Workshop 1

Strategy and Principles: Connecting the Dots

Using the Decision Stack as a mental model to drive efficient and aligned decisions within your role, team, and organisation.

Workshop overview

The Decision Stack is a mental model which helps align organisations from top to bottom, and bottom to top – increasing decision-making velocity and quality throughout! Currently being used around the world in large complex organisations as well as fast-paced start-ups, this Decision Stack Workshop will help you connect the dots all the way from vision/mission through to every daily decision made in our companies. Leaders can make the necessary connections between existing theories around vision, strategy, and execution layers and understand how important they are to a cohesive approach. Individual team members can truly understand how their work connects to the bigger picture – and how to challenge their leadership where that clarity is lacking.

Using a mix of short lectures, hands-on activities, and group discussions, Martin Eriksson will teach you how to consider your full Decision Stack and deep dive into the two most challenging aspects: defining your strategy and defining your principles. Most importantly this workshop will help you understand your role in bringing these concepts back to your team in order to drive alignment and make better decisions.

What we’ll cover on the day

What is the Decision Stack – understanding it as a mental model

Defining Strategy and Product Strategy – understanding your role in defining strategy at any level of the organisation as well as practical tips for defining your product strategy

Product Principles – how they work and what they might help you achieve – along with practical activities to help you draft your principles

How to bring the product strategy and principles thinking back to your organisation – making a plan for working towards clarity within your team and the wider company

Key takeaways

How to own strategy at any level and how to help your team own strategy together

How to use principles to make and codify decisions

How to collaborate with your team to drive efficient decision-making in your organisation

Things to note

In order to make the most of this workshop we will be sending some simple pre-work questions to consider prior to the workshop.

Please remember that strategy (company, product, or otherwise) is nuanced and complex. This workshop will provide some tools and ideas for you to get started, but you probably won’t walk away with a perfectly crafted strategy.

Martin Eriksson - Your Product Strategy and Product Principles Instructor