're too abstract, too vague, or disconnected from the daily reality of product development. They sound nice in a pitch deck but gather dust while your team’s arguing over the latest feature request. This guide focuses on creating effective product visions that have actually worked at successful B2B companies. not theoretical statements that sound good but provide no real direction. Your vision’s gotta be a weapon, not wall art.

Let's fix that.

What’s a Product Vision, Really?

Your product vision isn’t your strategy. Strategy is the playbook for this quarter, maybe this year. Vision is why you’re even in the game: why your product exists, who it’s for. It’s that point on the horizon you’re aiming at while the market shifts and your strategy pivots. No vision? You’re just reacting to market trends, competitors, internal politics, or that loudmouth in the boardroom. Without a clear vision, your product efforts will ricochet between opportunities like a pinball machine on tilt—lots of noise and flashing lights but no actual progress toward a goal. And in B2B SaaS, where consistency builds the trust that customers stake their careers on, that's a direct path to irrelevance. That’s how you die.

What Makes a Vision Actually Useful?

Forget vague frameworks and Madlib forms; useful product visions have these practical qualities:

• Memorable as hell.
  At Slack, their early vision of "making work life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive" was simple enough that teams would literally ask, "Does this make work life simpler?" when evaluating features. If it takes a script to recite, it’s junk.

• They help you say no to good ideas that don't fit.
  Notion’s “all-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases” keeps them from chasing CRM or accounting gigs even when customers beg. Focus matters.

• They’re clear enough to call the shots without a babysitter
  Compare "become the leading platform" is fluff. Figma’s “making design accessible to all” tells you what to build and what to skip.

• Fires people up
  It’s gotta hit your team and customers in the gut. Not some save-the-world fluff, but a reason to care beyond a paycheck or features and functions.

• Big but not delusional
  The best visions stretch what seems possible without crossing into fantasy. Stripe’s “increase the GDP of the internet” is ambitious but tied to what they do. It’s not “fix world hunger.”
  

Visions That Actually Did their Job

Here’s some that worked, straight from the source:

Early-Stage Example: Superhuman

"The fastest email experience ever made. Superhuman helps you get through your inbox twice as fast as before."

Why it worked: This vision put speed at the center of everything. It guided Superhuman to focus fanatically on performance and keyboard shortcuts, even when users begged for extras that’d slow it down. One goal, nailed hard.

Growth-Stage Example: Airtable

"Enable anyone to create software applications without writing code."

Why it worked: This vision clearly identified both the value (creating software without coding) and the target user (anyone, not just technical users). It guided Airtable to continuously simplify their interface while stacking on power, knowing exactly who they’re serving. Clear who, clear what that kept them simple while scaling.

Enterprise Example: Snowflake

"Mobilize the world's data with the Data Cloud."

Why it worked: They didn’t just say “we store data.” This vision established a category (Data Cloud) while emphasizing accessibility of data. It guided Snowflake's product decisions around interoperability, data sharing, and marketplace development.

Platform Example: Shopify

"Make commerce better for everyone, so businesses can focus on what they do best: building and selling their products."

Why it worked: This vision clarified the ultimate beneficiary (businesses that sell products) and the core value (making commerce better). It helped Shopify expand beyond just being an online store platform while maintaining focus. It’s why they’re more than an e-commerce widget.

An effective product vision isn’t a slogan. It’s a filter.

How to Build a Vision That Doesn’t Suck

No templates. Start with questions that matter:

• What change are we chasing? Not cash but impact. The purpose beyond profit.

• Who’s it for? “Everyone” is a lame cop-out. Be specific, who are the primary beneficiaries,

• What’s their world like when we win? Paint a compelling future state.

• What do we believe? Your non-negotiable foundational values

• What’s our edge? Why you? What unique insight and/or capabilities form your differentiated viewpoint?

Then do this:

Dig for input. Ask founders, customers, and the team about their dreams, not just gripes. Find the patterns.

• Interview founding team members about the original inspiration

• Conduct customer interviews focused on aspirations, not just pain points

• Analyze customer success stories for patterns of transformational value

• Review industry trends and future projections

Spot the Core Themes. What keeps popping up? What hits you emotionally? Set a timeline: 3 years? No more than 5.

• Look for recurring patterns in customer transformations

• Identify emotional outcomes, not just functional benefits

• Pinpoint what makes your approach fundamentally different

• Determine what timeline makes sense for your vision (3 years? 5 years? 10 years?)

Craft Vision Candidates. Take 3-5 stabs at it. You want a start, not perfection (to quote Jake Knapp). Test them: can they steer a tough call? Stick in your head?

• Develop 3-5 potential vision statements with slightly different emphasis

• For each candidate, outline how it would guide specific product decisions

• Test each vision's memorability and inspirational quality

Test and Refine. Show customers, the team. Can they repeat it? Does it click? Keep grinding till it does.

• Share vision candidates with select customers, not just the ones that love you, for feedback

• Test internal clarity by asking team members to explain the vision in their own words

• Evaluate whether the vision creates clear decision-making guidance

• Refine based on feedback, prioritizing clarity and memorability

GitLab didn’t just stumble into “everyone can contribute.” They beat it into shape through an iterative process, testing how different vision statements guided actual product decisions before finalizing their vision.

