Which layer of strategy is actually broken
Business, product, and technology strategy, filled in side by side by the three people who own them.
Strategy runs in three dependent layers, each one taking its goals from the layer above it. Business strategy sets specific, measurable outcomes given the company's real resources and constraints. Product strategy takes those milestones as its own goals. Technology strategy takes the product layer's milestones as its own goals in turn.
The pass or fail test for whether one layer is a real strategy is useful but incomplete. The harder question is whether the three layers actually fit together, or are just three separate bets running against each other.
The three-leader test settles it: can the CEO, the product leader, and the CTO each explain the other two layers' goal, resources, and risk in their own words?
What you get
- A three-row table for Business, Product, and Technology strategy: goal, resources with real numbers, and the risk scenario each has to survive
- The three-leader test for whether the layers are actually aligned or just running in parallel
- A prompt for naming exactly where the stack breaks and who owns that gap
Where should we send it?
One email with the worksheet. You can unsubscribe from anything else in one click.
On its way
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Adapted from the Organization chapter of The Mindful Product Company by Sam McAfee.