Building real differentiation can take time. How do you get your exec team onboard with investing in more strategic product investments?

A common mistake exec teams make is focusing on output and forgetting about outcomes. Product teams present roadmaps to execs and once they’ve shipped a thing, they tell them it’s complete and move onto the next. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what’s on your roadmap or what you’ve successfully shipped if you’re not moving the needle in the outcomes you care about. Questions to align on with your team to help you get there: Do we have clearly defined desired outcomes for your team? Do w ...Read More

Focus on alignment. Aligning differentiation into the product development process, cross-functional team members, go-to-market planning and goal setting. This will ensure that there are collective voices across the teams highlighting differentiation as a strategic investment and helping influence your exec teams. Here are a few tactics you can deploy: Leverage your core differentiation pillars in product activities. Roadmap communication, product launch demos, buy/build/partner analysis, beta pr ...Read More

I love this question. The answer is: it depends on the exec team and how they are motivated, whether they are answering to private investors or public shareholders, etc.  But - to put it simply - find someone on your exec staff who both 1) trusts you/your vision and sell them the vision and 2) is trusted by the rest of the executive team and can sell your vision or has the budget authority to invest. What do you need to sell it? A business case. I think of a business case as satisfying the input ...Read More

If your exec team has not articulated a credible product strategy it could be that they don't know how or they feel that they cannot invest at this time due to much bigger near term issues or constraints. Consider what that might be saying about the viability of the company either way, and a potential switch. If you are still compelled, one way is to try using the voice of the customer: ie compile direct feedback on where your customers want to see your company go to continue being customers and ...Read More