This may seem like the most obvious statement in the world, especially for product managers, and I really can't believe I have to spell this out, but even in 2023, I see executives across the industry with all sorts of strategies that all basically boil down to "we want to grow and make more money". This isn't a strategy, this is a wish, or at best, a output.
I quote my dad for this one - "Money is byproduct during the pursuit of a passion".
Yet so many executives, blinded by achieving targets and metrics, put revenue ahead of ensuring they build a delightful, usable, product that's valuable to customers. Long term, to build a successful product and business, you need more.
What exactly do I mean by more? You need a strategy to empower a product that has soul, has substance, has purpose, and is out to accomplish something for humanity. This is a heavy ask - nobody said building a great product strategy was easy.
So what do you do instead of focusing on revenue? And what do you need to do help build a product strategy?
Put your customers first
A successful product manager always puts customers first. Not one customer, no, but your core customer base. Relying solely on revenue as your driving motivator ignores the importance of aligning to what your customers want and need, and their satisfaction and retention. A strategy that focuses on revenue will end up engaging in tactics that focus on extracting more revenue from customers (which will work and make the numbers look great), but at the cost of building long-term relationships based on trust and loyalty. In the short term this will be great for the books, but customers will inevitably leave.
Focus on innovation
A strategy with purpose naturally invokes innovation. A strategy focused on revenue invokes efficiency, cost cutting, and profit maximization - sure these are what all businesses want to do, but innovation upfront is the opposite of revenue, in fact you'll likely set money on fire for a bit to get creative. By neglecting innovation, a business limits its ability to adapt to changing customer needs and market dynamics, eventually losing its competitive edge.
Think long term
Think long, don't sell short. Focus on innovation and customers as per above, and what it looks like for the years to come. It takes time to learn, build, and deliver products customers love. It takes many, many iterations and lots of learnings. Focusing on revenue leads to cost-cutting, rushing to market, lack of quality, and often neglecting the very people building your product.
Diversify
I quote Rich Mironov for this one - "The only thing worse than having no customers, is one customer". Revenue generation efforts often double down on a single customer or industry, which exposes a business to significant risk. Changes in market conditions, customer preferences, or disruptions in the industry can quickly diminish revenue streams, leaving the business vulnerable. A well-rounded product strategy should include diversification efforts, exploring new markets, expanding product offerings, or acquiring complementary businesses to mitigate risks and create a more resilient enterprise.
A favourite
My favourite of all time is Microsoft's from back in the day - “a PC on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software". It rallied everyone in the company to align themselves to the mission and strategy - and achieve they did.
Another local (New Zealand example) is Xero's - "Beautiful accounting software" and they meant it. Their entire product strategy revolved around the CX, and although it's not the best these days, it certainly was for a very long time.