1.  Objective

Without a definition of success, a strategy is meaningless.

Strategies are always the response to a challenge. They answer the question: “what is the best way to do X?”.

A great format is:

Objective = mission + measure

2.  Users

With the objective set, you’ve defined the question you need to answer.

That answer will depend on understanding your users.

Business value can only be created when you create so much value for users, that you can “tax” that value and take some for yourself.

3.  Superpowers

You now need to figure out how you can offer them an exciting solution that they will value.

Whether you’re a startup or established, this should stem from your superpowers.

These are the things you can offer, but other companies will find difficult to.

4.  Vision

Having a clear vision helps you link the day-to-day work of your team to a grander purpose.

This should be:

• A 1-line vision statement
• A product vision board or business canvas
• Amazon style PR / FAQs
• A series of mockups or storyboard, a “visiontype”

5.  Pillars

Once you’ve set your vision, think through the key themes of work that will comprise your strategy.

Devise 2-4 pillars that say where you’ll focus your efforts.

They should solve your users’ needs, reinforce your competitive advantage, and deliver your vision.

6.  Impact

As you pull your pillars together, estimate the impact each can have.

This involves:

• Developing a narrative for how your pillar will create impact
• Expressing that as a driver tree
• Estimating the change in driver metrics from the baseline you’ll see

7.  Roadmap

You’ll need to:

• Come up with feature ideas
• Prioritize the order you’ll build these
• Learn and iterate as you ship features
• Keep everyone up to date on progress

Ultimately what you’re trying to do is give everyone visibility on what you’re planning to do.

@EdBiden goes 4K words deeper - with 7+ free templates - in today's guest post:

https://www.news.aakashg.com/p/strategy-in-1-day-week-month


7 Steps to Create a Strategy

We need to reframe how product managers talk about project management. 

Too often, the discussion is a simplistic denigration of project work.

But, the lives of great PMs involve tons of project management. 

I think we should reframe it as Deep Product Management.

| thread

Let’s define Deep Product Management.

This is when the PM is actively adding to the executional success of the project:

· Removing blockers
· Helping make decisions that come up
· Being the EM's & engineers' best friend

They can speak to what's happening on a daily level.

This is in contrast to Shallow Product Management.

This is when the PM is hands off on the executional details: 

· Rely on the EM
· Trust the designer to make decisions
· Focus more on why & what then when & how

They don't know on a day-to-day basis how things are going.

What does life look like when you excel at the art of Deep Product Management?

· Read and comment on the tech specs
· Attend stand ups to get daily updates on progress
· Volunteer to help unblock issues
· Think through all the flows and corner cases with design
· Run a great UAT

As a result, a conversation with leadership might go like this:

Leadership: “Where are we at with X big new feature?”

PM: “We’re at risk. I am working to try to unblock Z issue with Y team. 

Or:

“We’re on track. X & Y engineers are tracking to  timeline as of this morning.”

On the other hand, in shallow product management, the conversation goes something like:

Leadership: “Where are we at with X big new feature?”

PM: “I think we’re okay. Let me check with the EM.”

Or: 

PM: “I’m not sure… Let me find out.”

As you can guess from the conversations, the Deep PM’s features have less risk.

In Shallow Product Management, features often:

· Have bugs
· Get delayed
· Miss some analytics

Deep PMs’ features rarely do.

What is appropriate depends on your environment and the time.

Environment:
· What does eng want?
· What is the product culture?
· How many engineers are you supporting?

Time:
· How much do you have?
· Are you good at managing it?
· Do you need to focus on strategy?


But in most organizations, front-line PMs should strive to Deep Product Management.

There may be heavy planning cycles.

Or a high eng:PM ratio.

Then they’re shallow.

Otherwise, the best IC PM’s go Deep.

They become glue between engineering and a quick, metric-moving release.

This all comes back to how product managers talk about project management.

In all the talk of “product thinking” and “Facebook PMs don’t write PRDs,” the art of execution has gotten lost.

I would argue the pendulum has swung too far.

I have found Deep Product Managers are better strategists for their detailed execution.

