What great strategic context looks like from a product squad’s perspective
The cathedral pictured in the distance was inspired by Create cathedrals, not bricks by Lane Shackleton.
When you provide strategic context instead of feature roadmaps, your team(s):
Can see an inspiring “north star” that lets them understand the product they’re building towards and how that product will make customers’ lives better: VISION
Have a line of sight on the high-level problems they’ll be tackling, over the next 1-2 years, as they build towards that Product Vision: STRATEGY
Have clarity on a focused set of goals for the coming three months and how they’ll measure success: OKRs
Bottom line
The team feels like it’s on an exciting, worthy mission, with clear and ambitious goals that fit into a broader strategy; they also know how success will be measured.
And it’s both liberating and calming for you as a product leader:
you don’t need to micro-manage throughout the quarter
you know you’ve done your job giving the team the strategic context it needs (at least until next quarter!)
I use the illustration above to help my clients better visualize the profound impact that providing strong strategic context has on their teams.
If you’d like help creating product vision, product strategy, or OKRs, feel free to reach out.
