Reasons for Product Managers to Prioritize Strategy

This slide gets copied and stolen from me more than any other. It’s the blueprint for saving 4+ years and $4+ million on failed AI initiatives. Start with an iterative PMPV framework to avoid 4 expensive mistakes. Propose – Top-down and bottom-up opportunity discovery workshops. The business articulates its needs vs. being told what should be built. The opportunity is assessed. Does it require AI, or can a less expensive technology work? Measure – AI Product Managers work with stakeholders/customers to define the problem space and assess the opportunity size. They work with the data/AI team to assess feasibility and estimate costs. Prioritize – The 3 assessments allow the business to reach a consensus on a value-based prioritization without being dragged into technical solution complexity. The roadmap is updated. Validate – Did the initiative deliver the expected impact, revenue, margins, etc.? If not, why, and is it salvageable? If it did, can more value be delivered quickly? How much? The roadmap is updated/reprioritized. The roadmap can’t be static. New opportunities emerge, and some opportunities don’t pan out. Businesses need to take a pipeline approach with multiple opportunities on the roadmap. It can’t be opinion-driven or abandoned for every fire drill. Opportunity size estimation is critical, or the loss from constant reprioritization cannot be quantified. Loss allows AI Product Managers to push back. That’s it. Iterative PMPV is a lightweight product strategy framework that supports the unique needs of AI features and products. Remember, frameworks are only as good as the people who manage them. No AI Product Manager == No AI products, revenue, or cost savings…just a giant cost center. #ProductManagement #AIStrategy

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲. 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀? Some product leaders build it in isolation and hand it down like a mandate. Others leave it entirely to bottom-up input with no north star. Both approaches fail. One loses touch with reality. The other turns into a wishlist with no direction. So - what actually works? The best product strategies I’ve seen are 𝗰𝗼-𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 - but anchored in a clear company direction. And I don’t mean a vague mission statement. I mean actual clarity on: • What problem are we solving? • For whom? • What kind of company are we building? • And how fast do we need to grow to win? Once that’s clear, product strategy becomes a 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿. It helps answer: → What do we build? → What do we prioritize? → What do we say no to? Great strategy doesn’t just define features. It makes 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘀. It sets 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. And it 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. It’s built on: • Customer insight • Market understanding • Internal constraints • And most importantly - 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀 It’s also shaped by context: In 𝗕𝟮𝗕, it’s about ROI and enabling sales. In 𝗕𝟮𝗖, it’s iteration and behavior change. In 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀, it’s extensibility and governance. And in 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, it’s about balancing ecosystems of customers, partners, and devs. And it evolves: • Early stage → Find the wedge • Growth stage → Scale across segments • Enterprise → Defend and optimize The best strategies? They’re clear enough to empower teams to decide without constant top-down guidance. So if you’re leading product: Don’t start by asking, “What should we build?” Start with: “What does winning look like - and how does product get us there?” Then invite your teams to build 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 that vision - not outside it. 👇 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆?

Defining product strategy is one of the most critical responsibilities of a product leader. The best leaders take a deliberate, evolving approach, avoiding common pitfalls and focusing on what truly drives success. More importantly, they continuously refine their strategic thinking, ensuring that each iteration is stronger, more informed, and more effective than the last. Here’s what sets them apart: 🚫 They don’t just follow a process. ✅ They define a clear vision and guiding principles that align teams and drive meaningful outcomes for the customer and the business. 🚫 They don’t treat strategy as a one-time activity. ✅ They continuously refine and adapt based on market trends, customer insights, and competitive dynamics—improving their ability to craft strategy over time. 🚫 They don’t prioritize features over impact. ✅ They focus on solving real problems and delivering measurable value rather than simply shipping features. 🚫 They don’t define product strategy in isolation. ✅ They collaborate across engineering, design, marketing, and sales to gather critical insights and ensure alignment. 🚫 They don’t just repeat the same approach. ✅ They analyze past strategies, learn from successes and failures, and refine their methodology—making each strategy more effective, data-driven, and aligned with business objectives than the last. Great product strategy isn’t just about what you build—it’s about how you build it, why you build it, and how you continuously improve your approach.