They don’t make it about strategy OR execution.

With good prioritization, they do strategy AND execution.

Their deep project management drives deep strategic insight.

Reframing Project Management as Deep Product Management

Prompt engineering has gone from esoteric to essential for PMs.

5 skills you need to know to up your game:

1. Writing documents
2. Building tables
3. Understanding users
4. Analyzing competitors
5. Responding to email

Our tool of choice today is going to be Bing AI.

Unlike chatGPT, it's free.

But - it's different:

· You can't submit really long prompts. There's a character limit
· You can't continue the conversation after 10 back & forths

Bing prompt engineering is a skill of concision.

1. Writing documents

Generative AI can be your first draft's best friend.

It will put down all the basics for PRDs, vision docs, strategy docs, team charters, and memos.

It can save PM's time writing virtually everything important.

However, there's an art to getting its help.

Telling Bing to write a type of document - eg, "Strategy Doc" - will push it to a generic template.

Instead, YOU specify the key sections & details.

Here's my template:

"Write a document to add X feature to Y product for Z reasons. Include the following sections: A, B, C."

Tips:

· Use creative mode
· Ask it to 'Continue' if it stops
· Give it feedback to re-write sections
· In followups, ask for more data and supporting evidence

2. Building tables

Bing can build you a table with information really quickly.

It helps you "think" in 2x2s and multi-variable equations.

It's a great method for communication.

The problem with Bing and tables is many will fail if you ask for difficult information.

It will just say, 'Sorry.'

So one of my tricks is to focus on searchable info.

Try it yourself:

"Build me a table comparing X on A, B, and C."

Tips:

· Make X what it searches for
· Choose comparison variables it can easily find
· Ask for information it can search for and is available
· You just can't get too crazy asking it to calculate or think


3. Understanding users

Bing can help you quickly read through user research, especially if yours is a product people talk about online.

It's a good first pass on users before deeper research.

The trouble is getting it to give you quality versus surface-level.

Asking it to give you user quotes is one way to get to testimonials.

Here's my template. Try it yourself:

"Describe with user quotes the top reasons X"

Tips:

· Use follow-up prompts to ask for more quotes
· Consider building a table to get dimensionality
· Don't expect it to things that aren't easily searchable

4. Analyzing competitors

As a PM, it's hard to have time for every competitor move.

For certain one's, you want very specific information.

Bing chat is faster than Google search.

Like tables, the hard part is keeping Bing confident.

Otherwise, it returns 'Sorry, I couldn't find that.'

So specify things like pictures and user quotes.

Here's my template:

"Include pictures and user quotes to cover the top elements of X Company's Y move in Z time"

Tips:

· Use balanced mode
· The pictures currently land in the citations
· Use follow ups to dig into details you need

5. Responding to email

This last one is probably the most controversial.

But - Bing is great at delivering something to start with.

Let's say you have to draft say NO to a SaaS tool you talked with for a long time.

It's an email you want to nail but isn't rocket science.

The issue with Bing is when it starts getting too eloquent or making up facts you have to.

You need to constrain its thinking by providing it the facts you want incorporated.

Try it yourself:

"Draft an email response to X that Y because of Z."

Tips:

· Use precise mode
· Still put on a personal touch
· Specify as many details as you want
· Tell it where not to make things up

What did I miss?

I'm always looking to get better at prompt engineering.

Those who have 95 vs 90 / 100 skill will have a huge advantage.

If you liked this, you'll love my product growth newsletter.

I do the hard work - in this case, 10s of hours in Bing - so you can benefit: http://aakashgupta.substack.com/

To wrap up, Bing AI can help you as a PM reclaim time & focus.

It's a competitive advantage for PMs.

You can minimize time on low impact work to focus on high impact stuff like discovery & making good decisions.

Let it help you.

Bing Prompt Engineering for PMs

How to bridge the divide between stakeholders and users:

Anyone who has built products for a while has done it: shipped something internal stakeholders love, and user's don't.

It's the "Curse of Knowledge."

This cognitive bias is a psychological classic:

The more we know, the less we can relate to others who know less.

