The Best Strategy Comes With Transparency

Yeah, Alex, the whole discussion about product strategy and how to define the strategy is still burning. I'm not wondering, but it's like, I don't know, it's such a topic that is emotionally packed, I would say. I mean, let's be honest, it's by far the most listened episode that we had, the one about strategy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I mean, there are so many requests I'm getting still from a coaching perspective when it comes to strategy. Do we have the number of that episode for everyone who... Oh, let's... So we will figure it out while recording, I would say. Let the past be past and let's give a bit of an update. I mean... Yeah. Yeah, Alex, to be honest, I was just wondering if we should pick that topic up today and see where we end up with it, because the biggest question that is arising on social media or also when I'm coaching with people is how to define a good strategy in times of uncertainty. And the first thing I say is, I mean, we have always uncertainty. It's nice. We can call this episode Product Strategy in Times of Uncertainty and it's a good clickbait, but honestly, when do we have not uncertainty? That's very true. I mean, I think building a product, it means uncertainty. I think the first thing one has to learn is getting comfortable with the uncertainty, right? Yeah, totally, totally. And it is just super important to make this as the part of your game, right? That things just happen as they happen. But I mean, there are ways how you can try to avoid pitfalls or bad surprises, right? How would you do that? I have to say, it's definitely an interesting topic because strategy, especially now at the beginning of the year, is always a big topic. We have a few points that are new on our roadmap and in our strategy. And we're looking forward to working on them. I mean, the question we need to answer for ourselves, first of all, Alex, is who's our target group? Are we addressing the people who are interested in defining the strategy in general? Or are we more about talking to the people who are dealing with existing and adopting existing strategies? I think the first part has been covered by the episode that we have already recorded, right? Well, then let's talk about the ones that need to be used. Episode number 16. I just looked it up. So everyone who's building a product strategy from scratch, go to episode 16. And let's jump to product strategies for the end user. Yeah, I mean, so I can't tell people what to write down in the strategy, right? Because I mean, if you or we would be able to do that, we would live on our island. But the question is, what can people do to challenge the status quo and to identify the things that might pop up, right? So let's take a very, very easy example. The most important thing, in my opinion, in a product strategy are the things that are not written or not considered in it. For example, I mean, there's this great example. I think you remember Fukushima, right? This atomic reactor explosion, right? And this building was built to survive the highest earthquakes ever, right? Because it has happened before that earthquakes can destroy, etc. So based on experience from the past, people tried to avoid to make the same mistake again. And this is something that is smart, right? Which helped us humans to survive. So I think that's something that you should always bring also into your product strategy. But the thing is, no one would have ever expected that a tsunami will run over it and cause the problem. And the same with Corona, right? Or with war, or I don't know what kind of things are popping up. And something that I have experienced is that once we are defining our product strategy, we are diving into a bubble, right? I mean, let's remember the times where we were working at SumUp, a fintech company. We were in our fintech bubble, right? And everything was fintech-ish. And the problem with that is that you sometimes miss what is going on outside. So I think it can be very helpful to enhance your view on what is going on in the world by many ways, right? Maybe consuming different news than you usually consume, reading different blogs that you usually read, or also attend conferences, listen to different podcasts, except ours. Yeah, we have the answers. But I think it's very important to talk to others. And especially when we talk about chief product officers, VP products, head of products, I think it's so important to, I mean, even though there is a lot of competition going on for sure, why not connect to people who are maybe not working in the same industry and share your pain points? Because an outside perspective from a subject matter expert can be very helpful, or for sure a coach, to not advertise myself. But I think the part of connecting and sharing your problem, I mean, explaining someone your problem can sometimes or very often lead to finding the solution. And that's something that I have learned is very helpful. And that's also what I'm doing when I work with people is to really narrow down what the problem is. And by doing that, people usually find new solutions or new options to build a better product or to define a better strategy. So that's something that I like. Just to make sure everyone understands what we mean with talking about products, it's not about the problem that you're having as a business. Our problem is not enough people are registering. How can we fix that or something like that? Because I think there are companies, or I see it far too