Write a Great Product Strategy: Lessons from Ravi Mehta | Former CPO at Tinder, Director at Meta, VP at TripAdvisor

Product Growth Podcast

1×

0:00

-1:37:22

Write a Great Product Strategy: Lessons from Ravi Mehta | Former CPO at Tinder, Director at Meta, VP at TripAdvisor

How can you write the best product strategy document? And how can you turn that strategy into action? We go deep with an experienced operator.

Sep 06, 2024

Transcript

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

Brought to you by:

Attio: The next generation CRM
OneSchema: Automate CSV imports directly in your product
Cello: Your all-in-one platform for partner & user referrals

Product strategy documents are incredibly hard to do well. How do you do it?

In today's episode, Ravi Mehta and I deep dive into how. We cover everything from the components of a good product strategy to what a great doc is.

Ravi was formerly CPO at Tinder, Director of Product Management at Meta, and VP of Product at TripAdvisor, so he brings a litany of insights to this discussion. To this day, he's an active product advisor, so he has the insights of an inside operator.

In today’s episode, we cover:

The Importance of Product Strategy | 02:50
Deep Dive into the Product Strategy Stack | 17:06
Wireframes: Key To Your Strategy Document | 32:18
From Planning to Execution | 41:23
Why to Ditch OKRs and Use NCTs Instead | 54:53
Selective Micromanagement: When to Step In vs Step Back | 01:00:54
The Shape of a PM Framework | 01:13:20

Here are the Key Takeaways

Here are the key lessons from our conversation:

1. Use Visuals in Your Product Strategy

Ravi explains how having 15-20 wireframes in your product strategy can be beneficial. Wireframes provide a strong understanding of what's being proposed.

Without any visual, stakeholders might have different takeaways which may lead to a long-term misalignment among teams.

The use of wireframes helps align stakeholders, clarify trade-offs, and ensure everyone has a shared vision of the product's direction.

2. Consider Ditching NCTs for OKRs

Ravi presents Narratives, Commitments, and Tasks (NCTs) as an alternative to conventional OKRs.

This framework solves a few common challenges with OKRs by providing context (the narrative), clear expectations (commitments), and actionable steps (tasks).

NCTs help teams to balance strategy and execution, ensuring goals are both meaningful and achievable.

3. Consider Your Shape as a PM

The "Shape of a PM" framework identifies 12 key competencies across four areas: product execution, customer insight, product strategy, and influencing people.

Understanding that no PM excels in all areas helps in building a balanced team.

The framework relies on the fact that no PM specialises in all areas. It is based on the foundation that teams should be well-rounded, even if individuals are "weak" in certain areas.

4. Micromanage, Selectively

Contrary to popular belief, selective micromanagement can be beneficial. Ravi mentions how good leaders should have a dynamic range: an ability to zoom in on details when necessary and zoom out for the big picture.

This approach helps ensure alignment between strategy and execution, particularly when teams are facing challenges or misalignment.

Check out the episode for all the details and the amazing frameworks shared by Ravi.