So how do you break this down in the product development process?

There are 3 important ways to de-risk & build something users love:

1. Continuous discovery
2. Prototype testing
3. Narrative control

This is especially important for features that are large eng investments.

1. Continuous discovery

If you keep your solution focus process trained specifically on providing solutions to user problems, you stay glued to the user.

Opportunity - Problem - Solution is the key pattern.

This sequencing helps you build something for users, not stakeholders.

2. Prototype testing

Make the rubber hit the road before you go to engineering.

Plan far enough ahead so you can put the prototytpe or mock in front of users.

This allows you to easily spot views of an animals butts instead of their fronts.

3. Narrative control

The Curse of Knowledge will infect your process if you allow cross-functional and leadership discussion to be focused on design decisions.

Bringing it back to the:
A. Business goal and
B. User problem

Provides a more fruitful discussion with stakeholders.

That narrative control helps you evaluate shipped solutions in the context of progress towards the business & user goals.

Otherwise, despite all the continuous discovery & prototype testing, there will be a gravitational pull towards specific implementations, catered to experts.

If you found this helpful follow:
@aakashg0

I write threads every day on product growth.

Join my newsletter to not miss the best stuff
http://aakashgupta.substack.com

Bridging the Gap between Stakeholders and Users in Product Development

Did you know that American obesity rates have tripled from 1987 to 2023?

That’s right, from 10% to 30% of adults!

But why? What changed in the last 36 years?

Here are six factors that explain this alarming trend:

Factor #1: Food environment

Americans are increasingly surrounded by cheap, convenient, and highly processed foods that are high in calories, sugar, fat, and salt.

These foods stimulate appetite and override satiety signals.

The data is alarming:

• The number of fast-food restaurants in the US increased 48% from 1987 to 2020.

• The availability of ultra-processed foods increased by 25% from 1990 to 2018.

• The average American consumed 152 pounds of added sugar per year in 2020, up from 123 pounds in 1987.

Factor #2: Portion sizes

The average portion size of many foods and drinks has increased by more than 50% since 1987.

This means Americans are consuming more calories than they need without realizing it.

For example, a typical bagel in 1987 was 3 inches in diameter and had 140 calories.

Today, a typical bagel is 6 inches in diameter and has 350 calories

Factor #3: Physical activity

Americans are moving less than ever before.

The average American spends 10 hours a day sitting!

That’s bad for our health, our muscles, our bones, and our metabolism.

We burn fewer calories and store more fat.

Physical activity helps burn calories, boost metabolism, & regulate hormones that affect weight.

But Americans face a lack of time, access, or motivation.

The percentage of adults who meet the recommended physical activity guidelines decreased from 53% in 1988 to 23% in 2020.

Factor #4: Sleep deprivation

The average American sleeps 6 hours a night, down from 8 hours in 1987!

That’s bad for our brain, our mood, our immune system, and our hormones.

We crave more food and make worse choices.

Factor #5: Stress

The average American reports 16% higher stress levels than in 1987!

Work, family, finances, health, politics, social media… you name it.

Stress triggers cortisol, which increases appetite and fat storage.

The data is alarming:

• According to a Gallup poll, Americans reported feeling stress on 55% of their days in 2018, up from 38% in 1987.

• The same poll found that Americans reported feeling worry on 45% of their days in 2018, up from 28% in 1987.

That’s bad for our mental and physical health.

Factor #6: Medications

The average American takes 4 prescriptions a day, up from 2 prescriptions in 1987!

That’s bad for our liver, our kidneys, and our weight.

Some medications can cause weight gain by increasing appetite, slowing metabolism, or altering hormones.

Sources:
1: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/fast-food-expansion/

2: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/portion-size-versus-serving-size

3: https://www.statista.com/statistics/207436/overweight-and-obesity-rates-for-adults-by-ethnicity/

4: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/us/americans-stressful.html

5: https://www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2020/

6: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/index.html

7: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/

So there you have it. Six factors that explain why American obesity rates have tripled from 1987 to 2023:

1. Food Environment
2. Portion Sizes
3. Physical Activity
4. Sleep Deprivation
5. Stress
6. Medications

Obesity in America

"A path to profitability"

It's what investors are demanding in this climate.

hims & hers is actually doing it:

hims & hers operates in telehealth.

