Cohort 4

Use the step-by-step approach I developed at Netflix to craft a product vision, align around strategy, and hold product teams accountable.

Gibson Biddle

Former VP/CPO  at both Netflix & Chegg

Product Strategy Workshop

Netflix

NerdWallet

Life360

Mattel

A well-defined product strategy accelerates your career. It improves your odds of success. It inspires teams. In this highly interactive, case-based workshop, you'll learn six vital strategic frameworks, plus how to run a product strategy meeting as we simulate a modern-day Netflix Quarterly Product Strategy Meeting at the end of the session. THE CHALLENGES Today, product leaders are constantly challenged to act and think "more strategically." These tools frame their strategic thinking and accomplish work as metrics tied to each product strategy demonstrate. Another challenge is building alignment across an organization. Everyone in a company has a perspective on how a product can be better, even folks with no experience building products. These tools and frameworks enable product leaders to develop a common language and plan that resonates across the organization to build cross-functional alignment. Last, everyone within an organization has a point of view on how and where resources should be allocated. The simulated Quarterly Product Strategy Meeting enables students to participate in a meeting that will teach them to debate product strategy in open, more effective ways within their product organization and to allocate resources intelligently. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN You learn how to:1. Describe the positioning and "something bigger" of your product that helps to build a brand using language that appeals to your customers and is well-understood by your marketing partners.2. Craft a long-term product vision that provides clear direction. This vision also breaks down the plan into shorter, step-by-step "bite-size chews" that maintain flexibility as you encounter speedbumps and roadblocks.3. Define a succinct product strategy—a hypothesis on how you will move your key metrics—by developing hypotheses that will delight customers in hard-to-copy, margin-enhancing ways.4. Articulate metrics and tactics for each product strategy to effectively "align the wood behind the arrow."5. You'll learn to tease out how to prioritize Growth, Engagement, and Monetization, depending on the company's size and goals. You'll define a clear metric for each of these three factors.6. Communicate a quarterly plan using two roadmap formats: a "rolling four-quarter roadmap" and a "Now, Next, Later" approach.7. Debate 2-3 modern-day Netflix cases, demonstrating how these product strategy frameworks help to form a common language that enables better communication and more thoughtful debate. HOW THE COURSE WORKS The first session sets the table by articulating six product strategy frameworks illustrated through many examples and cases. The second session comprehensively applies the models, with applications to startups, B2B/enterprise companies, and consumer-focused companies. This course is very efficient. There are two 2.5-hour classes, and the last half-hour of each class is an optional Q&amp;A session. We'll open up the class fifteen minutes before the start time -- so you can ask questions and begin to get to know each other. Then, we'll review each framework with many juicy examples from Netflix's past and present. The session is sprinkled with many mini-cases where students are asked, "What would you do if you were the product leader at Netflix?" We'll use Slido to build engagement and draw all students into a fast-paced conversation. This is not a boring lecture. It's a lean-in experience, and you will be at the edge of your seat as you dive into the conversation—when you're up for it. At the end of the second session, we'll simulate a Netflix Quarterly Product Strategy meeting, allowing you to see how a world-class product organization thinks about and discusses product strategy. The two 2.5-hour sessions are a lot of fun. There will be plenty of "leave behind" materials. I will also provide pre-formatted Google Slides you can use to define your product strategy. AGENDA Cohort 4: April 1 and April 3 (9-11:30 am PT for both sessions)Cohort 5: October 28 and October 30 (9-11:30 am PT for both sessions) Pre-work- Executive summary of all strategy frameworks (reading)- Intro to Product Strategy video- Netflix strategy example + slides- Positioning and branding videos Session 1 (9:00-11:30 am PT)08:45 Welcome to join early to say "hello."09:00 Intro to Product Strategy09:10 GLEE product vision09:25 GEM prioritization09:50 DHM framework10:15 SMT lockup10:40 Roadmaps10:50 Conclusion11:00 Q&amp;A (optional)11:30 End Optional mid-course homework (B2B, startup, and B2C examples)Each product strategy example below includes a 10-minute video plus slides:- Stripe- Shopify- Square- Instagram- Spotify- Chegg (textbook rental startup, IPO 2013)- Pre-formatted Google Slides for you to build your strategy. Session 2: 9-11:30 am PT08:45 Available to say “hello” and do online polling to get to know you09:00 Intro09:05 Startup and B2B examples09:25 Netflix personalization swimlane09:50 Maven swimlane exercise10:20 Quarterly Product Strategy Meeting simulation10:50 Conclusion11:00 Q&amp;A (optional)11:30 End Post-workshop materialsMaven Product Strategy (startup example illustrated through both video and slides)

Become a "go-to" product leader as you learn to define a product strategy.

You're a consumer or enterprise product leader, from entry-level to "Chief."

You're in a product management, project management, engineering, design, or data role, from APM to "Chief Product Officer."

You're a founder in a startup or Head of Product at any stage of a company.

Who is this course for

Apply proven tools, models, and frameworks to define a product strategy in a step-by-step way.

You'll define what your product or service is, the benefit you'll deliver to customers, along with the "personality" of your product and "brand promise."

Positioning

The GLE model (Get big, Lead, Expand) helps you outline steps for how your product will "dent the universe" in the long term.

Product Vision

You'll learn to outline product strategies using the DHM model to "Delight customers in Hard-to-copy, Margin-enhancing ways" to deliver both customer and shareholder value.

To build alignment across all company functions, you'll prioritize three factors—Growth, Engagement, and Monetization.

You'll align Strategies, Metrics, and Tactics. You'll identify proxy metrics for each product strategy and assign tactics to each.

You'll build a roadmap, demonstrating how your product strategies will come to life over time.

Rolling, Four-quarter Roadmap

We'll simulate a modern-day Quarterly Product Strategy Meeting, demonstrating how Netflix defines and debates product strategy on an ongoing basis.

Quarterly Product Strategy Meeting

I provide videos and slides illustrating the product strategy for multiple consumer and enterprise companies, including startups.

B2B, B2C & startup examples

Provide a brief description for each module as a way to sell the value of what students will be learning throughout the course.

First Module

Second Module

Third Module

Course syllabus

Writer, Investor, Advisor; LennysNewsletter.com

Gib has hosted 50 product strategy workshops in the last four years. His average NPS is 73 (70 = world-class). Here's what folks say:

Meet your instructor

This course features "What would you do?" case studies about modern-day Netflix cases.

Active hands-on learning

We'll use Slido's polling features to see where the class stands on multiple product issues instantly.

Highly interactive & engaging

Case studies let you join and debate a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you.

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