Who This Helps
Founders and operators who feel like they’re constantly changing direction. If your team is confused about what to work on next, this weekly ritual is for you. It’s a core practice from the Product Portfolio Strategy course.
Mini Case
Sam’s team was stuck. They had 14 active projects but no clear priority. Every Monday brought a new ‘urgent’ request, derailing last week’s plan. They started a 30-minute weekly analytics ritual using a one-page portfolio map. In 4 weeks, they cut context-switching by 40% and shipped their top bet 12 days faster. The map made the trade-offs visible to everyone.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Block 30 minutes every Monday morning. This is non-negotiable. Protect this time like a precious meeting with your most important investor.
- Grab your one-page portfolio artifact. If you don’t have one yet, just list your top 5-7 active bets or projects. Focus on what exists and what it costs.
- Review one key metric for each bet. Did it move? Why or why not? Keep it to one number per bet to avoid analysis paralysis.
- Ask one question: ‘Based on this, what’s our #1 focus this week?’ Get a clear, single answer from your leadership team.
- Communicate that one focus. Send a two-line Slack or email to the whole team. Clarity beats complexity every time.
Avoid These Traps
- Don’t turn it into a 2-hour deep dive. The goal is speed, not perfection. If you’re digging for ‘perfect’ data, you’ve missed the point.
- Don’t let new ideas hijack the agenda. Park them in a ‘Next Quarter’ list. Your ritual is for steering the current portfolio, not adding to it.
- Don’t skip the communication step. The magic is in aligning the whole team, not just the leaders in the room.
- Don’t ignore your kill criteria. If a bet is consistently underperforming, have the courage to discuss stopping it. This is what portfolio guardrails are for.
Your Win by Friday
By this Friday, you’ll have held your first ritual. You’ll walk out with one agreed-upon priority for the week, and your team will know exactly what it is. No more guessing. You’ll start turning your list of projects into an executable sequence. It feels like finally having a compass instead of just a map.