Stop Treating Strategy Like a To-Do List

Author

Jeff Gothelf
November 13, 2025

In partnership with

At a Glance

  • Most “strategies” are just goals in disguise

  • Real strategy starts with choices and trade-offs

  • The Lean Strategy Canvas helps you make those visible

  • Use it to align your team before you build

  • Free download inside

Hey folks,

I’ve lost count of how many strategy sessions start with good intentions and end with a wall of sticky notes that read like a to-do list.

The conversation usually sounds something like this: “We need better onboarding.” “We should improve activation.” “Let’s grow retention by 10%.”

Those are valid ambitions, but they’re not strategy. They’re wish lists. Strategy isn’t about listing what you want; it’s about deciding what you’ll focus on first and, equally important, what you’ll say no to.

That’s exactly why Josh and I built the Lean Strategy Canvas, to help teams slow down their thinking before they speed up their building.

You can download the canvas here and use it as you read along.

– Jeff

How the Lean Strategy Canvas Works

The Lean Strategy Canvas is the prequel to the Lean Product Canvas - a starting point that helps teams align before they define what to build.

It’s built around a few deceptively simple but revealing prompts:

  1. What goal are we trying to achieve right now?
    Focus on one, something you can actually move in this cycle.

  2. What’s in our way?
    Don’t skip this. Identifying your biggest obstacle often rewrites your strategy.

  3. Where will we play and how will we win?
    Drawn from Roger Martin’s famous framework, these two questions force teams to choose their market and define their unique advantage before chasing every shiny opportunity.

  4. How will we know it’s working?
    Anchor the canvas in measurable behavior change, your customers’, not just your team’s.

This isn’t about filling boxes. It’s about starting the right conversation.

If you’re leading a team, grab the canvas PDF and have everyone fill it out separately. Then compare. The differences in answers are where your real work begins.

Making It Actionable

If you try this with your team, don’t rush to fill every box perfectly.

The first pass isn’t about precision—it’s about surfacing tension.

You might notice patterns like:

  • Everyone agrees on the goal but not on the obstacle.

  • Or everyone names a different “how we win.”

  • Or nobody can define measurable outcomes.

They’re the signal that your team is finally talking about strategy instead of plans.

Bottom Line

The Lean Strategy Canvas exists to re-center teams on purpose, not paperwork.

It’s the simplest way I know to connect goals, obstacles and outcomes in one page—and one conversation.

If you’re planning your next quarter, offsite, or product cycle, try the Lean Strategy Canvas before you reach for the roadmap.

You’ll be surprised how much clarity a few boxes can bring.

Upcoming Workshops from Sense & Respond Learning

Lean Product Management

Learn how to build the right product.

Hands-on sessions for cross-functional teams to align on customer outcomes, validate assumptions, and reduce waste.

Nov 17, Nov 24, Dec 4, Dec 11, 2025
🇷🇴 In Romanian — with Mihai Olaru & Florin Manolescu
Register here

Jan 17–18, 2026
🇬🇧 In English — with Daksh Gupta & Jaya Shrivastava
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Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)

Turn strategy into measurable outcomes that matter.

A practical, cross-functional approach to aligning teams and goals, available in multiple languages.

Nov 26, 2025
🇳🇴 In Norwegian — with Jon Urdal
Register here

Dec 10–12, 2025
🇺🇸 In English — with Rich Visotcky
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Dec 13, 2025
🇪🇸 In Spanish — with Laura Polls & Carlos Iglesias
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Dec 29–30, 2025
🇺🇸 In English — with Rich Visotcky
Register here

Product Discovery for Agile Teams

Turn uncertainty into insight.

Build better products by discovering the right problems to solve. Learn how Lean UX and discovery techniques fit into your agile practice.

Dec 1, 3, 10 & 12, 2025
🇺🇸 In English — with Rich Visotcky
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