strategy-advisor

name

strategy-advisor

description

Helps with product and business strategy using proven frameworks. Use when: defining product direction, building strategy documents, diagnosing strategy vs execution problems, prioritizing strategically, or assessing competitive position. Includes: Product Strategy Stack, DHM, Seven Powers, Execution vs Strategy Diagnosis frameworks. Sources: Ravi Mehta, Gibson Biddle, Hamilton Helmer, Shreyas Doshi, Ami Vora.

Strategy Advisor Skill

Help users develop, refine, and execute product and business strategy.

When This Skill Activates

• "Help me with product strategy"
• "How do I prioritize?"
• "I can't decide between A and B"
• "Is this a strategy or execution problem?"
• "What's our competitive moat?"
• "How do I write a strategy doc?"
• "We're not hitting our goals"

Framework Selection Guide

Situation	Use This Framework
Building product strategy	Product Strategy Stack
Consumer product strategy	DHM Framework
Assessing competitive position	Seven Powers
Diagnosing why things aren't working	Execution vs Strategy
Balancing strategy vs execution	Execution Over Strategy

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Framework 1: Product Strategy Stack

Source: Ravi Mehta - Lenny's Podcast Key Insight: If a PM can't decide between option A and B, the root cause is almost always a gap in understanding strategy, not a gap in prioritization skill.

The Five Layers (Top to Bottom)

Layer 1: Company Mission

• The change the company wants to bring to the world
• Qualitative and aspirational
• Example: Tinder: "Make single life more fun"

Layer 2: Company Strategy

• The logical plan to achieve the mission
• Includes: target market, value prop, business model
• Must be rigorous, not aspirational

Layer 3: Product Strategy

• Connective tissue between company strategy and product work
• Defines what the product will be
• Must include wireframes (not just words)

Layer 4: Product Roadmap

• Sequence of work to fulfill strategy
• Time-bound initiatives
• Flows FROM strategy

Layer 5: Product Goals

• Measurable outcomes
• Come AFTER roadmap (contrarian view)
• Measure strategy progress

Key Insight: Wireframes Required

"Strategy docs aren't complete without wireframes. When you talk about strategy in words alone, everyone takes away a different interpretation."

Example: Mobile apps have 4-5 nav items. What are they? Words alone → different interpretations.

Debugging Process (Bottom-Up)

If...	Check...
Goals not being met	Is roadmap aligned?
Roadmap isn't working	Is product strategy clear?
Product strategy unclear	Do we understand company strategy?
Company strategy unclear	Is mission well-defined?

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Starting with goals (they should come last)
• Strategy in words only (needs visuals)
• Conflating the layers
• Skipping product strategy layer

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Framework 2: DHM Framework (Consumer Products)

Source: Gibson Biddle - Lenny's Podcast Key Insight: Great product strategy creates customer delight in hard-to-copy, margin-enhancing ways.

The Three Tests

D - Delight Does this meaningfully improve the customer experience?

• Not just "nice to have"
• Creates emotional response
• Drives word of mouth

H - Hard to Copy Can competitors easily replicate this? Hard-to-copy advantages:

• Brand
• Network effects
• Unique technology
• Economies of scale
• Switching costs

M - Margin-Enhancing Does this improve unit economics over time?

• Reduces costs
• Increases willingness to pay
• Improves retention
• Enables pricing power

Applying DHM

Step 1: Generate Strategy Ideas List potential strategic moves

Step 2: Score Each on D, H, M

Strategy	Delight	Hard to Copy	Margin
Idea A	High	Low	Medium
Idea B	Medium	High	High

Step 3: Prioritize DHM Winners Best strategies score high on all three. Watch out for:

• High D, Low H = Easily copied
• High H, Low D = Doesn't matter
• High M, Low D = Race to bottom

Netflix Examples

• Personalization: High D (finds shows for you), High H (data + algorithms), High M (better retention)
• Original content: High D (exclusive shows), High H (can't copy), Medium M (expensive but drives subs)

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Optimizing only for Delight (copycats catch up)
• Building Hard to Copy that doesn't Delight
• Ignoring Margin implications

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Framework 3: Seven Powers (Competitive Moats)

Source: Hamilton Helmer - Lenny's Podcast Key Insight: Strategy is a route to continuing Power in significant markets.

The Seven Powers

1. Scale Economies Unit costs decline as volume increases.

• Example: Netflix content cost per subscriber
• Test: Do we get cheaper as we grow?

2. Network Effects Product improves as more people use it.

• Example: LinkedIn's value grows with users
• Test: Does each user make it better for others?

3. Counter-Positioning New business model incumbent can't adopt.

• Example: Netflix streaming vs Blockbuster stores
• Test: Would copying us hurt their existing business?

4. Switching Costs Cost to switch to competitor is high.

• Example: Salesforce data + workflow lock-in
• Test: How painful is it to leave us?

5. Branding Higher perceived value enabling price premium.

• Example: Apple's brand commands premium
• Test: Can we charge more for same features?

6. Cornered Resource Exclusive access to valuable asset.

• Example: Exclusive content deals
• Test: Do we have something others can't get?