often, that people tackle it from that perspective. I think it's really more down to what is the product solving as a problem? What are your customers having as a problem? Because that helps you then formulate what you can build and figure out what the solutions are that would then help you to move to needle, right? Yeah, totally. And another thing that is also very important to me is also the timeframe. I mean, if your product strategy has a timeframe of five years, I mean, honestly, it's a business plan, but it's not a product strategy. So I think we've discussed this also in the past. Back then, I was saying, if your roadmap is longer than a year, it's rather a strategy. These days, you can maybe even say, if it's longer than six months, you can call it already strategy. And if it's longer than two years, but also these days with inflation and everything that is going on, maybe one year or one and a half years, it's more like a business plan. And with that, in my opinion, very unrealistic. If you're a company that builds physical goods with very long cycle times, it's different. But in the software industry, I think it shouldn't be too long in the future. Yeah. I mean, I think you can, to some extent, have some features that build into the direction of where you want to go, right? And that can potentially also be longer. It always comes down also to how big the organization is, how fast you can implement certain things. But I think it's important to know that realistically, after the six months mark, after the one year mark, that's where you shouldn't spend too much time on defining details, right? Because things will change. Your strategy might have to change. The environment will change. So I think, I mean, you can potentially have these building blocks, right? And iterations, or you can try to think of where you want to go. But then I think it's important to, in the strategy, have a clear idea of what do you need to do now and what you need to do over the next six to 12 months. Absolutely. But you know what's coming to my mind right now? I think we have never talked about defining a design strategy. Is it different there? I mean, I think we would have to look into the specific definitions, right? I think we also had enough episodes where we put some light on the fact that I'm not the one that follows a ton of those definitions by book. I mean, I wouldn't separate the two, right? I mean, one is overall vision of, okay, where should the design go? What should the overall direction, visual direction and interactions be moving forward? But then when it comes to the product itself, I mean, it all comes down to the product strategy. Design is a part of it. Principles are a part of it. But the second you start separating it, you're again introducing these silos. And I think if there is one goal also in this podcast, it's really to make sure that people understand that it's not about what one function does or thinks or what the other function does or thinks. And I think you mentioned it also earlier, right? Of like, okay, talk to other people, talk to other people outside of the industry, but also talk to other people that have another background, that have another functional background and knowledge and experiences, because that's how you can then form the product. And there is multiple different aspects, right? There is always the user aspect, there's the business aspect, and you need to align that. And if you talk about the design strategy, right? I mean, design can contribute a lot with the user understanding, with the user research, with defining the problems, with pulling together information and pieces from different parts of the organization. And that's where the overlap with product is also massive, right? And imagine if you start separating it, you start having misalignments, right? And what do you then, what do you prioritize? What the CPO says, or what the head of design says? CPO. That's the thing, right? But it's also normal, right? That's how the hierarchy in most companies, and I don't want to put a percentage number to it, but that's how the hierarchy in most companies is. And if you're in the lucky position like us, where design and product is on the same level, you still have someone above, right? And not only on the same level, but also on the same page. Yeah. I think that's important, right? Yeah. It's okay to listen to the CPO if a product and design is aligned, or the other way around, the chief design officer. If both sides are aligned, it's great. But if not, yeah, it gets tricky. Yeah. So I think that's the long answer to, I wouldn't separate the two. Yeah. And just one more thing when it comes to that is also, when you talk to other people, I mean, for sure, you cannot openly put that strategy paper out and share it across social media, right? But I think just starting with simple questions is like telling people roughly what you plan to do or how you plan to expand, and just asking, what kind of risks do you see? I mean, sometimes it can be even helpful to talk to a kid, right? I mean, I think they see the world as it is or not. Yeah. But you see what I'm getting at, right? I think it doesn't need to be overcomplicated by going into numbers or explain every detail of the new feature that you're planning to build, but rather trying to double check if the rollout strategy makes sense. If there are any uncertainties of any economic factors that are not in consideration or any, from a legal perspective, hey, what do you think could happen in the worst case? I