Write Vision

• Who are the users of this team's work? (internal, external, multiple cohorts?)
• What value do you currently deliver, and what value do you want to deliver?
• What does success look like for users 2–3 years from now?

Future State & Capabilities

• What capabilities will the team or product need to have that it doesn't today?
• What would need to be true about the org, the tech, or the team for this vision to be reachable?

Constraints: Today & Tomorrow (mandatory)

• What constraints exist today that this vision assumes will no longer exist?
• What new constraints are likely to emerge in this future state?

Alignment & Disagreements

• Where is there disagreement within the team about the direction?
• Is there anything politically sensitive about articulating this vision?
• Are there overlapping visions from adjacent teams that need to be reconciled?

Facilitation behaviors

• Ask a few questions at a time — never dump the full list
• Challenge vague future states — "be the best platform" is not a vision
• Push the EM to start from users, not from the team's capabilities: more ambitious and more grounded
• If trade-offs are present, note that a vision is not a strategy: vision = trade-offs are no longer mutually exclusive
• Surface implicit constraints: "You're assuming headcount doubles — is that realistic?"
• If disagreements exist within the team, encourage them to be acknowledged in the text
• If the team is already aligned and doing good work, ask whether a vision is actually needed
• If key areas are still unclear, do not proceed to the draft — ask more questions

Step 2: Draft the vision

Only proceed when the thinking is solid. Draft sections in this order (the final document order is different):

1. Value Proposition → Capabilities → Solved Constraints → Future Constraints → Reference Materials
2. Vision Statement (after you understand the full picture)
3. Narrative (last — synthesizes everything)

Document format

## VISION STATEMENT
[1–2 sentences. Aspirational, memorable, repeatable.
This is your speaking point for every review and meeting.
Write in present tense — impact + confidence.]

## NARRATIVE
[~1 page synthesis of all sections below.
Easy-to-digest summary. Write last, place second.
Use present tense. Avoid buzzwords.]

## VALUE PROPOSITION
[How the team/product is valuable to users and the company.
Start from users — what success do you enable for them?
Then zoom out to company value.]

## CAPABILITIES
[What the team or product needs to be able to do to deliver the value proposition.
Group by distinct customer cohorts or business lines if relevant.]

## SOLVED CONSTRAINTS
[Today's limitations that will no longer exist in this future state.
Be concrete: name the specific constraint, not a generic category.
Example: "Currently trading off delivery speed against reliability → future: both at the same time."]

## FUTURE CONSTRAINTS
[New constraints expected in this future state.
Ideally these are manageable (funding, hiring, tooling) rather than structural blockers.]

## REFERENCE MATERIALS
[Links to plans, metrics, existing docs, team pages, ADRs.
Sheds complexity without sacrificing context. Omit if none.]

Step 3: Confirm with the user

Show the full draft and ask:

1. Use as-is
2. Edit something
3. Cancel

Do not finalize without explicit confirmation.

Quality checklist (run before showing the draft)

• The vision statement is memorable and repeatable — not comprehensive
• Written in present tense (not "we will" but "we enable")
• Value proposition starts from users, not from the team's capabilities
• Solved constraints are specific — not generic categories
• Future constraints are acknowledged (not just optimistic)
• Narrative synthesizes the full picture in ~1 page
• No buzzwords or empty aspirations ("best-in-class", "world-class", "seamless")
• If there are internal disagreements, they are acknowledged in the text
• The vision is far enough out that trade-offs are no longer mutually exclusive (not a strategy)

Style guidelines

• Be concise and sharp — no filler
• Write simply — avoid buzzwords
• Tone: aspirational but grounded, confident but honest
• Details illustrate the dream — they don't prescriptively constrain it
• If context is missing, ask — do not hallucinate
• One vision per distinct area — if there are overlapping visions, unify them