pm-product-strategy

name: pm-product-strategy description: "Build product strategy using Strategy Kernel, Playing to Win, LNO framework, and the 6Q Framework. Move from vision to coherent, defensible strategic choices." user-invocable: true argument-hint: "[product/company context or strategic question]"

Product Strategy

Help the user build or evaluate product strategy — the coherent set of choices about where to play and how to win.

When to Use

• Defining or refining product vision and strategic direction
• Evaluating whether to enter a new market or segment
• Building a strategy document or presentation for leadership
• Assessing whether current work is strategically coherent
• Preparing for strategy interviews or case studies

Step 1: Diagnose with the Strategy Kernel

Richard Rumelt's Strategy Kernel has three components:

1. Diagnosis

What is the core challenge? A good diagnosis simplifies complexity.

Template:

The critical challenge facing [product] is [specific challenge].
This matters because [consequence if unaddressed].
The root cause is [underlying driver], not [surface symptom].

2. Guiding Policy

The overall approach — a set of principles, not a list of actions.

Template:

We will [approach] by focusing on [specific domain/segment],
leveraging our advantage in [capability/asset],
while deliberately choosing NOT to [what you're saying no to].

3. Coherent Actions

Coordinated actions that carry out the guiding policy. Each reinforces the others.

Test: If you can remove one action without affecting the others, they're not coherent — they're just a task list.

Step 2: Apply the 6Q Framework

Ask these six questions in order to build a complete strategic assessment:

Q1: Right Industry?

• Apply Porter's Five Forces through Price - Cost = Profit lens
• Define industry by customer JTBD, not company boundaries
• Assess: Is the industry structurally attractive? Any existential threats?
• Can you shape the forces? (Facebook shaped social media by controlling supply, barriers, competition)

Q2: Right Time?

• Consumer trends → affect Price (demand shifts)
• Technology trends → affect both Price (new capabilities) and Cost (efficiency)
• Regulatory trends → affect both Price (enables/restricts) and Cost (compliance)
• Key test: Is value creation in flux? If stable → hard to enter. If in flux → window of opportunity.

Q3: Right to Win?

• Map Value Chain: Supply → Internal Processes → Channels → Customer
• Identify where you can innovate at each layer
• Apply Hamilton's 7 Powers: which do you have or can build?
• A product can be imitated; a value chain is hard to imitate

Q4: Right Segment?

• Segment on 3 dimensions: Fixed (who), Behavior (what), Mindset (why)
• Use CAC mnemonic: Core Drives / Aspirations / Constraints
• Find: Underserved + Large(Pop x WTP) + Right Time + Right to Win

Q5: Right Product?

• Design for target segment's JTBD: Mindset → Functional → Emotional outcome
• Activation: B=MAT (Motivation x Ability x Trigger)
• Habit formation: Cue → Routine → Reward
• Engagement: E = Frequency x Intensity

Q6: Right Positioning?

• Goal: Make it a NO-BRAINER for the target segment
• Choose generic strategy: Cost Leadership, Differentiation, or Focus
• Counter-positioning opportunities against incumbents
• Pricing: Van Westendorp → Feature ranking → Tier configuration

Q1-3 answer "SHOULD we enter?" | Q4-6 answer "Doing WHAT?"

Step 3: Evaluate with Playing to Win

A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin's five cascading choices:

1. What is our winning aspiration?
   → [Specific, measurable vision of success]

2. Where will we play?
   → Markets: [which geographies, segments, categories]
   → Channels: [which distribution channels]
   → Customers: [which customer segments]

3. How will we win?
   → [Specific value proposition and competitive advantage]

4. What capabilities must be in place?
   → [3-5 must-have capabilities to execute]

5. What management systems are required?
   → [Processes, tools, culture to sustain the strategy]

Key insight: These choices must be internally consistent. Each choice narrows and enables the next.

Step 4: Prioritize with LNO Framework

Classify all current work:

Exercise: List your team's top 10 current initiatives. Classify each as L, N, or O. If more than 30% is Overhead, you have a strategy execution problem.

Step 5: Validate Strategic Coherence

Red Flags of Bad Strategy

• Fluffy language — "We will leverage our synergies to drive best-in-class outcomes"
• No diagnosis — Jumping straight to actions without identifying the challenge
• Mistaking goals for strategy — "Our strategy is to grow 40%" is a goal, not a strategy
• Kitchen sink — A long list of priorities means no priorities
• No trade-offs — Strategy that doesn't say no to anything is a wish list

Strategy Test Questions

1. Can you explain it in 2 sentences?
2. Does it say no to something specific?
3. Would a smart competitor make different choices?
4. Does resource allocation match the stated strategy?
5. Can a new team member use it to make a decision without asking you?

Which Framework to Choose

Common Mistakes

1. Strategy as aspiration — "Be the market leader" is an aspiration, not a strategy. Strategy is the choices you make to get there.
2. Feature-first thinking — Strategy starts with the customer problem and market, not the solution. Use Q4 (segment) before Q5 (product).
3. Copying competitors — "They launched X, so we should too" is reactive, not strategic. Check whether X serves YOUR target segment's JTBD.
4. Ignoring what you're saying no to — Every strategy must explicitly decline opportunities. If you can't name what you're NOT doing, you don't have a strategy.
5. Annual strategy, daily tactics — Strategy should inform daily decisions. If your team can't connect their work to the strategy, it's shelf-ware.
6. Resource allocation disconnect — The real strategy is visible in how you allocate people, time, and money — not in the deck.

Worked Example: B2B SaaS Analytics Tool

Diagnosis: "Our core challenge is that we're losing enterprise deals to incumbents who offer deeper integrations, while our actual advantage — speed of setup — appeals to mid-market teams who need answers today."

Guiding Policy: "We will own the 'fast time-to-insight' position for mid-market SaaS companies by making setup trivially easy and delivering value within the first session. We will NOT compete on integration depth with enterprise incumbents."

Coherent Actions:

1. Pre-built connectors for the top 15 SaaS tools (covers 80% of mid-market stack)
2. "Insights in 5 minutes" onboarding flow — zero-config dashboards from day 1
3. Template library of 50+ pre-built analyses for common SaaS metrics
4. Price at 1/3 of enterprise incumbents — no sales team, self-serve only