mean, really, asking questions for toddlers can be very helpful sometimes to identify gaps in a product strategy. And I mean, risks are important, the business objectives are important, and all of this, right? I think the strategy, if as holistic as you can make it, the better. But I think just because you also mentioned specifying all the details of the specific feature, I mean, if you're going really into details, numbers, and so on and so forth, that's probably already one step ahead. And I mean, actually, this episode is more towards the people that then have to apply it and use it and so on and put it in practice. Yes, that's then kind of the level, right? Like once you have a clear strategy and direction that you can give as a company, then each team also needs to have their own strategy, their own roadmap. And that's then where you can go into more and more and more detail all the level down to the next sprint, right? And it's great that you mentioned that because another topic when it comes to the whole strategy definition is to review it internally. And especially before you, I mean, whether you are a chief product officer or a senior product manager, I think as a chief product officer, if you are owning the product strategy, it's very important to regularly sit down with your product manager, with the whole product team to review and align on that product strategy. And if you are a senior product manager within a smaller organization, within a smaller team, it's super important to talk to your team and your teams, even the sometimes even affected teams, teams that are affected by your roadmap and by your features that you're planning to build. I mean, this is the very, very first step. And I think it's kind of basic, but I see it many times not happening where people work isolated and then goes to the CEO, and then it gets presented in a town hall meeting and everyone is like, wow, I have never seen that. And that actually happened to me too. So very important, review it and aligned internally. That's actually a very good point, right? Because I think often it happens that the senior leadership sees themselves as, okay, I'm the one responsible for the strategy for division and so on, right? Because they're also not the ones doing the operational work. And I see it myself, right? Like all the teams and all the designers are like, really down to the details, working on these specific features and so on. So, I mean, it's easy to say like, okay, what do I do with my time? Except obviously of like sitting in meetings, talking to people, having one-on-ones. Well, let me just work on the strategy. And then the leadership sits together and they come up with this amazing strategy and vision for a company. And as you say, then present it to a town hall after the CEO has signed it off. And then you have... And it's too late? Yeah. You have a lot of people that feel like it's all top down and that are actually frustrated because maybe they have more valuable input or they know other things. Or maybe it's also just like, they might still have some questions and points, you might have thought about it, but you just didn't involve them, which overall leads to the feeling of lack of transparency. Transparency and involvement, right? Yeah. But how would you approach that? And I think it's probably interesting to get your view on both. How do you approach it as a leader versus what can you do as a product manager, as a designer, as an employee that's not in the senior leadership to contribute and to make sure that you have a voice in these conversations? Yeah. That's a very good question. And I know many product people and product designers and product managers are struggling with that. But let's start at the top. I mean, in a good organization, the product lead... So let's start the other way. I think when you define a product strategy, it's important to be clear about the roles and what you can expect from each role. So I believe that a product lead, product VP, product CPO, however you call it, I will further call it product lead, should own the definition and the product strategy itself. So that doesn't mean that this person has to do all the work. It's rather the opposite. I would involve my team members, my product managers, my product designers who are working on a day-to-day business with the products to come up with ideas and proposals or to bring their roadmap into that strategy paper, right? To collaborate on this together. And then as a leader, it's my job, in my opinion, to challenge what they want to build, right? To see where stuff is missing, where we could go think bigger or think smaller and also double-check maybe with the engineering needs to see if the roadmap is realistic. So I think it's more like a delegation part than a creation part. So what are you doing when you are having a product lead who's not doing that? I mean, you obviously have problems. So let's be clear about it, right? Because you cannot fight all the battles. And if that's not clearly defined who's owning the strategy or if you have a lead who's not involving you, I see it tough. So I'm not sure if there is something that you can easily do next to talking to that person, emphasizing your interest in doing so, as long as you know that this person is creating the strategy, right? So I mean, if someone is doing it behind the curtains, I mean, yeah. I mean, I think if someone is doing it behind the curtains, then you have a very, very fundamental issue. Been there, been there. Oops. That's why you're not there