Leaders in product departments carry the weight of responsibility for crafting the product strategy. It's a labor of love that involves working on the details, choosing the right words, anchoring the strategy, and presenting it to the rest of the organization.
However, it's important to remember that a product strategy should not be created in isolation. It's a collaborative effort that involves the leadership team and the CEO. The strategy should be a product of the collective expertise within the organization, incorporating insights from those who possess real knowledge of your users, business, technology stack, and industry.
To create a product strategy that inspires and fosters pride within the organization, it's important to structure it thoughtfully. A good starting point is to consider four key elements:
- Challenges/Diagnosis:
The challenges and problems that the product strategy aims to address can be classified into four categories:
• Market: Identify the competitive landscape, customer needs and pain points, and potential opportunities.
• Processes: Determine if the current processes and methodologies are effective or if changes are necessary to optimize efficiency.
• Structure: Examine if the current organizational structure is aligned with the goals and objectives of the product strategy.
• Culture: Evaluate if the current culture supports the desired outcomes of the product strategy.
- Principles/Culture:To establish the principles that will guide the organization in implementing the product strategy, consider the following:
• We do this, not that: Define the key priorities and focus areas for the product team.
• We say this, not that: Establish the tone and messaging to be used in communication with customers and stakeholders.
• Our customer is, not that: Define the target audience and personas that the product team will focus on serving.
- Actions/Initiatives:To define the actions and initiatives required to implement the product strategy, consider the following:
• Current market segment (for PMF): Determine which market segment the product should focus on first to achieve product-market fit.
• How do we structure the team now to meet the challenges?: Evaluate if the current team structure and roles are aligned with the product strategy and if changes are necessary.
• What’s the big themes/team objectives we invest on now? Theme 1, theme 2, etc.: Establish the key themes and objectives that the product team will focus on to achieve the desired outcomes of the product strategy.
- Vision/Desired State:To articulate the vision and desired state that the product strategy aims to achieve, consider the following:
• Describe what value the product will deliver in a few years: Establish a clear and compelling vision of what the product will achieve in the future, such as market share, revenue, or customer satisfaction.
• Describe what that means for our end customers: Explain how the vision for the product will benefit the end customers, such as providing a better user experience or addressing unmet needs.
By approaching product strategy with intention and collaboration, you can create a roadmap that sets your organization on a path towards success.