The Playbook for Building Product Strategy Anyone Can Use
Chandra Janakiraman
CPO at VRChat, former Meta, Headspace, Zynga, Amazon
STRATEGY
The Myth
Strategy Isn't a Gene You're Born With
"There is a certain mystique and aura about product strategy. The perception is that some people are intrinsically good at it and others are not. It was almost as if there was a strategy gene you needed to be born with. That bothered me."
Strategy feels like magic when you haven't seen the process
Most leaders avoid building strategy because they believe it's innate talent
The truth: strategy is a repeatable, procedural skill anyone can learn
Breaking this myth opens up better alignment and execution across teams
Definition
What Is Product Strategy?
Strategy sits between mission/vision and your tactical roadmap
It forces hard choices: what to focus on, what to ignore
Three core components: focus areas (pillars), what you're explicitly NOT doing, and the WHY behind each
Think of it as finding the right frequency to resonate with your market
The Resonance Concept
Like in physics, when you apply the right frequency to an object near its natural frequency, you get disproportionate amplitude. Strategy is finding that frequency between your product and the market.
Three Components
Strategic pillars (what you focus on), explicit trade-offs (what you won't do), WHY (justification for each choice).
Playbook
The 5-Phase Strategy Process (8–12 Weeks)
Preparation (4 weeks): Form strategy working group (eng, design, data). Aggregate behavioral data, user insights, competitive analysis, and customer signals.
Strategy Sprint (1 week): 2–3 day offsite. Generate 2x2 matrix of opportunities. Draft winning aspiration and first-pass strategic pillars.
Design Sprint (1 week): Brainstorm illustrative concepts for each pillar. Make the strategy tangible with product examples.
Document Writing (1–2 weeks): Solo work. Weave all components into a tight, 3–4 page strategy doc with appendix.
Rollout (2–3 weeks): 1:1 gatekeepers → stakeholder review → team roadshows (8–10 people per session).
Why 8–12 weeks?People underestimate how long strategy takes, thinking it can be done in 2 weeks. But relative to the 2-year payoff period, this investment is small. Starting early (before CEO asks) gives you a head start.
The working groupMinimum: Engineering, Design, Data. Ideal: Add Product Marketing and User Research. The PM drives the process, but the group co-creates the strategy.
Template
Strategy Doc Structure
Context: What are we solving for?
Key Insights: User + behavioral + competitive
Strategic Pillars: Focus areas (usually 3–5)
Why: Explicit rationale for choices
Winning Aspiration: Bold 5–10 year vision
Illustrative Concepts: Product examples for each pillar
Appendix: Full 2x2 matrix (for defensibility) + additional concepts
Alignment Qs: "Do these feel right? Missing anything?"
Length3–4 pages main doc + appendix. DON'T include detailed roadmap in strategy doc—keep them separate but companion pieces.
Contrarian
Strategy Myths PMs Believe
✗Strategy takes too long, we don't have 8–12 weeksINSTEAD →✓ The process pays for itself in 2 years. Start early before you're asked; it's mostly async work.
✗You need buy-in from everyone before draftingINSTEAD →✓ Do deep prep work first. Alignment built through process, not meetings. Then defend strategy with the framework, not endless debate.
✗More strategic pillars = more flexibilityINSTEAD →✓ Three clear pillars force choice and alignment. Five is the max. More pillars = no strategy.
✗Strategy doc should include the detailed roadmapINSTEAD →✓ Strategy and roadmap are companions, not one document. Illustrative roadmap in appendix only; keep strategy focused on WHY.