In large organisations, product teams are often handed broad goals like “drive growth” or “improve retention” with little direction on how to translate them into meaningful product work. Or worse, they are handed very specific solutions to build with little rationale and no metrics to measure success!
It seems, in either case we are all guessing and pushing at what we think we should build to help drive business value. This is a shame given most organisations have all of the skills needed to be able to define a clear commercial opportunity, understand customers needs and really define a testable solution that can drive business value.
We can do better with more considered collaboration, as my grandma says “more speed, less haste”, if we identify the right people and align around shared outcomes, identifying measurable signals that matter, we can shape product work that creates real impact.
Why This Is So Hard (and Why It Matters)
The challenge isn’t a lack of strategy. Most companies have clear business goals.
The problem is the missing link between those goals and what teams build. Product managers are often left interpreting high-level goals without clear measures, priorities, or understanding of what success really looks like.
The result?
- Teams feel disconnected from strategy
- Stakeholders lose confidence in delivery
- Product launches miss the mark
- Time, money and patience is all wasted
The good news? A few structured conversations can change everything.
Start with Clear Business Outcomes
Use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to turn high-level goals into actionable, measurable targets.
A good Objective sets direction:
“Increase customer retention for our <SME> segment.”
Strong Key Results define success:
- Reduce churn in <SME> customers from 8% to 5%
- Increase active logins per account to 3x/week
- Raise NPS for <SME> accounts from 40 to 50
These give product teams focus and purpose.
💡 Tip: Don’t overload teams with too many KRs. Two or three is usually enough to guide decisions and find valuable and feasible opportunities.
Find the Signal Behind the Goal
Most Key Results are lagging indicators — they show progress after the fact. But to shape product decisions, teams need leading signals — metrics they can measure and influence in real-time as customers use the product.
For example:
🎯 KR: Increase active logins per account to 3x/week
🧭 Signal: % of users completing a <key proposition> in their first session
🎯 KR: Reduce churn in <SME> customers from 8% to 5%
🧭 Signal: Number of users interacting with new ‘hotly requested’ feature.
When teams align on these signals early, they can experiment, measure, and learn faster — without drifting from business priorities.
💡 Tip: Testable hypothesis statements are a great tool to bring signals to life with actual values. Make sure you have the data and a clear view of the impact you will have before attempting to take an idea to build. Your first task might be getting data or add monitoring to your existing product. Thats fine, it will help build confidence and trust.
Workshop Your Way to Alignment
You don’t need a long strategy process. A focused workshop can help align product teams and stakeholders in under two hours.
Try this flow:
Step 1: Agree on the Objective
Use leadership input or OKRs. Keep it specific and measurable.
Step 2: Define the Desired Outcome
What behaviour needs to change? For which user? Why now?
Step 3: Identify Leading Signals
What will we measure to know we’re on track — before the KR moves?
Step 4: Explore Initiatives
What product changes could positively influence the signal?
Use This Template in Miro
To make it easier, try this structure in Miro:
Goal to Outcome Canvas
This visual helps product, design, data and business stakeholders build shared understanding and momentum.
Final Thought: From Noise to Focus
When you connect the dots between business goals and product signals, everything gets clearer:
- Teams understand the why
- Stakeholders see a path to impact
- Data builds trust and confidence and stops the cycle of wasted time and effort
- Roadmaps become grounded in outcomes, not guesses
It’s not about being perfect. It’s about getting aligned enough to move forward with confidence.