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Author: calcode

.DS_Store

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+---
+layout: post
+title: Good product strategy
+permalink: good-product-strategy
+---
+
+Every product needs a good product strategy.
+
+Some have one, many *think* they have one, and others trudge on without one - the latter two being more common than you would think!
+
+What is strategy, why is it important, and what makes a good strategy?
+
+Read on to find out.
+
+### What makes a bad strategy
+
+Let’s start by identifying what makes a bad strategy.
+Some of these might hit close to home.
+
+- It isn’t **fluff**. This is common. Some might tell you that strategies ‘aren’t supposed to be actionable’. They’ll paint a vague picture for you, leaving you unable to do anything with them. That’s nonsense. If it isn’t actionable, it isn’t a strategy
+- It isn’t **financial metrics**. Simply telling your teams to increase revenue isn’t a strategy; it’s a method to measure success. Don’t be surprised or get annoyed when your team look at you blankly after you deliver a strategy like this
+- It isn’t **how your teams collaborate**. Explaining how your teams will work together isn’t a strategy; that’s a team topology. Team topologies define the purpose and relationship of teams. They are important, no doubt, but they aren’t strategy
+
+If you are into team topologies, then you can read a great article on team topologies published by Martin Fowler. I recommend this, 100%.
+
+### What is a strategy?
+> “a detailed plan for achieving success in situations such as war, politics, business, industry, or sport, or the skill of planning for such situations” - [Cambridge Dictionary](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/strategy)
+
+The key phrase here is ‘detailed plan’. It’s amazing how far we’ve strayed from viewing a strategy as a detailed plan.
+
+It takes good old-fashioned hard work to get one of these.
+
+### Why is it so important?
+Your product strategy is what drives alignment and coordination across your company. It ensures everyone is pulling in the same direction at the same point in time. It’s about creating focus.
+
+Imagine shipping a series of new features for a specific segment and your marketing campaigns all being ready to go, customer success talking to customers about them with confidence, support being ready to field any questions, and sales talking to these new segments.
+
+Seamless.  
+
+### What makes a good strategy?
+The bible on this for me isn’t from a product management source, surprisingly. It’s [Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Strategy-Bad-difference-matters/dp/1781256179/ref=asc_df_1781256179/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697308647252&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13959286353907761805&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046885&hvtargid=pla-566591824724&psc=1&mcid=5e5268e4d1bc3ecb8573ccddbfcd0784&th=1&psc=1&gad_source=1). You can pick it up on Amazon for cheap as chips.
+
+There’s also an excellent [Marty Cagan piece on product strategy](https://www.svpg.com/product-strategy-overview/). This is product management focused, and it’s excellent.
+
+So, what makes a good strategy?
+- It identifies a series of problems or opportunities
+- Written in the order you’ll tackle them
+- Each includes a diagnosis of what is causing them
+- Each has a series of actions for the team(s) to enact
+
+Additionally, a good strategy should also:
+- Be in plain English
+- Have a ‘curator’, or ‘owner’
+- Be updated when new insights come to light
+- Be re-communicated when changed
+- Be an iterative document
+- Be explainable by everyone across the company
+- Move you towards your product vision
+
+Stick to this and you’ll notice a lot less people telling you about a ‘lack of focus’ or ‘poor collaboration’.
+
+Let me know how you get on.