Simple Strategy by Netflix

An exciting strategy is something that people look forward to. Everyone enjoys hearing it at the all-hands meetings, the inspiring slogans, the promise that this next big bet will change everything.

But real product strategy doesn't sparkle; it's rarely exciting and often repetitive and simple, almost dull.

It's the same narrative about focus, trade-offs, sequence and alignment repeated over and over again.

The teams that look boring from the outside are usually just the ones who've figured out what they're not doing. They're usually the ones who've invested in a strategy narrative that makes those trade-offs obvious to everyone on the team. Everyone else chases trends.

A couple of exceptions might be changing your "loading" copy to "thinking", and of course, adding dark mode to your site.

If you look at Netflix, they won by improving one thing at a time. First, getting big on DVDs faster than anyone else. Then, using the funds and customers to make streaming better than anyone else. And finally, creating the best content across the globe better than anyone else.

Netflix had a simple strategy it pairs well with the SCQA framework for communicating that strategy to the people who have to act on it.