Being strategic at work, one ordinary decision at a time

Five members of the Executive Coaching work group on what strategy looks like in a normal workweek.

Updated October 13, 2026

It shows up in ordinary choices: which few priorities matter, what gets delayed to make room for them, and whether the people involved agree on that trade-off.

Choose fewer priorities. Julie Zhuo picks one to three things that matter most and cuts work that competes with them. Diana Stepner asks why three times until she can name the customer need and business outcome behind a roadmap item.
Name what slips. Elena Luneva and Diana both decide what the team will stop or delay to make room for new work. When a new request threatens the top priority, Nikhyl Singhal puts the trade-off back in front of the stakeholders rather than quietly expanding scope.
Test the assumption that could break the plan. At Braintrust, Elena's team found AI recruiter avatars unlikely to meet its needs within six months, and chose a simpler voice interface that tested better with prospects.
Get leaders to one direction. Yue Zhao puts competing priorities side by side with their evidence, resources and what each would delay, then holds a decision meeting with one person accountable for the call. She books that time before the week's execution fills it.

Group chat with Julie, Nikhyl, Yue, Elena, Diana — the Executive Coaching work group

Question:

What does being strategic at work look like day to day?

Julie ZhuoCo-founder of Sundial. Author of The Making of a Manager and former VP of Product Design at Facebook

Being strategic shows up in the decisions you make on an ordinary Tuesday.

Ask your teammates what success would look like in three years. If their answers differ, work out which outcomes matter most and what you would choose when two goals conflict.
Before proposing a feature, get specific about whose problem it solves. Talk to those people, look at what other options they have, and ask where your team has a real advantage.
Choose the one to three things that matter most, then cut work that pulls time away from them. When a launch discussion turns into whether to ship a mediocre feature or spend extra time polishing it, I ask whether we chose too many things weeks earlier. If the feature matters, give it the time to be great. If it doesn't, remove it from the plan.Medium

Elena LunevaChief Product & Technology Officer at Madison Reed. Former Chief Product Officer at Braintrust

I look for three things in a decision: the customer's problem, how the business makes money, and where the tools and market are headed. Day to day, that means asking what outcome a request should change, checking the evidence with customers and sales, and deciding what we will stop doing to make room for the work. Before a launch, I want to know who will buy, how they will find it, and what we will measure after release. Shipping is one step; adoption and revenue tell us whether the decision worked.

Substack

At Braintrust, we tested AI recruiter avatars and found they were unlikely to meet our needs within six months. We chose a simpler voice interface that tested better with prospects, then worked through whether to charge per hire, per call, or for outcomes. That is the daily work: test the assumption that could break the plan, make the trade-off, and explain the business reason in terms your team and executives can act on.

Substack

Diana StepnerProduct leadership coach. Former VP of Product at SimplePractice and Head of Product, Education at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

I look for the decision behind the task. When a roadmap item comes up, I ask “why?” three times until I can name the customer need and the business outcome it serves. Then I ask what we will delay to make room for it. That turns a busy day into a series of choices people can explain.

Substack

The harder daily work is often between people. A senior PM I coached was told to “be more strategic” at a Series B startup. She found three competing executive visions and brought those leaders into a conversation to clarify direction. The feedback changed once the team had a shared basis for decisions. In practice, I would check whose goals differ before asking the team to execute faster.

Substack

Question:

Julie suggests choosing one to three priorities and cutting work that competes with them. Nikhyl, how would you make that call during a normal workweek when stakeholders disagree?

Nikhyl SinghalFounder of the Skip community. Former VP of Product at Meta and CPO at Credit Karma

When stakeholders disagree, I would bring a proposed order of work to the meeting, with the reason for each choice and the work that slips if we add something. Then I’d ask them to challenge that order. The useful outcome is a decision about where the team spends its time, rather than a round of edits to the roadmap document. I’ve used that approach in high-stakes stakeholder conversations: diagnose the situation, propose next steps, and calibrate priorities together.

During the week, I’d check whether the chosen sequence still holds as requests arrive. A director’s job includes turning a clear one-year goal into a next-quarter plan: which feature now, which people on it, and what comes after. If a new request threatens the quality or timing of the top priority, I would put the trade-off back in front of the stakeholders rather than quietly expand scope.

Spotify

Question:

Nikhyl would bring stakeholders a proposed order of work and name what slips. Diana described three competing executive visions. Yue, how would you get those leaders to agree on a priority this week?

Yue ZhaoExecutive coach and author of The Uncommon Executive. Former Chief Product & Technology Officer at Fuzzy

I would start by asking each leader which decision they need the priority to settle this week and which company outcome they expect it to change. Then I would write the three competing priorities side by side, including the evidence behind each, the resources each requires, and what we would delay. The leaders need to discuss that choice together in a decision meeting, with someone clearly accountable for the final call. I would leave with one agreed direction and send the team the choice, its reasoning, and the work that moves. Strategy becomes useful when the people executing it share the same assumptions and know what to do when the next request arrives.

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I learned the calendar part the hard way at Thumbtack. I cleared emails and kept the backlog in shape before opening a strategy document, which often waited until Friday at 4 pm. For a disagreement like this, I would protect time for stakeholder conversations and the decision meeting now, before another week of execution takes the slot.

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Being strategic at work, one ordinary decision at a time

Executive Coaching

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a first-time manager focus on?

What should a weekly business review cover?

How do you handle a difficult coworker when nobody intervenes?

What should you do when a reorg shrinks your scope?

Your ideas, super powered.

Being strategic at work, one ordinary decision at a time

Executive Coaching

Frequently Asked Questions

What should a first-time manager focus on?

What should a weekly business review cover?

How do you handle a difficult coworker when nobody intervenes?

What should you do when a reorg shrinks your scope?

Your ideas, super powered.