For an industry that changes daily (AI, web3), how do you think about building a product strategy around it?

What I've enjoyed about being in tech is entire industry lifecycles happen within a few years because the pace of innovation is so fast: you can identify new customer problems, build innovative solutions, and scale entire businesses that transform a given market – all within a year or two. This is that much more true of the creator economy right now, where mobile phone-based tools transform content creation and disruptive innovations in distribution & monetization of creative work converge at precisely this moment. 

We're doing everything we can to be nimble, learn fast, and focus on creating value for creators as our north star. Only time will tell how well we'll do in this space, but I like where we're currently positioned. 

Technology can help, but it's only a means to an end. The user reigns supreme. I evaluate all technology in light of whether or not it can help meet user needs. Then the decision becomes much clearer. Many, many companies have lost money by chasing shiny new technologies instead of ferociously focusing on customers.

In industries where the pace of change is rapid and often unpredictable, building an effective product strategy requires agility, foresight, and a strong understanding of the underlying technologies and market dynamics.

1. Embrace Flexibility and Agility

• Adaptive Roadmaps: Develop roadmaps that are flexible and can be adjusted as new information and technologies emerge. Prioritize agility over fixed long-term plans.

• Iterative Development: Implement an iterative development process, such as Agile, to accommodate rapid changes and innovations. This allows for frequent reassessments and refinements based on the latest industry developments and customer feedback.

2. Stay Informed and Proactive

• Continuous Learning: Ensure that you and your team are constantly learning about the latest advancements in AI and web3 (or whatever latest tech is out there). This might involve regularly attending conferences, webinars, and workshops, and engaging with thought leaders in the space.

• Early Adoption and Experimentation: Be proactive in experimenting with new technologies. Early adoption can provide a competitive edge and valuable insights into what resonates with users.

3. Deep Market and Technological Research

• In-depth Market Analysis: Continuously analyze the market to identify emerging trends, potential customer needs, and competitive movements. This should include regular scanning of new startups, innovations, and technological breakthroughs in your sector.

• Customer-Centric Innovation: Keep your focus firmly on solving real customer problems. Utilize techniques such as design thinking to empathize with users and understand their needs deeply.

4. Build a Visionary Yet Realistic Strategy

• Visionary Thinking: Develop a clear, compelling vision of how (AI , web3, LLMs, fill in the blank) can transform your industry or create new market opportunities. This vision should guide your strategic decisions and inspire your team and stakeholders.

• Balanced with Realism: While it’s important to have a bold vision, it also needs to be grounded in practicality. Assess what is realistically achievable given your resources, technological constraints, and market readiness.

5. Robust Risk Management

• Scenario Planning: Given the high uncertainty in fast-evolving fields, use scenario planning to prepare for various future possibilities. This helps in crafting strategies that are robust under different conditions.

• Continuous Risk Assessment: Regularly evaluate the risks associated with new technologies and market shifts. This includes technological feasibility, regulatory considerations, and market acceptance.

6. Leverage Strategic Partnerships

• Collaborations and Alliances: Form strategic partnerships with other companies, research institutions, and tech innovators. These partnerships can provide access to new technologies, skills, and market insights that are crucial for staying at the forefront.

7. Foster a Culture of Innovation

• Encourage Creativity: Promote a culture that encourages risk-taking and creativity within your team. Allow space for experimentation and learning from failures, which is essential in dynamic fields (like AI and web3).

• Diverse Teams: Build teams with diverse skills and backgrounds. This diversity can enhance creativity and provide a range of perspectives necessary for innovation in complex and rapidly changing areas.

The one thing that stays the same is ... is change (and maybe customers want to buy things)! In particularly volatile and fast-moving industries, strategies must be proportionately flexible and responsive. I have found implementing a strategy based on the following key questions helps guide you in being able to adequately formulate the next steps in the roadmap, services, and approach:

1. What personas/segments/industries are currently being actively targeted and served well by the existing solutions in the landscape? (This is a space to consider competitive saturation)

2. What personas/segments/industries with similar jobs/tasks to 1 are not being targeted and served? (This is your potential opening for adjacency, where you could be the first mover)

3. What problems will you solve for underserved spaces in #2?

4. How are you going to solve them (product differentiation, services, etc)

5. When do you expect to accomplish these goals for this product?

These 5 questions help you line out the competitive position, market position, the problem space, and how you intend to approach it rapidly.

Constant innovation is exciting!

One of the most exciting aspects of being a product manager in software is the constant innovation. Every day I come across new a technology or process that can improve the product I'm working on. Not only do I need to stay on top of what's new, I need to have a perspective on how it can be incorporated into what I'm building.

For example, despite the hype, it's hard to overstate how important AI is for technology in general. It is game changing. Automation has always been important for product development, but the AI tools released in the past couple of years have made prototyping and data analysis significantly much more efficient.

Don't mistake tools for strategy

All that said, tools are just that tools. You should never build a product strategy around a tool - even one as generational as AI. For example, if you're building a simple weather app you should focus on the key features - location, forecasts, alerts, maps, and historical data. Can AI augment any of these features? Absolutely, but "AI" should not be the feature.

So, how do you incorporate AI into your strategy?

Just like any product development process, you should first start with what problem you are trying to solve. For example, one of the challenges we face at Square is understanding what customers want to use us for. We have all kinds of businesses using our payments platform, from simple yard sales, to coffee shops and florists, all the way to stadiums. We decided that we could use AI to better understand why a seller wants to use Square, making the process more efficient for us and our sellers.

Start with your customer's problem, identify the appropriate solution, and figure out how you can incorporate the new technology into it.

First, Evaluate how disruptive gen AI is to your business

If I don’t do anything, can competitors with gen AI make me obsolete?

• Creative work: advertising, design, gaming, media, entertainment

• A lot of document processing: legal, insurance, HR
  

If I don’t do anything, will I miss out opportunities to boost revenue?

• Customer support: chat, call centers

• Search & recommendation

• Productivity enhancement: automated note-taking, summarization, information aggregation
  

If there are opportunities, what advantages do I have to capture them?

• Proprietary data

• GPUs  lying around

• Existing user base
  
  Then start playing, and prototyping. Find out what works and then make a proposal