three-levels-of-product-work

name	Three Levels of Product Work
description	Understand that product work happens at three levels (Impact, Execution, Optics) and conflicts arise when people argue from different levels. Use to diagnose team misalignment.

The Three Levels of Product Work

"Optics creates awareness of the impact and execution. It creates energy." — Shreyas Doshi

What It Is

Product work happens at three levels: Impact (Business outcomes), Execution (Getting things done), and Optics (Internal awareness). Conflicts arise when one person argues from one level while another is looking at a different level.

When To Use

• During product reviews when there's unexplained tension
• When communicating with leadership and feeling misunderstood
• When team morale is low despite hard work
• To diagnose why rational arguments fail to convince

The Three Levels

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   IMPACT                     │
│        (Business outcomes, metrics)          │
│   "Customers hate it" "Revenue is down"      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                  EXECUTION                   │
│       (Getting things done, shipping)        │
│   "It's hard to build" "Technical debt"      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                   OPTICS                     │
│    (Internal awareness, perception)          │
│   "No one knows" "Team morale is low"        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Core Principles

1. Know Your Level

• CEOs default to Impact
• PMs often get stuck in Execution details
• ICs frequently neglect Optics

2. Value Optics

Internal optics isn't just "politics"—it creates energy, awareness, and trust. Without it, good work goes unnoticed and resources get cut.

3. Switch Contexts

To resolve conflict, explicitly identify which level the other person is operating on and match it.

How To Apply

STEP 1: Listen for Level Indicators
└── Impact: "customers", "revenue", "metrics"
└── Execution: "timeline", "resources", "technical"
└── Optics: "perception", "visibility", "awareness"

STEP 2: Diagnose Mismatch
└── "I'm explaining delays (Execution)"
└── "CEO is asking about customer complaints (Impact)"

STEP 3: Translate Your Message
└── Reframe your point in their level's language
└── Connect Execution constraint to Impact consequence

STEP 4: Bridge Proactively
└── "We're 2 weeks behind (Execution), which means
     we'll miss holiday revenue (Impact)"

Common Mistakes

❌ Dismissing "Optics" as negative or political

❌ Only communicating in your own default level

❌ Assuming rational arguments in one level will resonate in another

Real-World Example

A PM explaining delays due to technical debt (Execution) vs. a CEO asking why customer support tickets are spiking (Impact) — they're talking past each other.

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Source: Shreyas Doshi, Lenny's Podcast