Make it Real

A vision’s nothing if it doesn’t hit the ground. Here’s how:

Decision Filters and Product Principles teams can use to connect vision to daily choices.

Twilio's Vision-Based Decision Matrix: They created a simple scoring system where proposed features are evaluated on how strongly they support each element of their vision, creating a concrete way to prioritize based on vision alignment.

Atlassian's Vision Principles: They translated their vision into specific principles that teams can reference when making decisions, like "Make it obvious" and "Don't make me think."

Bake it in

Integrate your vision into the tools teams use daily:

• Include vision alignment fields in whatever you use to propose features (i.e., briefs)

• Add vision criteria to product review checklists. No connection? No go.

• Incorporate vision references in your stories and prototypes

• Create vision-based OKR evaluation criteria if OKRs are your thing.

Real-world example: Shopify includes a "Vision Alignment" section in all feature briefs, where teams must explicitly connect proposed work to their vision of making commerce better for everyone.

Regularly Reinforce Through Storytelling (not propaganda)

Like it or not, you have to merchandise your success. No one else will. Keep your vision alive through consistent storytelling:

• Share customer stories that exemplify vision fulfillment

• Celebrate decisions that prioritized vision alignment over short-term gains

• Use vision language consistently in communications

• Connect quarterly objectives explicitly to vision elements

Real-world example: Stripe regularly shares stories of how their products are helping increase "the GDP of the internet" (their vision), making the abstract concrete through specific examples.

When to Revisit Your Vision: Real Warning Signs

Don't revise your vision on a whim, but watch for these red flags:

• Teams consistently misalign on priorities despite agreeing on strategy: This indicates your vision isn't providing sufficient guidance.

• Customer conversations increasingly focus on problems you're not addressing: MongoDB stretched past the “database for giant ideas” when users demanded more.

• New hires struggle to understand why certain decisions were made: If it’s not obvious, it’s not working.

• You keep saying no to the same stuff: Maybe your lens is too tight for where your market is headed.

• No one is pumped: If your vision doesn't inspire, it may have become outdated or too familiar.
  

Where You’ll Screw Up

Here’s what often kills a vision:

Making it Too Broad

The problem: Visions like "transform the enterprise" are so generic they provide no guidance.

The solution: Include specific value and beneficiaries. Compare "transform the enterprise" with "enable marketing teams to create enterprise-quality video content without specialized skills."

Confusing Vision With Features - Vision is the change, not the how

The problem: Vision statements that list capabilities rather than outcomes.

The solution: Focus on the lasting change you'll create, not how you'll create it. Capabilities evolve, but the core transformation should remain stable.

Fantasyland - Don’t get too far over your skis (working in Colorado left an impact)

The problem: Vision statements that list capabilities rather than outcomes.

The solution: Focus on the lasting change you'll create, not how you'll create it. Capabilities evolve, but the core transformation should remain stable.

One and done. Check it yearly, it’s not scripture.

The problem: Creating a vision statement once, then never revisiting it as the company evolves.

The solution: Schedule annual vision reviews to assess continued relevance, while respecting that vision should change less frequently than strategy.

No follow-through. If teams can’t use it, it’s pointless.

The problem: Having a vision statement that teams can't connect to their daily work.

The solution: Create explicit connections between vision and decision criteria, ensuring teams understand how the vision applies to their specific context.

Is it Working?

You’ll know your product vision is doing its job when:

Decision Match

Track whether similar decisions are made consistently across teams without escalation. If your vision is clear, different teams should reach similar conclusions when facing similar choices.

Everyone Gets It

Randomly ask team members to explain why specific product decisions were made. In companies with effective visions, explanations consistently reference vision elements, even across departments.

Customers See It

When customers describe your product to others, they should articulate value aligned with your vision. If customer perceptions consistently differ from your vision, there's a disconnect to address.

Strategic Stability

Track how often strategic priorities change. With a clear vision, strategy may adapt in approach but should maintain consistent themes aligned with the vision.

People join and stick around

Measure how often candidates and employees cite your vision as a reason for joining or staying. Powerful visions attract and retain talent who share your purpose.

Real-world example: Figma measures vision effectiveness by tracking how consistently employees across departments can articulate what makes Figma different and what future they're building toward.

Conclusion: Vision as Foundation, Not Decoration

Your vision isn’t a tagline. It’s the bedrock. Not about looking good. It’s about being good. Not inspiration. It’s direction. Not tomorrow. It’s today. Strategy tells you how you'll win the game this season. Vision reminds you why you're playing the game at all.

A compelling product vision won't guarantee success, but it provides the clarity, consistency, and inspiration that make success possible. In the fast-changing world of B2B software, your vision is the one thing that should change the least, providing stability amid constant evolution.

The best product visions aren't theoretical—they're practical tools that help teams stay focused on what truly matters, making better decisions every day because they know where they're ultimately headed and why. Get it right, and you’ve got a shot at something real. So do it. Now.