Strategic alignment in product - Martin Eriksson (Product Partner, EQT, Mind the Product)
Dec 8, 2023
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Join us for an insightful conversation with Martin Eriksson, EQT Product Partner and Co-founder of Mind the Product, as he unveils The Decision Stack, a model to empower product teams in making more effective decisions. They discuss strategic alignment, the importance of principles in decision making, and the impact of the mental model on companies.
The Decision Stack is a model introduced by Martin Eriksson to empower product teams in making effective decisions, consisting of vision, strategy, objectives, opportunities, and principles.
Having a clear business strategy is crucial for product teams to prioritize decisions and deliver meaningful results, and product leaders should actively push for clarity and challenge the leadership team to articulate and communicate the strategy effectively.
Deep dives
Martin Erickson's Background and Introduction
Martin Erickson is a product co-founder and EQT product partner with over 25 years of experience in product development. He started as a web designer and developer before transitioning to product management at Monster in 1999. Martin later founded ProductTank and co-founded Mind The Product, the world's largest community for product people. He currently serves as a product partner at EKT, advising portfolio companies on product practices and strategies.
The Decision Stack Mental Model
The decision stack is a mental model introduced by Martin Erickson to help create alignment and structure decisions in product management. It consists of five steps: vision/mission, strategy, objectives, opportunities, and principles. The vision/mission sets the overall goal, while the strategy outlines the actions to achieve it. Objectives define the outcomes, and opportunities help teams identify how to deliver on those objectives. Finally, principles guide decision-making and ensure alignment with the overall strategy.
Importance of Strategy and Clarity
Martin emphasizes the need for a clear business strategy to set the direction and prioritize product decisions. Without clarity at the strategy level, product teams may struggle with focus and face challenges in delivering meaningful results. He advises product leaders to actively push for clarity and challenge the leadership team to articulate and communicate the strategy effectively. By understanding the trade-offs and priorities, teams can make better decisions aligned with the company's goals.
Role of Principles in Decision-Making
Principles serve as a crucial component of the decision stack, providing guidance on how to make strategic decisions. Unlike generic values, principles are specific and actionable, helping teams navigate complex trade-offs inherent in product development. They act as guardrails, helping teams understand how to prioritize and make choices. Martin encourages teams to identify even overstated principles that capture the essential trade-offs and align decision-making across the organization.
Join us for an insightful conversation with Martin Eriksson, EQT Product Partner and Co-founder of Mind the Product. Martin unveils The Decision Stack, a model to empower product teams in making more effective decisions.
We dissect the five steps of this model, demonstrating the power of a defined vision, cohesive strategy, and an understanding of objectives, opportunities, and principles.
Featured Links: Follow Martin on LinkedIn and mas.to | Martin's website | The Decision Stack | Buy 'Product Leadership: How Top Product Managers Launch Awesome Products and Build Successful Teams'book | Opportunity Solution Tree model feature by Teresa Torres
Our Hosts Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.
Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.
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