STRATEGIC THINKING
Product Strategy
Whether your product strategy is specific, tradeoff-driven, and connected to real resource allocation and measurable outcomes, not a vision statement everyone in the room would agree to.
← All 16 dimensions in the competency frameworkWhat strong evidence looks like
- Names what the strategy explicitly excludes, and why
- Ties choices to competitive position and customer evidence, not just internal ambition
- Explains how resources were allocated differently because of it
- States how success is actually measured
What weak evidence looks like
- Vague vision language with no rejected alternative named
- Cannot say what the strategy chooses not to do
- No connection between the strategy and how resources or roadmap actually moved
A real follow-up question
“What did this strategy explicitly rule out, and what happened when a stakeholder pushed to include it anyway?”
Questions like this follow directly from what you just said, not from a fixed script -- they exist to find out whether an answer holds up, not to check a box.
Browse by career level
The evidence standard for Product Strategy shifts with scope. Select a level to see what strong evidence looks like, what changes from the level below, and a real interview probe.
Product Strategy at the PM levelA single feature, component, or defined product area within one team.Product Strategy at the Senior PM levelA defined product area with real ownership of roadmap and metric accountability.Product Strategy at the Principal PM levelCross-team or full product line scope. Often defining the boundaries rather than operating inside them.Product Strategy at the Director levelA product area spanning multiple teams, often with PMs reporting directly.Product Strategy at the Senior Director levelA large product portfolio or multiple product areas, often with directors reporting.Product Strategy at the VP levelA full product line, major business unit, or portfolio with P&L accountability.Product Strategy at the CPO levelCompany-wide product vision and strategy, as a member of the executive team.
Related dimensions in Strategic Thinking
Related research
See where you actually stand on this
A self-assessment only goes so far. The adaptive interview tests exactly this kind of evidence, in your own words, with follow-up questions built to find out whether it holds up.