It gets people video chat doctor's for stuff they may not otherwise want to talk to a doc in person about:
· Erectile Dysfunction
· Hair Loss
· Mental Health

Then it gets them subscriptions.

It's shown 5 main drivers on its path to profits:

Driver 1: Subscriptions are growing nicely

Growing subscribers is the number one engine of its growth story.

They are up 87% year over year.

It continues to grow them via marketing (up 102% yoy).

It's also grown rev / sub 10%.

Driver 2: It's kept a lid on costs

Many of the other 2021 newly public companies have seen ballooning stock-based comp and other operating costs.

hims & hers hasn't.

SBC was actually down yoy.

That's far different from other 2021 market entrants.


Driver 3: The company is showing leverage

Revenue was up 97% but operating costs were only up 72%.

For every operating dollar spent, it's able to generate more revenue than last year.

This fundamental operating leverage is driving the company toward profitability as it scales

Driver 4: The economics for these products is quite nice

Many of the drugs hims & hers sales are generics.

These are proven products, like Viagra, that work.

But it's able to produce them without R&D.

Gross margin of 79% enables the company to re-invest in marketing.

Driver 5: It's building for a specific audience

hims & hers is a smaller niche player in telehealth.

It's building for millenials and city-folk who like its simple, modern branding.

By staying true to its core, it's able to eat away share from the leader, Teladoc.

Bezos grew Amazon to $1.75T as CEO.

But, in 2001 after the dot-com crash, Amazon’s stock had fallen 90% to $5B.

In a hail mary attempt, Bezos invited a book author to Amazon.

Together, they created the foundation for trillions in market cap:

The author was Jim Collins, who published Built to Last in ‘94.

By ‘01, Bezos had adapted several of its concepts into Amazon’s principles:

Tyranny Of Or —> Avoid 1-Way Doors
Homegrown Leadership —> Hire & Develop the Best
Good Enough Never Is —> Insist on the Highest Standards

So, when Collins told Bezos that the key concept in his upcoming book was a flywheel, Bezos was eager to adapt it.

Collins had in mind the 5,000 lb old style flywheels.

They took hours to turn at first. 

But at some point, WHOOSH! 

Their own momentum kept them going.

Collins had commissioned a large team of Harvard MBA researchers for the new book.

They identified good-to-great companies that had delivered sustainable, S&P 500 beating results for years.

They then compared those to mediocre companies that had flailed.

What Collins found is the great companies were spinning  flywheels.

It wasn’t the first, or fifth, or one hundredth rotation that got them spinning.

It was their concentrated effort that led to the breakthrough momentum.

Thereafter, the heavy disk would spin on its own.

On the other hand, mediocre companies were constantly launching new initiatives.

Instead of achieving breakthrough momentum on one flywheel, they tried to create many.

But each never achieved breakthrough velocity.

They had to keep manually cranking them.

Given the insight, Bezos and Collins began sketching out Amazon’s e-commerce flywheel.

They identified that Amazon could generate self-reinforcing momentum in 2 ways:

1. Lower cost structure leading to lower prices leading to more scale and back to lower costs.

2. Greater selection leading to customer experience leading to traffic leading to more sellers and back to greater selection.

These two elements have been the backbone of Amazon’s e-commerce business for the 20+ years since the pair initially founded them.

To this date, the flywheel continues to extract market share for Amazon.

Last year, Amazon reached a tremendous 56.7% of total US e-commerce sales.

At $614B in revenue, it has left the competition - like Walmart - in the dust.

So, what can we learn from Amazon’s e-commerce flywheel?

As product and business people, we are tempted to start new flywheels constantly.

But, it usually pays to focus on spinning our main one with self-reinforcing momentum faster.

Sketch out your flywheel, and go get it.

Bezos’ 2001 Hail Mary

Luck is as important as any factor in product success.

