three-levels-product-work skill

---
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*