AMA: Openly Director, Product & Design, Jonathan Gowins on Product Strategy

I'm going to borrow shamelessly from Jeff Gothelf in his book, Lean UX: "With your prioritized list of assumptions in hand, you’re ready to move to the next step: testing your assumptions. To do that, transform each assumption statement into a format that is easier to test: a hypothesis statement. Generally, hypothesis statements use the format: We believe [this statement is true]. We will know we’re [right/wrong] when we see the following feedback from the market: [qualitative feedback] and/or ...Read More

Avoid balance. "Balance" very often feels like a political game we are forced to play. Instead, Make sure everyone understands the company vision, and call out areas that are poorly defined. Ask for definition. Educate everyone on customer needs. Exposing them to direct quotes or data is more powerful than trying to argue things. Lay out the options you think are best based on customer needs and vision. (Focus on the outcome of each bet!) Now, the secret is to be willing to 'disagree and commit' ...Read More

Step one (Do not skip this step!): Make sure you understand the company (or division) strategy that your leadership team is accountable for. If it's vague, push for clarity and see if they will provide it. If not, then let them know the product strategy will cascade from their vision/strategy, and there is risk because of the lack of clarity. Help them see how their vision impacts your strategy; how you are trying to help them win. Step two: Anchor execs on the needs of the customer (JTBD) befor ...Read More

Market trends matter a lot less than user insights. I rank user research way higher than industry trends which are aggregate data and usually not base on strong user paradigms like Jobs to be Done. It really depends on your leadership team, company, vision, and industry. If strategy is "bets on how to close the gap from the current reality to the future vision," then use whatever is most helpful. Often (in my opinion) we don't even operate with a shared definition of 'strategy.' Define what the ...Read More

Without specifics, I fear providing a generic answer, but: Are you defining what a 'market problem' is accurately? I recommend, "People with a specific problem (JTBD) they are willing to pay for a solution to." Have you talked to these specific types of people and validated they would pay for your solution? Are there enough of these 'users' to merit strong revenue? If so, then yes, maybe you have a marketing or messaging problem. That can be easier to solve than poor 'product market fit' (meanin ...Read More

I revisit the strategy whenever there is new information. Usually, customer needs do not change that much. What changes is company visions and organization structure, budget, risk, etc. So every time there is an internal shift, propose how you think the strategy should adapt to meet the company vision with the new current reality. You can even propose to leadership that you are planning to do this. Or depending on their needs, ask them how they would like to discuss strategy (when and how). Once ...Read More

It would be pretty challenging to go against sales and try to change their mind. I recommend, Talk to them and really, really listen to understand their concerns and why they believe what they believe. There's got to be some truth in there somewhere you can use. If you need to educate them, show them video clips from user interviews to make your case. Ultimately, be ok disagreeing and make the leadership team accountable. Does someone in the C-Suite (CEO?) need to understand the fundamental delt ...Read More