How do you develop your product strategy skills?

In my previous answer, re: finding the right opportunities + making decisions - I mentioned four lenses (Customer, Business, Market, and Technology) as key components of coming up with ideas and making decisions. The best advice I have to offer is to be intentional about spending time developing your muscles in those areas. It can be as simple as picking a product or service in your day-to-day life and thinking through what inputs might have contributed to the experience you’re having as a user. ...Read More

I think of this in two ways best conveyed through a sports metaphor: learning new plays I can add to my playbook, and building reps so that I can figure out what the right play is for a given scenario.  For the first, I enjoy reading about strategy – lots of Stratechery, various strategy books, stories of people navigating hard choices with clear tradeoffs, etc.  For the second, nothing beats live reps: getting to make decisions on the field and getting things wrong and learning from your succes ...Read More

Cultivating proficiency in product strategy requires a deliberate and iterative approach. Here's a comprehensive roadmap to help you develop your product strategy skills: Foundational Learning: Study Resources: Begin with books, online courses, and articles that delve into product strategy fundamentals. Look for reputable sources that offer insights into market analysis, customer research, competitive landscape, and business models. Online Courses: Enroll in specialized courses or certifications ...Read More

The best way to learn these skills is to practice! Find a mentor who will coach you through the learning process. Key activities will be critical to creating a great product strategy. To name a few: Spend time understanding your company strategy and how your product(s) fit(s) into the bigger picture. Analyze sales data to know why you win and lose deals. Talk to your users to understand what they enjoy about your product and their most significant pain points. Complete a competitive analysis of ...Read More

Three ways: Writing strategy docs Collecting strategy feedback from other people Monitoring your product metrics to track if your strategy is working Writing will help you clarify your thinking and give you a draft to "test" mentally against different frameworks and criteria (see my other answer about what makes for a good/strong product strategy). Feedback: Organizational and company leaders can give you helpful feedback (formally in group reviews, or informally on your drafts). Coworkers with ...Read More

I think strategy skills can be build and improved over time by continuous practice and asking the right questions. And build habit of thoughtfully writing your strategy again and again. Break down problems to their core elements and ask "why" questions repeatedly. Why are we building this AI product? What fundamental needs are we solving?Here are some good questions to ask when you start to Who is customers, what is their JTBD? Which big idea do we do? Which one best aligns with what is best for ...Read More

This is a great question. Part of it depends on where you are in your career as a PM. It's hard to practice if you aren't given opportunities to contribute to the strategy in your daily job. But, in general, developing your skills here is an ongoing journey that involves practical experience, active learning, mentorship, and community engagement. Here’s how I approach it: Practice and experience: The most important thing is to keep practicing. Constantly evaluate opportunities, listen to feedbac ...Read More

Developing your product strategy skills involves a combination of education, hands-on experience, and continuous learning. 1. Formal Education and Training Courses and Workshops: Enroll in courses related to product management, business strategy, and market analysis. Many universities and online platforms offer specialized courses that can deepen your understanding of these areas. Certifications: Consider obtaining certifications from recognized bodies in product management such as AIPMM (Associ ...Read More

Product strategy is about knowing the domain well enough to be able to make bets about where it will go. You can develop this skillset a few ways by investing in sensing mechanisms that build your expertise across: customer use cases and workflows competitive landscape analyst perspectives market landscape economic and buyer motivation technology advancements and developments By researching and developing a deep understanding of the context around your product and how those parts move over time, ...Read More