Saved by Emilie Kormienko
Getting better at product strategy
Our team then dove into each of these tracks — developing hypotheses, ideating on solutions, and launching dozens of experiments to make steady progress towards our goal.
Lenny Rachitsky • Getting better at product strategy
Qualities of well-articulated strategy
- Short
- Memorable
- Is explained with framework or a metaphor
- Leverages the rule of three
- Is easy to find (and share)
Lenny Rachitsky • Getting better at product strategy
Broadly, the best way to get better at developing strategy:
- Spend time understanding your market (including your competition)
- Spend time understanding your customers and their needs
- Spend time crafting and executing strategies — and learn from those experiences
- Study colleagues who are great strategic thinkers
- Read about strategy
Lenny Rachitsky • Getting better at product strategy
“A good strategy is, in the end, a hypothesis about what will work.”
— Michael Porter
Lenny Rachitsky • Getting better at product strategy
- Team Mission : Make it easy and fun to book a home on Airbnb
- Team Vision : If you see it, you can book it
- Team Strategy : Transition the Airbnb marketplace from a “Request to Book” model to an “Instant Book” model, by (1) giving hosts all of the tools they need to be successful with Instant Book, (2) incentivizing hosts to enable Instant Book, and
Lenny Rachitsky • Getting better at product strategy
Qualities of great strategy: p roblem-oriented: clearly identifies the problem; i nsight-driven: rooted in insights, both quantitative and qualitative; actionable: outlines concrete actions/investments that will solve this problem; focused: has a small number of high-leverage bets; cohesive: create a clear path from the problem to the solution.
Lenny Rachitsky • Getting better at product strategy
a talented leader identifies the one or two critical issues in the situation—the pivot points that can multiply the effectiveness of effort—and then focuses and concentrates action and resources on them.”
Lenny Rachitsky • Getting better at product strategy
To develop a winning strategy, you have to get three things right:
- ☝️ The actual strategy
- 👏 Articulating the strategy
- 🤝 Acting on the strategy
Lenny Rachitsky • Getting better at product strategy
Qualities of great strategy
- Problem-oriented : Clearly identifies the problem
- Insight-driven : Rooted in insights, both quantitative and qualitative
- Actionable : Outlines concrete actions/investments that will solve this problem
- Focused : Has a small number of high-leverage bets
- Cohesive : Create a clear path from the problem to the solution