But not all luck is created equal:

The legendary Marc Andreesen said it best.

There are 4 types of luck.

Type 1: Luck by Accident
Type 2: Luck from Hustling
Type 3: Luck from Preparation
Type 4: Luck from your Unique Character

These apply to products as well. 

It's a PM's job to generate type 2-4 luck.

Type 1: Luck by Accident

Also known as blind luck. 

This is luck that befalls a product purely by accident.

It usually has to do with founders and founding circumstances.

This is the type of luck we in product have the least ability to control.

Type 2: Luck from Hustling

Also known as Earned luck.

This is luck that a product earns because of the problems it solves. 

The more features you ship, the more chances of success arise.

To generate this type of luck as a PM, never stop increasing your speed to ship.

Type 3: Luck from Preparation

Also known as Opportune luck.

The is luck a product team seizes because it is trained to spot it and ready to take advantage.

To generate this type of luck, prepare the product for primetime.

Then be sensitive to opportunities competitors miss.

Type 4: Luck from your Unique Character

Also known as Leveraged luck.

Extreme people get extreme results. Top 1% vs top 10% results are very different.

To generate this type of luck, be extremely good at solving a problem. 

Customers seek you out. And luck becomes inevitable.

In summary:

1. Dumb luck is not the goal

2. Fortune favors the doer

3. Luck befalls those prepared to seize it

4. The tail-end of the curve gets different results

· Hustle
· Preparation 
· Becoming Extremely Good

These are all things that are completely in our control as PMs.

Even if luck is not. 

Start getting more lucky by not relying on dumb luck, and generating more type 2-4 luck.

Generating Luck as a PM

LinkedIn has one of the most insane organic reaches of any social network out there.

If you’re not paying attention to LinkedIn, you are missing out.

These are my top 10 posts on the platform by impressions.

This is how I got to 30K followers.

1.  The Harsh Truths about PM (350K Impressions)

Highlight: "The PM does have to inspire the team like the CEO. But PMs don’t have the authority, gravitas, or expertise of the CEO."

Link: https://lnkd.in/d_wU2jFt https://lnkd.in/d_wU2jFt

2.  10 Things Every PM Must Know (250K Impressions)

Highlight: "Difference Between Strategy and Vision"

Link: https://lnkd.in/dcrf7XFM

3.  The Top 10 Product Roadmap Resources (225K Impressions)

Highlight: "7 examples"

Link: https://lnkd.in/d4WxJ-Qm

4.  The Three Types of PMs (155K Impressions)

Highlight: "One of the easiest mistakes you can make as a job seeker is to think all PM jobs are the same."

Link: https://lnkd.in/dUWGNKBw

5.  From 0 to $70B ARR: The AWS Profile (125K Impressions)

Highlight: "What has been written about AWS’ history is hilariously wrong."

Link: https://lnkd.in/dX2fTMEZ

6.  Product Power Laws (120K Impressions)

Highlight: "You ship 100 features. 99 are meh, 1 changes your career."

Link: https://lnkd.in/d28NT45H

7.  Advice for Early Career PMs (100K Impressions)

Highlight: "Be kind to yourself. The biggest downfalls of early career PMs - burnout and impostor syndrome - are often burdens we impose on ourselves."

Link: https://lnkd.in/dZx-7NnR

8.  The Best Career “hacks” I’ve Learned in 16 years of Product Management

Highlight: "Ship regular upgrades of yourself"

Link: https://lnkd.in/dyHSRc56

9.  Netflix: Lessons in Experimentation (95K Impressions)

Highlight: "Product people are both lovers and haters of experiments."

Link: https://lnkd.in/d_nMXtmc https://lnkd.in/d_nMXtmc

10.  Stripe, A Modern Product Rocket (85K Impressions)

Highlight: "Stripe is on a mission to create multi-decade abstractions, not just ordinary products"

Link: https://lnkd.in/dYTMciqG


What works:

1. Strong hook & copywriting
2. Long-form
3. About Product Management
4. Slightly spicy
5. Listicle format