“Strategic thinking.” Sounds grand, doesn’t it? The kind of thing we want our leaders to be, not just order-takers. But here’s the secret: it’s not some magical, inborn talent. It’s a skill, plain and simple, and skills can be mastered with appropriate focus. Like learning to ride a bike, or in our world, learning to truly ship something that matters.

Think about it. We pour endless hours into planning, into “strategy”. Yet we either fail to articulate it or drive awareness and alignment. What often passes for strategy is just a “guiding policy” or maybe a “diagnosis,” frequently missing the crucial “coherent actions” that actually make it real. It’s the “pie-in-the-sky” without the map to the ground.

But here’s the thing about you, the high-agency individual: You don’t blame the environment. You adopt the strategic mindset and work to improve it, from the bottom up. Even when the strategy handed to you feels, well, a bit incoherent.

So, where do you start?

First, step out of the “delivery mentality.” I know, it sounds counter-intuitive. You identify resources, hire, unblock your team. All vital. But perfectly building the wrong features – features your customers don’t care about – won’t move the needle for your business. It’s about building the right products, not just building them right.

Quality and robustness are crucial, yes, but only if the software solves customer needs and helps the business. Don’t just talk about story points; ask, “So what?”. What’s the benefit?. And who decides what’s “right”? It’s not just the product manager’s job. That’s “arcane” thinking. Engineering is a crucial partner, and you deserve a seat at that table. Fight for it, if you don’t have it.

Second, learn your product domain. I’ve been there. So busy with the tactical firefighting and hiring that I wasn’t involved in defining the product roadmap. And guess what? People respond to the value you bring. Deliberately carve out time. Understand the nuances of healthcare, fintech, whatever your “problem space” is. You won’t be an expert overnight, but consistent, purposeful effort gets you there.

Third, embrace product thinking. This means starting with the “why” behind what you’re building. Not “when” (delivery date) or “who” (staffing). Delivery and quality only truly matter if you grasp the core “why”. Demand the rationale from your product counterparts.

Understand the business impact, customer details, and target metrics. A simple practice: every day, make it a point to think about your customers and how your work impacts them (or doesn’t). Join their calls. Be an active learner, not a passive listener. Strive for a product-led organization, where the product itself drives growth.

Fourth, learn to articulate your thoughts. All that learning, all that strategic insight – it’s just theoretical until you can share it effectively. For many, including me, writing clarifies thought streams. You don’t need to publish, but keep a log of your “networked thoughts”. Write about improving your product, use hypothesis-driven pitches (“For X to be true, Y and Z need to hold true”). Map your technical roadmap to the product roadmap. This isn’t just busywork; it’s a positive feedback loop: better writing leads to clearer thinking, and clearer thinking makes you a better writer.

A deeper dive into the soil of this strategic garden:

  • Fall in love with the problem, not the solution. It’s easy to jump to “how we’re going to build it”. Don’t. You need to know if the problem is even worth solving. This means separating the problem space from the solution space. Question everything. Assumptions are problematic in product management. Talk to your customers, often. Ask “dumb” questions until you can explain it to a 10-year-old.

  • Understand the “Jobs to be Done” (JTBD). Customers don’t want a quarter-inch drill bit; they want the shelf on the wall, and the feeling of safety and respect it brings. They “hire” your product to make progress from their current situation to a preferred one. Your real competition isn’t just other companies’ products. It’s anything your target customer is doing today – their habits, their resistance to change, even sleep. Think of Blockbuster, caught off guard by changing user behavior.

  • Be aware of your biases. Confirmation bias is rampant in product discovery. You find what you’re looking for, even if new information contradicts your beliefs. Approach product responsibilities with an open mind. Treat initiatives as “bets,” which forces you to think about how well you know the customer problem and solution. Proactively seek evidence that’s contrary to your understanding. Acknowledge the discomfort this brings – that’s where growth lies. Force yourself to generate at least three options for significant decisions. This simple act helps confront bias.

  • Know the difference between a goal and a strategy. “Drive revenue up by X%” is a goal, not a strategy. A strategy is actionable. It explains the plan, the alternatives considered, the risks, and the mitigations. Without it, you’re relying on willpower, not a roadmap. Pitfalls to avoid in strategy include a lack of detail on competitive landscape, fuzzy metrics, unclear assumptions, and too much emphasis on “how” (technology) without explaining customer or business benefit.

  • Focus on business value. This isn’t just about revenue. It’s about customer satisfaction, retention, new acquisition, intellectual property, data acquisition, and technical excellence. You need to communicate the strategy tirelessly until people truly get it. Ask “And, Then What?” to look for second-order consequences.

  • Build trust. It’s not just about competence; it’s about honesty/integrity and benevolence. Are you acting in the best interests of your team, stakeholders, and customers?. People might forgive competence issues if you’re honest, but lose trust instantly with integrity or benevolence issues.

This isn’t about being an architect with every blueprint laid out upfront. Sometimes, you need to be a gardener – digging a hole, dropping in a seed, watering it, and seeing what grows. Identifying the type of problem early helps you know which hat to wear.

Your success is directly proportional to how well you understand the product strategy. Better yet, partner with your product peers to co-develop that strategy. It’s a journey that requires consistent “daily reps” to build that “mental muscle”. Don’t skip them.

Go make a difference. The market is waiting.