Setting Up Your First Strategy Doc

Start With Who, Not What

Name the specific user you're building for before writing anything about features. If you can't describe them in a sentence, that's the first thing to fix.

Name the Problem in Their Words

Write the problem the way your user would describe it, not the way it sounds internally. This keeps the document useful for anyone who reads it later, not just you.

Add One Success Signal

Pick one signal that would tell you the strategy is working. It doesn't need to be perfect — it just needs to exist, so you have something to check your decisions against.

Practical Review Checklist

Before moving on, confirm that you can:

• State the primary objective in one clear sentence
• Identify the assumptions that still need evidence
• Choose a small set of meaningful success measures
• Explain the process to another person without hidden steps
• Record what should be reviewed during the next iteration

Conclusion

A one-page doc with a clear user, a clear problem, and one success signal will outperform a blank page every time. You can always add detail later.