7. Process Power Superior processes embedded in organization.

• Example: Toyota Production System
• Test: Are our processes better AND hard to copy?

Power Assessment

Step 1: Identify Potential Powers Which powers could apply to your business?

Step 2: Assess Current Strength

Power	Have It?	Strength (1-5)
Scale Economies	Yes/No
Network Effects	Yes/No
Counter-Positioning	Yes/No
Switching Costs	Yes/No
Branding	Yes/No
Cornered Resource	Yes/No
Process Power	Yes/No

Step 3: Identify Power-Building Opportunities What actions would strengthen or create powers?

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Claiming powers you don't have
• Confusing competitive advantage with power
• Ignoring market size (power in small market = limited value)
• Building moat without product-market fit first

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Framework 4: Execution vs Strategy Diagnosis

Source: Shreyas Doshi - Lenny's Podcast Key Insight: Most problems blamed on strategy are actually execution problems, and vice versa.

The Diagnostic Question

When something isn't working, ask: "If we executed this perfectly, would it work?"

• Yes → Execution problem (fix how you're doing it)
• No → Strategy problem (fix what you're doing)

Common Misdiagnosis

Strategy blamed, Execution at fault:

• "Our positioning is wrong" → Actually: messaging is confusing
• "Wrong market" → Actually: wrong go-to-market motion
• "Product doesn't fit" → Actually: onboarding is broken

Execution blamed, Strategy at fault:

• "Team isn't executing" → Actually: strategy is unclear
• "We need better PMs" → Actually: priorities are wrong
• "Engineering is slow" → Actually: building wrong things

Diagnosis Process

Step 1: Describe the Problem What specific outcome isn't being achieved?

Step 2: Apply the Test "If a team of A+ executors took this strategy, would it work?"

Step 3: Look for Evidence

Evidence Type	Points To
Competitors winning with similar strategy	Execution
No one winning in this space	Strategy
Team confused about priorities	Strategy
Team aligned but slow	Execution
Metrics improving slowly	Execution
Metrics not moving at all	Strategy

Step 4: Address Root Cause

• Execution fix: Better processes, skills, resources
• Strategy fix: Revisit positioning, market, approach

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Defaulting to strategy change (easier than hard execution work)
• Defaulting to execution blame (avoids strategic questions)
• Not gathering evidence before diagnosing
• Changing both at once (can't learn which was wrong)

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Framework 5: Execution Over Strategy (80/20)

Source: Ami Vora - Lenny's Podcast Key Insight: For most products, success is about 20% strategy and 80% execution.

The Reality

• Most product advice focuses on strategy
• Execution is where products succeed or fail
• Great strategy with poor execution loses to good strategy with great execution

"Good Enough" Strategy Test

Ask: "If we execute perfectly on this strategy, could we succeed?"

• Yes → Execute
• No → Refine strategy (but set a deadline)

Ruthless Prioritization Principles

1. One thing at a time - Focus team energy
2. Finish before starting - Complete current work
3. Sequence, don't parallel - Fewer balls in air
4. Kill zombies - End projects going nowhere
5. Protect the team - Shield from distractions

The Priority Stack

Level	What Belongs
P0	Must do this quarter to succeed (2-3 things)
P1	Important but can wait
P2	Nice to have
P3	Probably never

Key: If everything is P0, nothing is.

Ship-Learn Cycle

1. Ship smallest valuable increment
2. Measure impact immediately
3. Learn from results
4. Adjust execution (rarely strategy)
5. Ship next increment

When to Actually Change Strategy

• Fundamental assumption proven wrong
• Market shifted dramatically
• Multiple execution attempts failed
• New information changes everything

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Over-strategizing (waiting for perfect plan)
• Under-prioritizing (everything is P0)
• Mistaking motion for execution
• Abandoning strategy too early
• Cutting quality for speed

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How to Apply This Skill

1. Identify the strategic question

   • Building strategy → Product Strategy Stack + DHM
   • Assessing competition → Seven Powers
   • Something not working → Execution vs Strategy
   • Prioritization → Execution Over Strategy

2. Walk through the selected framework systematically

3. Push for specifics (strategy without specifics = useless)

4. Recommend debugging when appropriate

Related Skills

• /decision-maker - For specific strategic decisions
• /goal-setter - For goal-setting tied to strategy
• /growth-advisor - For growth strategy specifically

Full SOPs (Deep Dives)

Product Strategy

• Product Strategy Stack
• DHM Framework
• Seven Powers
• Execution vs Strategy
• Execution Over Strategy
• Differentiation vs Table Stakes
• Ship to Learn
• Swinging the Pendulum

AI Strategy

• AI Eval-Driven Development
• AI Platform Strategy
• AI Product Strategy Assessment
• AI Product Differentiation
• Consumer AI Metrics
• Product Team Scaling AI Era
• AI-First Product Transformation

Startup Strategy

• Startup Idea Validation
• Founder-Market Fit
• Avoiding Tarpit Ideas
• Fall in Love with Problem
• PMF Iteration Journey
• Crisis Management

Pivot & Positioning

• Pivot Decision Framework
• Bottom-Up Enterprise
• Utility Curve Investment
• Customer Value First