Short term (only) focus is often a symptom of one of three: 1. The team is under tremendous delivery pressure / the team's incentives are aligned with short term outcomes. 2. The team does not have enough experienced seniors / people who have delivered a multi-year initiative / people who have seen long term industry changes. 3. The team has frequent leadership 'thrash' - conflicting priorities, changing goals, etc coming in from the outside. To get the team to focus on the long term, I would: 1. Align short and long term incentives, set clear long term goals, and measure progress towards both. 2. Hire or coach for long term vision / experience. 3. Minimise thrash, or bake it into the process by carving out dedicated bandwidth.

Teams might be focussing on short term goals owing to individual team goals. Here are few steps to align: 1. Shared Vision: Ensure everyone understands the big picture—the purpose, value, and long-term impact of the product. Involve leadership and ensure that they understand the vision as well 2. Work Together: Collaborate with stakeholders to map out a strategic roadmap. Highlight how short-term and long term goals have to balanced to achieve the vision. 3. KRA: Ensure that each individual team member KRA has goals aligned to short term as well as long term vision 4. Regular Communication: Regular sync-ups, stand-ups, and cross-team meetings help reinforce alignment. Discuss progress, challenges, and adjustments.

Clearly articulate the long-term goals of your organization or product, ensuring your team understands how their daily tasks align with these broader objectives. Break down these overarching goals into smaller, actionable milestones to make the future feel more attainable and provide the team with clear targets. When making decisions, consistently reference these long-term goals to demonstrate a commitment to the future. Share your passion for the vision, using real-life examples of long-term success to inspire and motivate. Cultivate a culture that promotes big-picture thinking by encouraging the team to explore opportunities beyond their immediate tasks through brainstorming sessions and strategic discussions.

Inspiration is About Teaching To inspire your team towards higher goals, it's essential to enhance their long-term vision. Here are tips I use daily as a Product Manager: Set Moonshots: Ignite passion for long-term goals by making them meaningful. Even if you're not using OKRs, turn metrics into something inspiring. Ensure Understanding: Can everyone grasp the big picture? If not, the goal isn’t clear or simple enough. Use Repetition: Repetition is key. Ensure the team can practically memorize every aspect of the long-term goals. Connect Short and Long-Term Goals: View short-term goals as building blocks for a bigger vision, ensuring you're on the right path.

In order to help the team to see bigger picture start by connecting how the short term goals can be associated with the long term vision. Help the team to visualise the long term goals and make it as a shared vision. Establish a key milestones for reaching the long term goals and make it as easy win by connecting with each of the short term goals. Keep the team motivated on why its important to contribute for the long term vision and how it leads to overall success of the organization. Have a constant messaging and communication with team on the importance of winning long term vision and how it can align with the individual growth. Make sure to tie back the team’s OKRs with the long term goals of the organisation.