anymore. Yeah, sure, for sure. And I mean, the thing is, people who are working behind the curtains are not necessarily doing this with bad intentions. It's the opposite, right? I mean, some leaders do not want to put too much pressure on their team. And for the sake of trying to avoid conflict or too much work, they're doing this. So I wouldn't say that people are doing this with bad intentions. However, the result leads to conflicts, unalignment, stress, and not fulfilling the strategy. So no matter how stressed your team is, don't do that as a leader. So let's be clear about that. But you also know me, right? You know how I think about transparency. And I mean, as a leader, I think there's nothing to hide about the stuff that you're doing. And it's important that your team also knows what you're doing. So I hope that at one point, it comes up that you're somewhat working on a strategy, presenting it, aligning it, and so on. But at the same time, I also think and transparency goes a little bit in both sides. I always think that if you're the PM, product designer, and so on, if you're sitting in the team, you're the one closest to the information. And you can also take the responsibility and the ownership, and you should do that if leadership doesn't. Don't just sit there and wait for the person above you to tell you what to do. You have a lot of forums, formats, probably meetings. And if it's just like the casual conversation on the hallway, if you have great ideas, make sure that you're raising them, that people hear them. If you have the feeling of the product that should go in a certain direction, talk to your leader. We're assuming here that you're not working in a toxic environment where someone has their personal agenda, and would do everything for that, even if it means building the wrong things or putting the wrong things in place. We assume that every leader, every manager will actually be happy to hear great ideas that would help them also further define the strategy. And then it's like this trust relationship that is so important also at the job, because that's where you get more trust, or so you will have someone who's more likely to come ask you for an opinion than just sitting there waiting for the person to involve you, right? Because I think, again, as you say, it's usually not bad intentions. It sometimes just happens that you're not involving everyone. And for some people, it's also very painful to involve them, right? If you're not getting the right stuff out of it. So I think that's where... Let's talk about the edge case, Alex. I mean, let's say there is someone who is working isolated behind the scenes with no communication or without appreciating any feedback. I mean, what I would do these days is I would, first of all, open my phone, product bakery podcast, and slap it into the person's face until he or she gets it. And if this doesn't help, I mean, honestly, break the rules, break the communication lines, go to the person above that. And even if the CEOs reach out to them and talk to them, I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen? And the CEO is definitely not firing you for having good ideas or addressing that the product strategy needs to be adjusted or needs to be developed collaboratively. And nobody will. And I think in the right culture, company culture, independently, if you work in product, if you work in another department, if you are the intern, or if you are the C-level, I think everyone should have the space, or at least should take the space to raise these ideas when they have them. Because I think, again, the worst thing is that someone tells you no. I don't think that in a non-toxic environment, I unfortunately, you always have to say that, I don't think that in a non-toxic environment, someone will ever fire you for trying to make the company successful. Yeah. And honestly, if you get fired, I mean, be happy about it. Of course. But again, this is not the topic. So, yeah, but you're right. I mean, going back, I think the communication part is key at the end of the day. And as you said, I have a great example because I was working for a company and they hired a product lead from a big crypto exchange. So it was a very experienced product person. And because you mentioned this transparency part, and this person was doing something that I really liked, and I've actually learned from this person, it was 15.5 emails. I'm not sure if you've heard of that concept, but these are emails that take 15 minutes to write and take you as the end user, five minutes to read. And he was doing this on every Friday, Friday evening to give a summary on what they have done and what they're working on. So I think that's something, just when it comes to transparency, is something that can be always adapted to avoid this surprise when it comes to certain projects or stuff like a product strategy that someone is working on. So yeah, I think as a leader, it's mandatory to be as transparent as possible. So is your strategy at the right place? We want to know. Click follow and see you all in the future. Yeah. I mean, if you have any questions, feedback, or stuff that you want to discuss with us, feel free to drop an email or reach out to us on social media. Stronke, it was great seeing you. You too, even though the rest can't see us, at least they can hear us. The beauty of a podcast. I think nobody would want to see us now. Yeah, that's true. That's true. We're done. So with that, let's close it. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.