Product Strategy:
The Three Essential Components

Jackie Bavaro

Author, Cracking the PM Career
Former Head of Product, Asana

EPISODE #

The Framework

Three Components of Strategy

THE MISSING PIECE

Most strategies miss one or more of these three. That's why they fail.

Strategy Anatomy

What Each Component Does

1. Vision

Your inspiring picture of the future. "Don't you want to come build this with me? Isn't this exciting?"

Example: "A world where teams have ambient awareness of what everyone is doing, no endless status updates."

2. Strategic Framework

Your unique way of breaking down the problem. Market, success definition, big bets, pillars.

Example: "To win: mobile access + security + support multiple work types + deep insights."

3. Roadmap

Working backward from your vision: "If we're here in 5 years, what must we do in years 1-4?"

Use: Reality check your plan. Reveals if you're on track or need bigger swings.

Jackie's insight"A roadmap in strategy is not a commitment. It's a way to double-check if your plan makes any sense at all."

Execution

How to Connect Strategy to Work

Start with research: Do deep customer research. Build a list of 20 things you could work on.
Match to goals: Take your feature list and your business targets (e.g., "grow revenue 50%"). Connect the dots.
Build narrative: For each feature: "Why do we think this helps? Is it user acquisition, monetization, retention?"
Compare options: "Of these 20, which 3-5 actually move the needle against our strategic goal?"

The PM's Job with a Numerical Target

Your CEO says "increase revenue 50%." That's not a strategy, it's a goal. YOU must bridge it: take your customer insights and connect them to that number.

Allocation Trade-off

Maybe 50% of effort goes to monetizing current users, 50% to new markets. Then: which new markets are most promising? What would it take to win them?

Red Flags

Signs of a Weak Strategy

No narrative: "Increase revenue by 50%." That's a target, not a strategy.
Missing one of three: Vision without roadmap = dreaming. Framework without vision = tactics.
No context: Features with no "why are we doing this against our goal?"
Unrealistic roadmap: You realize your 5-year vision takes 20 years at current pace.

"A good strategy is all about connecting the dots from the high-level business goal to the specific features you're going to build."

Contrarian

Strategy Myths PMs Believe

✗A strategy is a roadmapINSTEAD →✓ A roadmap is just one part. You need vision + framework + roadmap together.

✗Strategy means saying no to everythingINSTEAD →✓ Good strategy means understanding problems deeply, then aligning solutions to goals.

✗A revenue target IS a strategyINSTEAD →✓ A target is a constraint. Strategy is how you'll actually get there.

✗Strategy only happens at exec levelINSTEAD →✓ Every PM must connect dots. Strategy bridges leadership intent and your roadmap.