Introduction

Good product strategy helps teams stay focused and say no. This article shows why clear choices matter more than fancy strategy templates.

What's the problem it solves?

Many product strategies look solid on paper but fail in real decisions. They are vague, try to please everyone, and let teams justify any idea instead of choosing what truly matters.

Quick Summary

The article explains that a good product strategy is not about filling out templates. It is about making clear choices that guide daily decisions. A strong strategy helps teams say yes to the right things and no to distractions.

Through the story of GearSwap, the article shows how broad and fuzzy strategy leads to confusion. When the team faced real requests, everything seemed to fit the strategy, so nothing was truly prioritized.

The solution is to make strategy more decisive by narrowing the audience, problems, and differentiation. Once choices are clear, teams can turn strategy into clear goals, measure progress, and improve through ongoing product discovery.

Key Takeaways

• Strategy should help teams say yes or no with confidence
• Vague strategy turns into excuse making, not decision making
• Narrow focus makes everything else clearer
• Strategy, goals, and discovery must work together
• Metrics should prove if strategic choices are working

What to do

• Narrow your target audience instead of serving everyone
• Define specific problems you want to solve now
• Be clear about what makes you different and what does not
• Turn strategy into a few clear metrics that guide decisions
• Use product discovery to test and refine your strategy over time

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