Most product strategies are written backwards.
You start with vision, then wonder why your team can't execute it.
Elite PMs flip the sequence: Superpowers first. Vision second.
Here's the framework that separates executable strategy from strategy theater:
1/
You start with vision, then wonder why your team can't execute it.
Elite PMs flip the sequence: Superpowers first. Vision second.
Here's the framework that separates executable strategy from strategy theater:
1/
A VP once asked me: "What would our vision be if we could only leverage our existing superpowers?"
I started to protest. Vision should be unconstrained.
Then I realized: every successful product I'd shipped was built on unique capabilities we already had.
Every failure was built on capabilities we wished we had.
2/
I started to protest. Vision should be unconstrained.
Then I realized: every successful product I'd shipped was built on unique capabilities we already had.
Every failure was built on capabilities we wished we had.
2/
The typical product strategy sequence:
1. Dream up inspiring vision
2. Identify strategic pillars
3. List features for roadmap
4. Hope the team can execute
It produces 40-slide decks that sound impressive in steering committees.
3/
1. Dream up inspiring vision
2. Identify strategic pillars
3. List features for roadmap
4. Hope the team can execute
It produces 40-slide decks that sound impressive in steering committees.
3/
One question kills most product strategies:
"How does building feature X increase metric Y?"
If you can't explain the causal mechanism, you don't have strategy. You have a wishlist with formatting.
Most PMs have never been forced to articulate this connection because vision-first thinking lets them skip it.
4/
"How does building feature X increase metric Y?"
If you can't explain the causal mechanism, you don't have strategy. You have a wishlist with formatting.
Most PMs have never been forced to articulate this connection because vision-first thinking lets them skip it.
4/
The Superpowers-First framework forces a different sequence:
1. Objective: What outcome are we chasing?
2. Users: Who specifically benefits?
3. Superpowers: What can we uniquely deliver?
4. Vision: What future does this enable?
5. Pillars: What themes support the vision?
6. Impact: How do pillars drive objective?
7. Roadmap: What obvious things per pillar?
Notice where Vision sits. Fourth. After Superpowers.
5/
1. Objective: What outcome are we chasing?
2. Users: Who specifically benefits?
3. Superpowers: What can we uniquely deliver?
4. Vision: What future does this enable?
5. Pillars: What themes support the vision?
6. Impact: How do pillars drive objective?
7. Roadmap: What obvious things per pillar?
Notice where Vision sits. Fourth. After Superpowers.
5/
Why this ordering matters:
Superpowers constrain your vision to what you can actually execute.
Teams spend months chasing visions that require capabilities they don't have and can't build fast enough. The vision is beautiful. The execution gap is fatal.
When you identify superpowers first, your vision becomes a bet on what you can uniquely deliver. Not a wish about what would be nice to have.
6/
Superpowers constrain your vision to what you can actually execute.
Teams spend months chasing visions that require capabilities they don't have and can't build fast enough. The vision is beautiful. The execution gap is fatal.
When you identify superpowers first, your vision becomes a bet on what you can uniquely deliver. Not a wish about what would be nice to have.
6/
The "Impact" section is a bullshit detector.
You have to show the causal chain: solving X increases Y which drives Z.
Or show the math: if we capture N% of M users doing behavior B, we get revenue R.
If you can't do either, you're not done strategizing. You're still brainstorming.
7/
You have to show the causal chain: solving X increases Y which drives Z.
Or show the math: if we capture N% of M users doing behavior B, we get revenue R.
If you can't do either, you're not done strategizing. You're still brainstorming.
7/
Most PMs jump to prioritization too early.
Prioritization is a compression algorithm. You can't compress what you haven't fully expanded.
Premature prioritization causes anchoring bias and blinds you to the solution space.
8/
Prioritization is a compression algorithm. You can't compress what you haven't fully expanded.
Premature prioritization causes anchoring bias and blinds you to the solution space.
8/
This is exactly why I built a collection of 145+ AI prompts for product work.
To codify frameworks like this that elite PMs use but most teams never see.
The "Create a structured product strategy" prompt walks you through this exact sequence, preventing strategy theater before it starts.
9/prodmgmt.world/products/ai-pr…
To codify frameworks like this that elite PMs use but most teams never see.
The "Create a structured product strategy" prompt walks you through this exact sequence, preventing strategy theater before it starts.
9/prodmgmt.world/products/ai-pr…
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