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3 Things to Put into Your Next Strategy Document
3 Things to Put into Your
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Dear Reader,
The most effective strategy document I've seen doesn't worry about the looks or format. Whether it's a scrappy Google Doc or a fancy Miro template, what matters is the quality and cohesiveness of the information it contains.
Make sure what you cover aligns with your company's expected standards to ensure stakeholder understanding and, consequently, buy-in. But make sure you don't skip these parts:
#1 The Basics
You know the drill. Your Product Strategy has a problem to solve.
And, to do that, you need to answer a few key questions. There are a gazillion versions of these out there, but all mostly center around the same core:
- How does this connect to Company Strategy, Product Vision, and Business Goals?
- For which audience (and their adjacent roles) are we trying to solve a problem? What is the problem? What else is solving that problem?
- What will we provide as a solution? What makes our solution more likely to get chosen by the audience? How will we put it into people's hands?
The answers to these questions need to reinforce each other. TikTok ads won't help you reach people aged 70+. You're not just competing against similar software or services, but also against Excel and ChatGPT.
#2 Measurable Definitions of Success
Struggling to measure if the strategy is working?
Can you answer the simple question: "Which three metrics would show that this strategy choice has worked in the next 12 months?" Make them specific. Not just "Revenue" but "Revenue from Industry xyz." Then, use these to create influenceable team goals.
#3 "Stupidity-Flipping" Your Strategy Choice
A real strategy choice should feel slightly uncomfortable. If the opposite of your choice would be plain stupid, it might not be a real choice at all (thank you, Roger Martin). That's the stupidity flip. A simple way to pressure-test whether your strategy is actually saying something.
Bonus: "What's at Stake?"
To point out the relevance of your choices and urgency to act, outline the consequences of your product not adapting to a changing landscape. Use a simple formula: If we don't act → [core risk] → which means → [downstream consequence that hits something people already care about].
If we don't establish a clear wedge in this category → we become a feature, not a platform → which means customers adopt us tactically but never build workflows around us, and we're always one competitor's roadmap update away from being replaced.
If we don't earn repeat purchase behavior early → the unit economics of acquisition never close → which means we're permanently dependent on paid channels to drive revenue, and the business model only works if we keep spending.
Thank you for Practicing Product,
Tim
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1 tip & 3 resources per week to improve your Strategy, OKRs, and Discovery practices in less than 5 minutes. Explore my new book on realprogressbook.com
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