Most Product Goals Are Wrong. Here's a Fix.

Fix your goals --> Fix your product

Most product goals sound impressive.

"Increase Engagement"
"Grow Revenue"
"Improve Retention"

But here’s a problem:

They don’t tell teams what to actually build.

And that’s why execution breaks down.

The Real Job of a Product Goal

A product goal isn’t a metric. It’s a decision-making tool. It should help teams answer:

• What do we prioritize?

• What do we ignore?

• What does success actually look like?

  
  

Use a structure below instead:

The User Problem

Weak: Increase DAU by 20%
Strong: Help new users experience value in their first session

☛ Metrics follow value -- not the other way around

Connect to Business Outcomes

☛ User Problem --> Product Goal --> Business Impact

- Problem: Users can't discover relevant content
- Goal: Improve personalization
- Outcome: Higher retention + revenue

Measure the Right Things

- Engagement (CTR)
- Depth (time spent)
- Satisfaction (returns, retention)

☛ Prevent Shallow Wins! 

Define Success and Failure

- What does success look like?
- What are guardrails?
- What would failure look like?

☛ Not all growth is good growth

Ruthlessly Prioritize

☛ Not 10 Goals. 1-3 Real Priorities
☛ Remove noise

Final Thought

Most teams don’t fail because they lack talent. They fail because:

☛ Their Goals don’t create Clarity

Fix your goals —> Fix your product.

If you found this useful, forward it to one person trying to break into product. You can find Software Adoption Readiness Checklist in the blog.