From shipping things to deciding what's worth shipping

For six years my job was to ship things. Three months ago it became deciding what’s worth shipping.

In delivery, success was clear: did it go live, on time, and does it work? In strategy the question comes earlier and it’s harder. Before anything gets built, I ask what problem it solves, how we’ll know it’s working, and what we’re choosing not to do.

Three things I’ve learnt so far:

1. Decide how you’ll measure success before you decide what to build. It changes the roadmap more than any feature idea.
2. Saying no is most of the job. A good plan is mostly the things that didn’t make it in.
3. Delivery experience is an unfair advantage. Knowing what’s hard to build keeps strategy honest.

Still early days, and I’m learning something new every week. If you’ve moved from delivery into strategy, or the other way, I’d love to hear what surprised you most.