# **Summary** 1. Articulates strategy on why and how an opportunity should be pursued 2. Considers roles of competitors, partners, and regulators 3. Identifies related technologies, trends, and standards 4. Sets and drives a long term business strategy across product & service elements 5. Connects short-term and long-term product strategy and roadmap in complex and fast moving industries # Attributes ## 1. Articulates strategy on why and how an opportunity should be pursued References - Understanding general strategic principles - [Stratechery by Ben Thompson – On the business, strategy, and impact of technology.](https://stratechery.com/) - [An introduction to Aggregation Theory | by Fredrik Haga | Medium](https://medium.com/@hagaetc/an-introduction-to-aggregation-theory-7cea63cc0e20) - [Mintzberg - Crafting Strategy.pdf](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KJewiGzzzR8HGt5CEVMNHxDN_e8_yIcC/view?usp=sharing) - Strategy frameworks - [“How to build a strategy in an agile environment” talk for The Product School ](https://chrizbot.medium.com/how-to-build-a-strategy-in-an-agile-environment-resources-621e37f32803) - [Have you tested your strategy lately? ](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/have-you-tested-your-strategy-lately) - [https://medium.com/@shreyashere/good-product-strategy-bad-product-strategy-826cdfe74818 ](https://medium.com/@shreyashere/good-product-strategy-bad-product-strategy-826cdfe74818) - [Rocking at Product Strategy: 3 steps and 10 tools to succeed where most companies fail](https://medium.com/swlh/rocking-at-product-strategy-3-steps-and-10-tools-to-succeed-where-most-companies-fail-98e64246bdc) ## 2. Considers roles of competitors, partners, and regulators References - Understanding the value chain: [https://sean.horgan.net/d/_d3H4GIs7zuo/_suCg080x](https://sean.horgan.net/d/_d3H4GIs7zuo/_suCg080x) - Understanding competitors - [Comparative Research Done Right](http://eleganthack.com/comparative-research-done-right/) - [Steve Blank A New Way to Look at Competitors](https://steveblank.com/2013/11/08/a-new-way-to-look-at-competitors/) - [Why the Petal Diagram Isn't the Best Competition Diagram for Startup's Pitch by @ttunguz](https://tomtunguz.com/ecosystem-vs-competition/) - [The right way to challenge your competitors | Inside Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/blog/videos/comparative-marketing/) - [How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy](https://hbr.org/1979/03/how-competitive-forces-shape-strategy) - [Making Sense of Technological Ecosystems](https://learnwardleymapping.com/2020/07/24/making-sense-of-technological-ecosystems/) ## 3. Identifies related technologies, trends, and standards References - Innovation - [The idea maze](https://cdixon.org/2013/08/04/the-idea-maze) - [cdixon _ The idea maze.pdf](https://drive.google.com/file/d/19hnoDeb7n-1nCEYomdgjbRNUFScukE-k/view?usp=drive_link) - [Improve Your Product Team's Combat Effectiveness (Part 1) | by Eric H. Kim | Practice Product](https://medium.com/practice-product/improve-your-product-teams-combat-effectiveness-part-1-c7e95b1a0d89) - [A Taxonomy of Moats | Reaction Wheel](https://reactionwheel.net/2019/09/a-taxonomy-of-moats.html) - [A Taxonomy of Moats _ Reaction Wheel.pdf](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q2I4gB4E86Dzy_tecYxSySYPb9H4io1d/view?usp=drive_link) - [(notes on) 7 Powers: Foundations of Business by Hamilton Helmer](https://chrisstoneman.medium.com/notes-on-7-powers-foundations-of-business-by-hamilton-helmer-5d20cfecc753) - [How Strategy Shapes Structure](https://hbr.org/2009/09/how-strategy-shapes-structure) - [The 5 Disqualifiers of Strategy](https://arkaro.com/the-5-disqualifiers-of-strategy/) - Accepts [Roy Amara](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Amara)‘s law: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.” ## 4. Sets and drives a long term business strategy across product & service elements References - Strategy processes - how to get the organization aligned on strategy - [The Secret to a Great Planning Process — Lessons from Airbnb and Eventbrite](https://firstround.com/review/the-secret-to-a-great-planning-process-lessons-from-airbnb-and-eventbrite/) - [#10 How to Run A Quarterly Product Strategy Meeting | by Gibson Biddle | Medium ](https://gibsonbiddle.medium.com/10-the-quarterly-product-strategy-meeting-b5c0c1b12722) - [Template: Company Strategy](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JI73WrGplrhNE46aLyRD_B74gEynI77EPgXn1ic6WeQ/edit#) - [https://sean.horgan.net/d/_d3H4GIs7zuo/_suIevs8G#_lud3Shr-](https://sean.horgan.net/d/_d3H4GIs7zuo/_suIevs8G#_lud3Shr-) - [Innovation Resources](https://kromatic.com/innovation-resources) ## 5. Connects short-term and long-term product strategy *Note: I’m rewriting this at the moment* From Andy Grove’s [High Output Management (Chapter 6):](https://medium.com/@iantien/top-takeaways-from-andy-grove-s-high-output-management-2e0ecfb1ea63) *Manage short-term objectives based on long-term plans. Be thoughtful about long term plans: 1) size your market, 2) know where you are, 3) find a hypothetical path to meet demand. Move towards long term plans using short-term Objectives (sub-goals) and corresponding Key Results (clear, unambiguous milestones to pace progress).