Who Actually Owns the Product Vision? (It’s Not Always You)

Andrew Talbot

Andrew Talbot

— 3 min read

In Product Management school, they teach you that you are the "CEO of the Product." You set the vision, you rally the troops, you change the world.

In the real world -- especially in massive Enterprise or B2B orgs -- that is rarely the case.

The truth is, product vision ownership is a spectrum. Sometimes you are the architect; other times, you are the construction foreman executing someone else's blueprints. Understanding where you sit on this spectrum isn't just about ego; it’s about survival. If you try to reinvent the wheel in a company that just wants you to keep the tires inflated, you’re going to crash.

Here is how to navigate the messy reality of Vision Ownership.

Part 1: The Spectrum (Startup vs. Enterprise)

Your influence on the "North Star" depends entirely on your environment.

The Startup: The Co-Pilot In a scrappy B2B startup, you are in the cockpit with the founders. You aren't just building features; you are defining what the product is.

  • The Job: You collaborate with leadership to find the target market. You use tools like Teams or Planner to map out the very soul of the product.
  • The Power: High. You align the tech with the business goals from day one.

The Enterprise: The Translator In a global corporation (think Microsoft or Oracle), the vision is usually set by a Strategy Board or the C-Suite long before it hits your desk.

  • The Job: You are a translator. You take a high-level decree like "We need to integrate AI into our cloud infrastructure" and turn it into actionable tickets in Microsoft Project.
  • The Power: Medium/Low on direction, High on execution.

Part 2: The Art of "Translation" (The Real Work)

Just because you didn't write the vision statement doesn't mean you are a robot. In Enterprise software, the magic happens in the refinement.

Let’s look at two hypothetical PMs, "Emily" and "Jack."

The Refiner (Emily) Her company’s leadership set a broad vision: "Simplify ERP interfaces for mid-sized companies."

  • The PM Move: Emily didn't just say "Okay." She used Power BI and user forms to analyze exactly what "simple" meant to that specific market. She translated a vague corporate slogan into a specific set of UX improvements.

The Improvisor (Jack) Jack’s leadership wanted "Efficiency in Supply Chain."

  • The PM Move: While executing that vision, Jack noticed a operational gap -- logistics partners were failing because of bad forecasting. He pushed back up the chain, advocating for an AI forecasting tool.
  • The Result: He didn't change the vision (Efficiency), but he changed the method (AI).

Part 3: The Hurdles (Why This Is Hard)

Navigating vision ownership in big companies is a minefield.

1. The "Broken Telephone" If the C-Suite wants "Speed" but the Engineering lead wants "Stability," and they never talk -- you are the one caught in the middle.

  • The Fix: You must be the mediator. Use data dashboards to show stakeholders the trade-offs. "We can launch fast, or we can launch bug-free. Pick one."

2. The Legacy Anchor In B2B, you are often dragging 20-year-old legacy code behind you. Leadership wants innovation; Operations wants to cut costs.

  • The Fix: Phased implementation. Don't rebuild the system overnight. Run a pilot project to prove the value of the new vision before committing the whole budget.

3. Ambiguity Sometimes the vision is just bad. "We want to be the Uber of Dog Walking for Enterprise Cyber Security."

  • The Fix: If the vision is blurry, the team will fracture. You need to force clarity. Ask the hard questions until the objective is sharp.

Part 4: Leading Without Authority

What if you have zero power? What if the vision is handed to you on a stone tablet?

You can still lead.

1. Bring the Data Opinions get ignored; data gets respect. If you think the vision is wrong, don't argue -- show the user research. "I know we want to build X, but 80% of our users are asking for Y."

2. The Feedback Loop You are closer to the customer than the CEO is. Use surveys and user testing to create a feedback loop. You might not set the initial course, but you can steer the ship away from the rocks.

3. Risk Management If the vision is "Build this complex feature in two weeks," your job is to highlight the risk. Work with engineers to propose a "Lite" version that meets the goal without killing the team.

The Bottom Line

Vision ownership isn't about having your name on the slide deck. It’s about alignment.

Whether you are defining the market in a startup or refining a roadmap in a giant corporation, your job is the same: Make the vision real. A vision without a PM to execute it is just a hallucination.

📝 Quick Cheat Sheet (For the Skimmers)

  • Startups: You define the vision.
  • Enterprise: You translate the vision into action.
  • The Gap: PMs fill the gap between "Corporate Strategy" and "Dev Reality."
  • Conflict: You are the mediator between Sales (Speed) and Dev (Quality).
  • Influence: Use data and user feedback to shape the vision, even if you aren't the boss.

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