Timestamps:

01:00 - What we mean when we say "strategy"

2:22 - Knowing you value proposition

11:13 - Strategy and KPIs

26:06 - Humility and seeking out help

About Elisabete Ramalho

Elisabete Ramalho is an international executive with 20 years of experience in digital transformation, technology, manufacturing and consumer goods, who is currently active as an industry lead at Google.

For Elisabete, strategy is, naturally, about making choices. These choices should be informed by answers to the following questions:

- What is my product really about?

- How am I gonna market it?

- Should I target B2B? B2C? B2B2C?

When answering these questions, there is no exact "right" or "wrong" answer; only answers which mean accruing more or less risk.

Another thing which needs to serve as your strategy's compass is the value proposition. If you have yet to land on a definitive value proposition, consider these questions:

- Does your product already exist in the market?

- Could your success be detonated by lower prices from the competition?

- Do you have a core competence relevant to building this product?

Speaking of competition: Elisabete recommends that you be aware of what they are doing, but that you don't fixate on it — you only know what their current and past moves are, not what they're ultimately aiming at, so you may severely misinterpret their actions.

When drafting an actual plan, try to answer these three points:

- Where are you going?

- How much do you need?

- What role will each team member have?

You might also want to work with OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). Your annual OKRs should tie in with the team OKRs, which in turn connect to the individual OKRs. When setting goals, do so in a way that will push you out of your comfort zone. If you know full well you'll reach them, then those aren't goals — they're a checklist!

Lastly: allow your team members to shape the company strategy with you. They'll be more personally committed to achieving the goals if they themselves had a role in determining them.

"The right product to sell isn't necessarily the cheapest one. Because when you start pricing down, you cannot price up again."

"If you set yourself goals you know you will reach, then those aren't goals. It's a checklist."

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