How to Write a Product Strategy in 1 Day, 1 Week, or 1 Month
Truth: No one cares how long it took to build your product strategy.
They only care if it’s clear, actionable, and helps them win.
This framework is a throwback to one of my most-loved newsletter drops with Ed Biden — a crash course in how to go from zero to strategy, fast.
Let’s break it down into time-bound tracks. Whether you’ve got 1 day, 1 week, or 1 month, you can build a strong, real-world strategy using these seven core pillars.
The 7 Pillars of Product Strategy
- Objective — What’s your north star?
- Users — Who are you serving, and what are their jobs-to-be-done?
- Superpowers — What makes your product uniquely valuable?
- Vision — What future are you creating for your users?
- Pillars — What strategic themes will take you there?
- Impact — Why will this strategy work?
- Roadmap — What are you building, and when?
Here’s how to approach them, based on your available time:
1 Day Strategy
This is your MVP strategy — scrappy, directional, and enough to create alignment.
Objective
Write a simple mission and a measurable goal. The metric doesn’t have to be perfect — you just need a north star.
Users
Sketch out the customer journey and core jobs-to-be-done. Use your gut and any internal documents you can find.
Superpowers
List 2–3 things your product can do that others can’t. Focus on uniqueness, not just features.
Vision
Write down 3–4 user moments you want to improve or transform. Focus on how it should feel, not just what it does.
Pillars
Write down 2–4 strategic themes. These should connect the current product to your future state.
Impact
Draft a quick narrative: “If we build X, we’ll likely see Y.” No numbers needed — just direction.
Roadmap
Do a raw brain-dump of initiatives. Don’t organize or overthink yet. Capture what comes to mind.
1 Week Strategy
Now you’re validating assumptions and bringing in signal from users and your team.
Objective
Refine your metric. Can your team clearly understand it and influence it?
Users
Talk to 5–10 customers. Validate pain points. Map the journey. Capture real quotes.
Superpowers
Pressure-test your list with your team. Where do users actually see unique value?
Vision
Turn your key user moments into basic sketches or mockups. Sync closely with design.
Pillars
Add rationale for each theme. Why this pillar over another? Bring in product, design, and engineering perspectives.
Impact
Build a lightweight driver tree. Estimate the expected outcome for each pillar.
Roadmap
Start shaping a “Now / Next / Later” roadmap. Collaborate with your team so the strategy feels shared, not top-down.
1 Month Strategy
This is the real deal — high-signal, stakeholder-aligned, and ready for execution.
Objective
Finalize your mission and success metric. It should now be reviewed, signed off, and tracked.
Users
Run 10–20 interviews. Launch a survey if needed. Quantify the pain. Prioritize what matters.
Superpowers
Get clear on what your product delivers that no one else can. Use that insight to strengthen your positioning.
Vision
Evolve your sketches into storyboards or prototypes. This should align and inspire your team.
Pillars
Assign metrics to each pillar. Cut out distractions. What’s left are your strategic bets.
Impact
Refine your driver model with real data inputs. You should now understand which levers matter and which are wishful thinking.
Roadmap
Define the next 0–3 months with clarity and commitment.
Sequence the 3–6 month range based on goals.
Park longer-term ideas in a flexible backlog.
Final Thought
It doesn’t matter whether your strategy was built in a day or over a month. What matters is whether it’s useful, credible, and moves your team forward.
Build strategy that’s focused. Build strategy that’s fast. And most importantly, build strategy that earns your team’s trust.
If you’re ready to build your strategy smarter in 2025, here’s the full guide.
