Erickson urges leaders to treat corporate strategy as a testable product
Martin Erickson argues that product leaders must apply assumption testing to high-level corporate strategy to prevent organizations from operating on outdated premises. He proposes using the 'Decision Stack' framework to structure evidence-based challenges to leadership assumptions.
Martin Erickson, a strategic advisor and author of The Decision Stack, contends that rigorous assumption testing should be elevated from feature development to corporate strategy. He observes that strategies frequently fail because underlying assumptions shift due to market changes or new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, yet these premises are rarely revisited. To address this, Erickson recommends treating strategy as a product, utilizing pre-mortems and hypothesis testing to validate choices regularly. This approach aims to ensure consistency and commitment while allowing for necessary pivots when evidence changes.
Erickson suggests using the 'Decision Stack' framework, which structures conversations around vision, strategy, objectives, opportunities, and principles. He references Roger Martin’s strategic questions of 'where to play' and 'how to win,' noting that principles help teams make faster decisions without escalating every conflict. He advises product managers to challenge leadership by presenting evidence that specific strategic assumptions no longer hold, rather than offering subjective opinions. This method depersonalizes the debate and focuses on data. Erickson stated that it is every product person's responsibility to ensure these internal conversations occur, arguing that this discipline prevents organizations from relying on stale strategic foundations.