The Product Strategy Handbook
A 12-chapter, 30,000-word guide to the discipline that separates shipping features from building products that win. Learn how to define vision, analyze markets, outmaneuver competitors, choose the right frameworks, set pricing, align OKRs, and know when to pivot — with real examples, decision tools, and templates you can apply today.
What You'll Learn
Define a Clear Product Vision
Craft a product vision that is specific enough to guide decisions and compelling enough to align your team, executives, and customers around a shared future state.
Analyze Markets With Rigor
Size your market accurately, identify underserved segments, and validate demand before committing engineering resources — using TAM/SAM/SOM, Jobs to Be Done, and customer discovery.
Build a Defensible Competitive Position
Map the competitive field, identify where you can win, and make strategic choices about differentiation, pricing, and positioning that create sustainable advantages.
Choose and Apply Strategic Frameworks
Select the right framework for your decision — RICE for prioritization, Kano for feature categorization, Opportunity Solution Trees for discovery — and avoid framework theater.
Align Strategy to Execution via OKRs
Translate your product strategy into measurable objectives and key results that keep teams focused, make progress visible, and connect daily work to long-term outcomes.
Know When and How to Pivot
Recognize the signals that your current strategy is not working, distinguish noise from evidence, and execute a pivot without destroying team morale or customer trust.
12 Chapters Inside
Product Vision: The Foundation of Strategy
Learn how to craft a product vision that is specific enough to guide real decisions and compelling enough to align your team, executives, and customers.
Market Analysis: Understanding the Playing Field
Learn structured approaches to market analysis — from TAM/SAM/SOM sizing to segment identification to demand validation — that turn assumptions into evidence.
Competitive Intelligence: Knowing the Field
Learn how to systematically track, analyze, and respond to competitive moves without letting competitors set your agenda.
Product-Market Fit: Finding and Measuring It
Understand product-market fit beyond the buzzword — with concrete signals, measurement approaches, and the tactical work of finding fit in a specific segment.
Who This Guide Is For
Product Managers (IC to Senior)
You own a product or feature area and need to move from reactive feature delivery to proactive strategy. This guide gives you the tools, frameworks, and thinking models to build and defend a product strategy that ships.
Product Leaders (Directors, VPs, CPOs)
You set strategy across multiple product lines and need to coach your PMs on strategic thinking. Use this handbook as a shared reference for how your organization approaches market analysis, prioritization, pricing, and competitive positioning.
Founders and General Managers
You make product strategy decisions daily but may not have formal PM training. This guide gives you the same frameworks top product teams use — adapted for the speed and constraints of early-stage and growth-stage companies.
Tim Adair has spent 15+ years in product management, building and scaling products at startups and enterprise companies. He has developed product strategies that drove 10x ARR growth, navigated pivots, launched new product lines, and coached hundreds of PMs on the craft of strategic thinking.