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