Product Strategy: The Unsexy Superpower Most PMs Lack
Execution will get you applause. Strategy? That’s what gets you promoted.
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Here’s the problem: being strategic isn’t about sprinkling some buzzwords like synergy or go-to-market into your next meeting. It’s about making decisions that move the needle—playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers. And let’s be real, most PMs, even the ones who can ship a product in their sleep, stumble when it comes to strategy.
Why? Because strategy isn’t a checklist. It’s an intuition you build over time. And no, intuition isn’t some mystical power reserved for Bezos and Musk. It’s the result of keeping your ears open, staying curious, and occasionally stumbling on your face (hello, failed launches).
So, let me tell you a few stories—real ones—that show what strategy is, what it isn’t, and why sometimes the worst decisions teach us the best lessons.
Instagram Stories: How to Steal Like a Strategist
Snapchat was the darling of social media. Everyone, especially teens, loved its Stories feature. Quick, fleeting moments of life shared with close friends.
Then Instagram came in hot, pulled a full copy-paste, and introduced their version of Stories. A cheap knockoff? Sure. But within a year, Instagram Stories had more daily users than Snapchat’s entire platform. Snapchat? Let’s just say they’re now mostly known for their filters.
Here’s why Instagram’s move was brilliant. They didn’t just copy a feature; they used it as a weapon. Snapchat was great for sharing, but Instagram already owned your relationships—your friends, your family, your ex from college who still watches every story you post. Why start over on Snapchat when you could do it all on Instagram?
Strategy is asking, What’s the real problem here? Snapchat’s feature wasn’t the product. The network of people you wanted to share it with was. Instagram figured that out, executed ruthlessly, and won.
Quibi: $1.8 Billion Gone in 6 Months
Quibi was supposed to be the future of streaming. Big stars, huge budgets, and “quick bites” of video for people on the go. Except... there was one little issue: Quibi launched in 2020, when no one was going anywhere.
But timing wasn’t their only problem. Quibi ignored a fundamental truth about content today: if it’s not shareable, it’s invisible. You couldn’t easily post Quibi clips on social media, which is where most new content gets discovered. Compare that to TikTok, where one viral dance can make a creator famous overnight.
Quibi assumed their fancy Hollywood names and billion-dollar budgets would carry the day. Spoiler: they didn’t.
Timing matters. Context matters. But most importantly, distribution matters. You can build the shiniest product in the world, but if it doesn’t fit into your user’s habits, you’re toast.
The Zune: A Case Study in Missing the Point
Ah, the Zune. Remember it? No? Exactly.
Microsoft’s MP3 player had everything going for it—great design, solid hardware, and even a nifty feature where you could share songs with other Zune users. But here’s the thing: no one cared about sharing songs with other Zune users because... no one owned a Zune.
Meanwhile, Apple wasn’t just selling MP3 players. They were selling an ecosystem. iTunes made buying and syncing music effortless, so you weren’t just buying an iPod; you were buying convenience. Zune? It was a standalone device in a world moving toward seamless integration.
You don’t win by building a better feature. You win by understanding the bigger picture—the ecosystem, the customer’s journey, the real problem they’re solving.
Amazon’s Happy Accident: How AWS Was Born
Here’s a fun one. AWS, Amazon’s cash cow, wasn’t some grand master plan. It started as an internal project—a way to make their own infrastructure more efficient.
But someone at Amazon asked, Hey, what if other companies would pay us to use this? Fast-forward to today: AWS is a $100+ billion business and basically funds the rest of Amazon’s operations.
The genius here wasn’t the technology; it was the willingness to experiment. Most companies would have buried this as a “nice-to-have.” Amazon turned it into a cornerstone of modern tech.
Some of the best strategies come from unexpected places. Always ask, Could this thing we’re building solve a problem beyond what we intended?
How to Stop Thinking Tactically and Start Thinking Strategically
These stories aren’t just cautionary tales—they’re a playbook. The difference between PMs who “get it” and those who don’t comes down to how they approach problems. So how do you build that muscle?
Be Curious About Everything: Strategy doesn’t live in your backlog. It’s in the market, your competitors, even industries completely unrelated to yours. Read blogs like Stratechery, listen to podcasts like Acquired, and stay plugged into the world beyond your product.
Always Ask “Why?”: Why is this competitor doing what they’re doing? Why are users behaving this way? Why is this trend taking off? Every “why” sharpens your intuition.
Look for Patterns: The more products you analyze, the better you’ll get at spotting trends. Why did Instagram Stories work? Why did Google+ fail? These aren’t random—they’re patterns of what works and what doesn’t.
Play the Long Game: A good strategy often means making tough calls in the short term—like cannibalizing your own product or investing in something unproven. Be ready to take those risks.
Experiment Relentlessly: Not every strategic move has to be a moonshot. Start small. Test ideas. Treat failures as data.
The Bottom Line
Execution will keep the lights on. But strategy? Strategy is what turns you into a force to be reckoned with. It’s what separates the PMs who hit their deadlines from the ones who hit the C-suite.
So the next time you’re stuck in the weeds, step back. Ask the hard questions. Think bigger. And remember: strategy isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being bold, learning from the missteps, and always playing the long game.
Because in the end, the best PMs aren’t the ones who ship the most features. They’re the ones who shape the future.