An operator’s guide to product strategy | Chandra Janakiraman (CPO at VRChat, ex-Meta, Headspace, Zynga) · Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth summary

Key takeaways

Product strategy sits between a company's mission and vision and its action plan, requiring a clear definition and alignment.
The 'small s' strategy focuses on immediate challenges and is time-bound, while 'big S' strategy encourages long-term aspirational thinking.
A rigorous, structured process for developing strategy takes 8 to 12 weeks and emphasizes careful preparation, engagement from team members, and validation through feedback.
Clear communication with stakeholders during the rollout phase is essential to ensure buy-in and address any concerns.
AI is likely to transform strategy formulation by providing data-driven insights and generating innovative, scalable strategies.

Summary

Understanding Product Strategy

Chandra Janakiraman emphasizes the importance of product strategy, explaining that it lies between the mission and vision of a company and the plan (roadmap). He breaks down strategy into 'small s' and 'big S' categories— with 'small s' focusing on present challenges and solutions, typically over a two-year timeline, while 'big S' requires aspirational thinking about the future over a longer period. A successful strategy needs to force choices, align resources towards maximum impact, and include strategic pillars while clearly outlining areas not to focus on, complete with their justification.

Developing a Winning Strategy

Chandra details a five-stage process for building a robust product strategy that lasts from eight to twelve weeks. This encompasses the preparation phase, where various insights are gathered; the strategy sprint, focusing on identifying and clustering problems into opportunities; the design sprint, which generates concepts that bring the strategy to life; document writing that collates all information into a cohesive strategy document; and finally, the rollout phase, where the strategy is shared with stakeholders and refined. Throughout the process, leaders should push for thoroughness rather than speed.

Key Insights and Lessons from Experience

Drawing from his experiences at Meta and Zynga, Chandra shares significant lessons about the pitfalls of strategy development, such as common misunderstandings and the need for clarity among teams. He highlights how organizations can fall into the trap of thinking strategy is solely about solving existing problems without looking forward. His work at both companies illustrates the varied outcomes that can arise even from the same strategic process, underlining the need for agility and responsiveness once the strategy is live in the market.

The Role of AI in Strategy Development

Towards the end of the podcast, Chandra discusses emerging trends in AI and how they might revolutionize strategy formulation. AI tools can support strategy work by providing insights from large datasets, help create competitive analyses, and even generate mock strategies to spark ideas. The future might see AI agents collaborating on strategy development, driving experimentation, and optimizing processes, highlighting a transformative change in how strategies are conceived and executed.

Show notes

Chandra Janakiraman is the chief product officer, executive vice president, and a board member at VRChat. Previously, he was a product leader at Meta, where he led Facebook’s social experience interfaces and Reality Labs’ growth; served as CPO at Headspace, where he helped relaunch the platform, driving a 4x subscriber boost; and was a GM at Zynga, delivering massive hit games that reached hundreds of millions. In our conversation, Chandra shares:

• His playbook for developing a product strategy

• The difference between “small s” and “big S” strategy

• How to run strategy sprints

• Who should be involved in strategy work

• Common pitfalls in strategy development

• The role of AI in future strategy development

• More

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-operators-guide-to-product-strategy-chandra-janakiraman

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Where to find Chandra Janakiraman:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandramohanj/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Chandra’s background

(04:47) The importance of strategy

(12:40) Defining product strategy

(15:42) Developing a winning strategy: an overview

(18:51) The preparation phase

(30:46) The strategy sprint process

(45:51) The design sprint

(51:19) Document writing

(57:39) Rolling out your strategy

(01:01:28) Resourcing and roadmapping

(01:04:42) Strategy lessons from Zynga

(01:11:34) Strategy lessons from Meta

(01:15:55) Big S strategy

(01:26:58) AI in strategy formulation

(01:38:12) Final thoughts and lightning round

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Referenced:

• Headspace: https://www.headspace.com/

• Good Strategy, Bad Strategy | Richard Rumelt: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/good-strategy-bad-strategy-richard

• 5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ultimate-guide-to-strategy-roger-martin

• VRChat: https://hello.vrchat.com/

• Andrew Chen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmandrewchen/

• Template: Working Backwards PR FAQ: https://www.workingbackwards.com/resources/working-backwards-pr-faq

• How LinkedIn became interesting: The inside story | Tomer Cohen (CPO at LinkedIn): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-linkedin-became-interesting-tomer-cohen

• Making time for what matters | Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky (authors of Sprint and Make Time, co-founders of Character Capital): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/making-time-for-what-matters-jake

• Identify your bullseye customer in one day | Michael Margolis (UX Research Partner at Google Ventures): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/finding-your-bullseye-customer-michael-margolis

• Chandra’s flow chart: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SLmQ0oRFadzJnNM3MJetnLUvB18U4W4GXU4KtJ2ujEQ/edit?tab=t.0

• Chandra’s strategy template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iNeYUaMnpicvkpVZO-gj9cCxLeHfWN0xtGm_QoxgemE/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.5d3jz6v86yrs

• Zynga: https://www.zynga.com/

• David Foster Wallace’s quote about water: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/97082-there-are-these-two-young-fish-swimming-along-and-they

• Oculus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oculus

• Elon Musk’s quote: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wf8TadbGYok

• Concept car: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_car

• Acquired podcast: The Mark Zuckerberg interview: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-mark-zuckerberg-interview

• Armand Ruiz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armand-ruiz/

• What is a multi-armed bandit? Full explanation: https://amplitude.com/explore/experiment/multi-armed-bandit

• IF on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/IF-John-Krasinski/dp/B0CW19SCVW

• Dune: Part 2 on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/dune-part-two/umc.cmc.363aycnv6vy9qgekvew6fveb9

• Dune Prophecy on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/dune-prophecy-2024/57660b16-a32a-476f-89da-3302ac379e91

• Capybara Go on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/ph/app/capybara-go/id6596787726

• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/

• Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Lost-Interview/dp/B01IJD1BES

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Recommended books:

• The Art of War: https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Sun-Tzu/dp/1599869772

• Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors: https://www.amazon.com/Competitive-Strategy-Techniques-Industries-Competitors/dp/0684841487/

• Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-Difference-Matters/dp/0307886239/

• Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works: https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Win-Strategy-Really-Works/dp/142218739X

• Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Time-Focus-Matters-Every/dp/0525572422

• Sprint: https://www.amazon.com/SPRINT-Jake-Zeratsky-Knapp/dp/0593076117

• Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination: https://www.amazon.com/Walt-Disney-Triumph-American-Imagination/dp/0679757473

• Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration: https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Inc-Expanded-Overcoming-Inspiration/dp/0593594649/

• The Ten Faces of Innovation: Strategies for Heightening Creativity: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385512074

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

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An operator’s guide to product strategy | Chandra Janakiraman (CPO at VRChat, ex-Meta, Headspace, Zynga)