Who This Helps
Founders and operators who are tired of endless strategy meetings. The Product Portfolio Strategy course is for you if you need to turn your analysis into a clear, approved plan that your team can actually execute.
Mini Case
Sam’s team had 18 potential projects on their list. They argued for weeks about what to do first. After creating a one-page portfolio map, they sized each bet and put them in a sequence. They got full stakeholder buy-in in one 45-minute review. They’re now focused on the top 3 bets with clear guardrails.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab your list of current and potential projects.
- For each one, write down its rough goal and what it costs (team weeks, budget).
- Assign a simple confidence score: High, Medium, or Low.
- Now, force rank them. What must happen first for the others to succeed?
- Put this all on a single page. That’s your portfolio artifact. Seriously, one page is the magic number.
Avoid These Traps
- Don’t get stuck perfecting the numbers. Rough sizing is your friend here.
- Don’t try to please everyone by adding ‘just one more’ project. It dilutes focus.
- Don’t skip defining your kill criteria. Know what ‘failure’ looks like so you can stop a bet fast.
- Don’t make the document 10 pages long. If it’s not simple, it won’t be used.
- Don’t present a list without a recommended sequence. That’s just a shopping list, not a strategy.
- Don’t forget to define what must not get worse. Protect your core business while you experiment.
- Don’t hide this doc after the meeting. Make it your team’s single source of truth.
- Don’t think you’re done after one review. Schedule the next quarterly check-in now.
Your Win by Friday
You’ll walk into your next stakeholder meeting with a one-page portfolio map. You’ll show the bets, their size, and the sequence. You’ll get a ‘yes’ on the plan, and your team will know exactly what to build next. No more guessing. Just a clear path forward. Go make it happen.