* Simple frameworks like McKinsey’s Three Horizons look nice when presented on a slide but they often hide more than they reveal. Having said that, it's worth learning it as you'll see it pop up so here’s a quick overview on the basics: 1. Horizon 1 ideas provide continuous innovation to a company’s existing business model and core capabilities in the short-term. 2. Horizon 2 ideas extend a company’s existing business model and core capabilities to new customers, markets, or targets. 3. Horizon 3 is the creation of new capabilities and new business to take advantage of or respond to disruptive opportunities or to counter disruption. Steve Blank wrote the following in this [HBR article](https://hbr.org/2019/02/mckinseys-three-horizons-model-defined-innovation-for-years-heres-why-it-no-longer-applies): *However, the trap of the Three Horizon model is not recognizing that today many disruptions can be rapidly implemented by repurposing existing Horizon 1 technologies into new business models — and that speed of deployment is disruptive and asymmetric by itself.* References - [McKinsey's Three Horizons Model Defined Innovation for Years. Here's Why It No Longer Applies.](https://hbr.org/2019/02/mckinseys-three-horizons-model-defined-innovation-for-years-heres-why-it-no-longer-applies) # Strategy Frameworks More senior PMs should be very familiar with common strategic theories and easily separate useful frames from buzzword bingo. I’ve laid some here in [https://sean.horgan.net/d/_d3H4GIs7zuo/_su0hQ-cZ#_lugwHZYt](https://sean.horgan.net/d/_d3H4GIs7zuo/_su0hQ-cZ#_lugwHZYt) but these are pretty well tuned to my experiences in tech. # Books If I had to recommend one book on strategy, it would be Richard Rumelt’s Good Strategy/Bad Strategy. I’ve included a few links to summaries below along with a few other must reads: - [Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11721966-good-strategy-bad-strategy?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=RoCofXBoMm&rank=1) - Richard Rumelt - [Notes from “Good Strategy / Bad Strategy” by Jeff Zych ](https://jlzych.com/2018/06/27/notes-from-good-strategy-bad-strategy/) - [https://youexec.com/book-summaries/good-strategy-bad-strategy#](https://youexec.com/book-summaries/good-strategy-bad-strategy#:~:text=Rumelt%20defines%20the%20'kernel'%20of,the%20stage%20for%20focused%20action). - [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58895961-the-crux](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58895961-the-crux) - [Good Strategy, Bad Strategy | Richard Rumelt](https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/good-strategy-bad-strategy-richard) - [What is Strategy?](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vxNE47cFE5rVp-K9I5MN6iCo8zCSrJ1Y/view?usp=sharing) - Porter - [FT Guide to Strategy: How to Create and Deliver a Winning Strategy by Richard Koch](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209273.FT_Guide_to_Strategy) - comprehensive index of common strategic frameworks with great references to deeper reading - [Strategy: Create and Implement the Best Strategy for Your Business](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/324807.Strategy?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=J0MQrUThOZ&rank=1) - [The Art of Action](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9973202-the-art-of-action) by Stephen Bungay - [The Alchemy of Growth](https://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Growth-Practical-Insights-Enterprise/dp/0738203092/ref=as_li_ss_tl?keywords=The+Alchemy+of+Growth&qid=1567192876&s=gateway&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=teresatorres-20&linkId=55d0e0897ab006e18f47d9dcf9b1e34c&language=en_US) by Mehrdad Baghai and others # Quotes *“Good strategy is coherent action backed up by an argument, an effective mixture of thought and action with a basic underlying structure I call the kernel.”* - Richard Rumelt Good Strategy Bad Strategy: the difference and why it matters From [Shreyas Doshi](https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1316573473934696449): Most execution problems are really - 1) Strategy problems, or - 2) Interpersonal problems (individuals) or - 3) Culture problems. (difference between stated values and accepted behavior) From [Think like a farmer](https://twitter.com/gregisenberg/status/1694042416422981736?s=20) ![[Pasted image 20250830164831.png]]