Melissa Perri

How to create a winning product strategy | Melissa Perri

Every company wants to develop a winning strategy—but what are signs your strategy isn’t working, and how do you change course?

https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-create-a-winning-product-strategy

The ultimate guide to product operations | Melissa Perri and Denise Tilles

Melissa Perri and Denise Tilles share insights, strategies, and real-world experiences to master all things product ops.

https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-product-operations

Ever felt like your product team is doing everything right yet not making… | Melissa Perri | 17 comments

Ever felt like your product team is doing everything right yet not making the impact you expected? 🤔 After working with countless teams across industries, I've noticed a recurring issue. Teams excel at the fundamentals like customer discovery and experimentation, but struggle to connect their efforts to meaningful outcomes. This disconnect is often due to what I call the "missing middle." The "missing middle" is the gap between a company's high-level business vision and the day-to-day execution of product teams. Even skilled product managers using the best practices hit a roadblock when strategy isn't clearly articulated or aligned across the organization. Here are 5 warning signs that your organization may have a strategy gap: 1. Teams can’t connect their work to company goals. If asking how current projects align with business objectives gets you blank stares, there's a disconnect. 2. Decisions based on opinion, not evidence. Phrases like "I think users would prefer..." pop up without supporting data, leading to decisions made in a strategic vacuum. 3. Building without validating opportunities. Rushing into solutions without first assessing their value is a telltale sign of missing strategic guidance. 4. Departments with different objectives. If marketing, sales, and product teams are all heading in different directions, alignment is lacking. 5. Constant changes from executives. Frequent shifts in direction suggest that strategy isn’t clear or compelling, causing executives to react rather than lead. I recently worked with a financial services company that faced this exact challenge. Their product teams were skilled, yet business metrics stagnated. By helping them establish a strategic framework, we connected customer problems to business outcomes. The result? A 3x increase in business impact within two quarters. The key wasn't changing how they built products, but rather focusing on which opportunities to tackle and why. If your company faces similar challenges, you're not alone. Understanding and crafting a robust product strategy is crucial, yet many leaders lack the support needed to master this skill. To address this, I'm excited to introduce our "Mastering Product Strategy" course at Product Institute. This program will equip you to bridge the "missing middle" by developing strategies rooted in customer insights and business realities. You'll learn to communicate effectively, create feedback loops, and guide product decisions toward achieving real outcomes. Ready to transform your approach to product strategy? Join us and start achieving the impact you envision for your organization! | 17 comments on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/melissajeanperri_ever-felt-like-your-product-team-is-doing-activity-7312798436456554496-31OK?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAADqOAwBoH-3DCNCyqheg0k-1G0P9GaLii8

5 Warning Signs Your Organization Has a Strategy Gap

Here are the telltale signs I have seen in organizations that need to bridge this gap:

1. The Teams Can’t Connect Their Work to Company Goals

When I ask product teams how their current projects support company objectives, I often get blank stares or vague answers. This is a clear sign that vision is being mistaken for strategy – you have a destination but no map for how to get there.

2. Decisions Are Made Based on Opinion, Not Evidence

If your product discussions frequently include phrases like “I think users would prefer…” or “This feels like the right direction…” without supporting data, you’re likely creating strategies in a vacuum, disconnected from market realities.

3. Teams Jump Into Building Without Validating Opportunities

When solutions are rushed into development without thorough investigation of their business value, you’re witnessing a classic symptom of the missing middle. Teams waste months building features that address problems not worth solving from a business perspective.

4. Different Departments Are Working Toward Different Goals

Marketing is focused on one segment, sales is promising features to another, and product teams are building something else entirely. This misalignment is what happens when strategy isn’t translated into clear, actionable initiatives.

5. Executives Change Course Constantly

Not seeing the business results, executives will blow up certain projects and move to the next. Because they’re constantly starting and stopping new projects, teams rarely get the chance to ship and make meaningful progress.