As product managers, we’ve all seen vision statements glorified by leadership and created roadmaps that end up as nothing more than a list of features to ship. But are these truly strategy? The uncomfortable truth is that much of what we label as "product strategy" is really bad strategy dressed up in modern product terminology. We’re drowning in roadmaps, OKRs, and feature factories, while losing sight of what strategy actually means. In his book ‘Good Strategy / Bad Strategy’, Richard Rumelt highlights the defining characteristics of each.
Four hallmarks of a bad strategy
#1 Fluff
This hallmark is gibberish disguised as strategy using complex words and buzzwords to create an illusion of depth. In product management, such “fluff” is common - “Our strategy is to be the world-class leader in delightful user experiences” or “We will optimize for customer-centric intermediation.” These statements are vague, lack specificity, and offer no actionable plan. Empty phrases like “seamless user experience,” “AI-powered innovation,” or “best-in-class platform” sound strategic but provide no real direction.
Failure to Face the Challenge
A true strategy is a deliberate approach to overcoming a clearly defined obstacle. Without identifying the challenge, it’s impossible to judge the quality of the strategy. Bad strategies, by contrast, gloss over reality, often out of fear that confronting obstacles will seem negative. In product management, this shows up as roadmaps that are just feature lists rather than coherent responses to real problems. Such “strategies” ignore competitive threats and market dynamics, presenting wish lists instead of actionable plans. For example, teams may set goals like “increase user engagement” without first diagnosing why engagement is low - whether due to a confusing interface, unclear value proposition, or stronger competitors.
Mistaking Goals for Strategy
One of the most common strategic blunders is confusing strategy with vision, mission, or goals. As Rumelt explains, a goal is a desired outcome, such as “increase revenue by 20% annually”. A strategy, by contrast, is the plan for how to achieve it. When a company’s “strategic plan” is just a budget and market share projections, the gap between ambition and action becomes obvious. This confusion breeds false expectations and a culture that measures success by setting goals rather than executing a coherent plan. In product management, this mistake is rampant. Goals express aspirations, but strategy defines the approach to overcoming obstacles. Saying “become the leading project management tool for remote teams” is a goal, not a strategy.
Bad Strategic Objectives
This hallmark is a result of the previous three. A bad strategic objective is usually a disorganized list of projects. Such objectives fail to address critical issues, are often impractical, and reveal a lack of focus and prioritization. In product management, this takes the form of the dreaded “laundry list” of priorities that tries to be everything to everyone but satisfies no one. The result is diluted resources and no meaningful progress. In practice, this often shows up as quarterly roadmaps packed with unrelated initiatives and all treated as equally important.
The Kernel of Good Strategy
Diagnosis
A diagnosis defines the core challenge your product faces. It cuts through noise to highlight what’s truly holding it back. For example: “User churn is spiking because the signup flow is confusing”. For product managers, this means acting as a product doctor by using tools like the Five Whys to uncover the problem that, if solved, will create the biggest impact. For example: “Retention drops 60% after week one because new users can’t find the core value proposition in their first session. They expect instant value but face a steep learning curve”.
Guiding Policy
The guiding policy is the overall approach chosen to overcome the obstacles identified in the diagnosis. Like guardrails on a highway, it directs action without prescribing every step. It’s about making clear trade-offs. Unlike a list of goals, a guiding policy is a high-level lens that rules out distractions and creates focus. For product leaders, it’s a unique point of view on how the product will win. Not vague aspirations like “build more features”, but focused choices. For example: “We will prioritize immediate value delivery over feature breadth by redesigning onboarding to showcase core functionality within the first 5 minutes of use”.
Coherent Actions
This is a set of specific and feasible steps that bring the guiding policy to life. These are not a random list of projects but coordinated initiatives that reinforce one another and amplify their impact. For product managers, coherent actions are the product bets made to support the guiding policy. For example, if the policy is “simplify onboarding”, actions might include redesigning the signup form, removing confusing fields, and adding guided tutorials. If the policy is “differentiate through radical personalization,” actions could include investing in a recommendation engine, building user behavior models, and designing flexible UI components.
- Redesign signup flow to capture user intent and customize the initial experience
- Create an interactive product tour using real user data
- Implement progressive feature disclosure to prevent overwhelming new users
- Track success metrics around value realization, not just feature usage
For more real-world examples of how these principles come to life, read Good Strategy/Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt