The reframe: what product strategy really is and how to leverage it
For this newsletter, I picked a topic that I love: product strategy. It’s also perfect timing. Q2 is here, and let’s be honest, most of us are quietly panicking. But don’t worry. This might be exactly what you need to get centered and moving in the right direction.
A great product strategy is one of the highest-leverage artifacts a product leader can produce. Yet there’s so much confusion and, in my opinion, overcomplication of what a great product strategy is. Don’t get me wrong. I am by no means saying this is easy. The product strategy is one of the hardest things a product leader is responsible for. Still, when done well, it helps them scale while truly leading an empowered team. One that is responsible for solving real problems that make a dent in the business and customers.
Product strategy is a complex topic, so in this newsletter, I’ll focus on giving you a blueprint of what a great product strategy looks like.
Let’s start with the basics: The what
Product strategy is an artifact in the form of a narrative that tells teams the most important problem to solve right now. It’s a narrative because slides often leave too much open to interpretation, and this shouldn’t. It also focuses on the right now, meaning the next three months. It’s a strategy for the quarter.
The product strategy describes the problem the team needs to solve and gives them the context of why that problem matters given the market, the users, and the business goals. It’s the document that gives the team the strategic context they need to execute.
One of the most powerful aspects of the product strategy is that it communicates what the team is focusing on and tells the team that everything else is not a priority and is not important right now.
The impact of a great product strategy
Creating the strategy is only part of the work. Integrating it into your team’s rhythm is what sets you and your team up for tangible impact.
Focus for the team: The team knows what the goalpost is and has context on how to move toward it.
Enables constructive creativity: Given the context is set and the goal is defined, now the team has the ability to figure out how to solve this problem in the best way possible. This enables product, engineering and design to collaborate on a solution that’s viable, desirable, valuable, ethical and feasible.
Clarity and alignment for stakeholders: The strategy simplifies stakeholder communication because it aligns the teams with the company's most important business goal and gives teams the ammunition to say “no” when they are pulled in different directions.
Now that we're clear on what your product strategy needs to do, let's explore the ingredients required to make that happen.
The 5 core ingredients of an effective product strategy
Here are the ingredients that, when put together, deliver an excellent product vision.
TLDR: The summary paragraph that, when read, very clearly explains what the team wants to solve and why it’s important. When well executed, this is particularly helpful for stakeholder engagement.
State of the world: Paints a clear picture of what is going on in the industry and how the company or product fits into this ecosystem.
Business goals: Describes the goals for the business, connecting the high-level goal of the company with how the product can help.
Strategy: A paragraph describing the problem to be solved and the point of view the team will take in solving it. It articulates to the team how they will win.
Bets: This section further expands on the strategy by breaking down the bets the team will take. Note these are not features to build. These are strategic bets.
Product strategy blueprint
The blueprint is helpful for three specific personas:
Product leaders and founders who already have a product strategy and are looking for improvement opportunities
Product leaders and founders who don’t yet have a well-fleshed-out product strategy and want to understand the core ingredients when creating one
Product managers who want to effectively manage up and know what they should expect from a well-consolidated product strategy
🎯 Core Strategy Development – Since we need a plan to succeed
Problem & Impact: Craft a single, clear paragraph explaining:
The most important problem to solve
Why this problem matters now
Potential business impact
What changes if we nail this
Market Context: Define your strategic landscape
Current market dynamics
Where we are really playing
What makes us uniquely positioned to win
Key competitive insights
What competitors are missing that we see
Strategic Bets: Identify 3 maximum strategic bets
Each bet has a razor-sharp hypothesis
Not a feature list - a strategic commitment
Measurable potential impact
Aligned with business goals
Aligned with the company’s unique approach to solving the problem
🔍 Execution Validation – Since a plan is nothing without execution
Strategy Clarity
Can every team member explain the strategy in one minute?
Could a new hire explain this in the elevator?
Is this so clear it makes some people uncomfortable?
Is the language clear and free of jargon?
Alignment Checkpoint
Leadership is slightly nervous (in a good way) and excited
Teams feel both challenged and excited
Stakeholders see themselves in the strategy
Teams and stakeholders understand that what is not in the strategy is not a priority
🚀 Quarterly Review Focus – Since we plan to get better every quarter
Quick Reflection
Did we solve the real problem?
What did we learn?
What did we learn that we didn't expect?
What can we adjust to better execute?
📊 Success Indicators
Measure the team's ability to say "no" to misaligned work
Saying "no" becomes easier
Teams make faster decisions
Progress on strategic bets
Quantifiable business impact
One of the most important things to note about product strategy is that you’re never “done” with it. As soon as it seems you’re done, you’re starting again to define where to go next. It’s product leadership's most important contribution and one of the core enablers of having truly empowered teams—teams that are given problems to solve, not just features to build, and that have the strategic context to collaboratively succeed.